Coughing is annoying, but when does it go from being a nuisance to a serious medical problem?
"The wintertime is the time that everyone gets a cough and it's not uncommon," says Dr. Alana Kennedy-Nasser at PurePediatrics.
Dr. Kennedy-Nasser says even if there's a bad cough lingering in your family or workplace, the common cold or flu are most likely to blame and they almost always clear up on their own.
So when should you take a cough more seriously?
If you:
You should see a doctor.
If you don't have a cough of that severity:
Many people expect antibiotics when they go to the doctor with a cough.
Almost all of them are just a virus so Dr. Kennedy-Nasser says antibiotics won't help.