When you have a cough, the doctor usually asks at the time of the visit if it is a cough with phlegm? Or is it a dry cough? Common sense tells us that a cough with phlegm may be caused by the presence of an infection, including upper respiratory tract infection (cough from a cold) or lower respiratory tract infection (cough from bronchitis or pneumonia); while a dry cough is often caused by a cough from pharyngitis or laryngitis, usually with allergies, when foreign substances (cold air, haze, smell of oil and smoke, cigarette smoke, perfume, etc.) irritate the throat. A dry cough is characterized by a throat-clearing-like cough, and older children will describe a tickling throat with a foreign body sensation; a mild cough manifests as a single cough; a severe cough can be a large bout of coughing, and coughing may even be followed by vomiting. This allergy-induced dry cough can last for a long time, as parents say, “the cough is not heavy but always bad”. When this cough lasts for more than 4 weeks, it is what we call a chronic cough; we need to look for the cause and identify it as allergic cough, cough caused by postnasal drip, cough variant asthma, cough after respiratory infection, etc.; we should treat the different causes. For coughs, especially dry coughs, simply using cough suppressants is not effective, and long-term use of various cough suppressants can also have side effects on the child’s body. It is important to ensure that your child rests, keep the air fresh, change position frequently, drink more water and take vitamin C supplements.