Ok, forgive me for sounding like a crazy person but as a child I coughed my head off and one thing worked...hot tea. I swear by this to this day. The hot liquid for some reason relaxed my lungs and stopped the cough. Every morning as an adolescent I threw up mucus and then had hot tea and was able to continue my day. I was not diagnosed till 14 and I did not use any type of drugs until my very late 20's. I am now 40. Also, anything with milk or certain foods (coffee and hot sauce) made me cough my head off...when I did not have the food I would not cough. I never, ever eat in the morning (makes me cough more). Again, green tea...honey and lemon, no mucus producing foods.