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Most coughs are harmless and serve a purpose, to clear irritants from the respiratory tract and help expel mucus with virus.

Sometimes, however, a cough signals a dangerous infection.  To tell if a cough is serious or harmless, listen to the sound:

1. A barking, high-pitched coughing accompanied by hoarseness could mean an irritation of the larynx(voice box), such as croup, usually caused by a virus. The only cure is rest. Drugs can't knock out viruses.

2. A deep, raspy cough could mean pneumonia( inflammation of the lungs), especially if worse in the morning. If it is caused by bacteria, antibiotics can clear it up.

3. Nonstop coughing alternating with big gasps is a sign of whooping cough(pertusis), which can literally rob your child of breath.  Antibiotics can treat this but you can prevent the disease with the complete series of DTP vaccinations.

4. Chronic coughing, especially at night could mean asthma or allergies.  There is no cure of asthma, but there are a lot of asthma reliever and preventors in the market. See a doctor for prescription.  I personally use Seretide and its effective.

5. Coughing that's not too deep or loud can mean a cold or the flu.  Only rest and time will help.

Hope these could be of great help next time you or your family had a cough.