If a Cold Lingers for a Month — Korean Medicine for Chronic Cough

If a cough lingers for more than three weeks after a cold, it may no longer be a simple cold. Bronchial hypersensitivity, postnasal drip, and gastroesophageal reflux all need to be ruled out.

Korean medicine approach to chronic cough

• Lung-heat (肺熱) type: dry cough and dry throat — clearing and moistening the lung
• Phlegm-fluid (痰飮) type: profuse phlegm with rattling — resolving phlegm and tonifying the spleen
• Qi-deficiency (氣虛) type: fatigue and a weak voice — tonifying the lung and replenishing qi

Cough suppressants only mask symptoms, but herbal medicine restores lung function at its root and prevents recurrence. It is especially effective for children with repeated colds and coughs.