Most people want to get rid of their cough instead of deliberately inducing it. But sometimes there may be reasons why you want to cough, such as getting rid of phlegm in your throat during a cold or if you are preparing to speak in public. People with chronic lung disease, such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), may feel the need to cough to clear lung mucus. Likewise, people with disabilities, such as quadriplegics, may not have the muscle capacity to cough effectively.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Change the Breathing
Step 1. Breathe in firmly and close your throat
Changing the way you breathe in and out, while limiting the flow of air, can cause you to cough. Take a deep, clear breath to wipe your mouth and throat. Squeeze your throat and try to exhale. Contract your abs and push the air outward while keeping your throat blocked. This can help provoke a cough.
Step 2. Try coughing
You must emit the air with a light and gentle pressure; this technique is useful for those who do not have the lung capacity to cough normally. Among them are patients with cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To practice this cough:
- Slow down your breathing and exhale for a count of 4.
- Inhale for about 75% of a normal inhalation.
- Put your mouth in an O shape and try to keep your throat open.
- Contract your abdominal muscles to force air through your mouth. You should make a soft sound similar to "aff".
- Breathe in quickly, breathe shallowly, and make another "aff" sound.
Step 3. Try doing a fake cough
When you produce a forced cough, you may be triggering the actual cough reflex. To make a fake cough, start by clearing your throat. Force the air out of the throat by tightening the abdominal muscles and pushing the air out of the mouth.
Step 4. Breathe in cold, dry air
The winter air is often very cold and dry and can cause a worsening of the cough. It can eliminate water vapor in the throat and mouth and cause a spasm in the airways. This could cause a cough, especially if you are prone to asthma.
Take great deep breaths by inhaling cold air. Make sure the air reaches your lungs completely
Method 2 of 3: Inhale Some Substances
Step 1. Breathe in the steam of boiling water
Boil water in a saucepan and pour it into a bowl. Put your face over the bowl, being careful to avoid burning yourself. Breathe deeply and rapidly to get the vaporized water into your lungs. This condenses in the lungs and the body perceives it as water. This causes the body to instinctively try to expel it with a cough.
Step 2. Breathe in citric acid
This substance has been used in a number of clinical studies as a tussive (i.e. cough reflex) agent. Put citric acid such as that contained in orange or lemon juice in a nebulizer to produce a mist that you can inhale. This should trigger the cough.
Step 3. Inhale the mustard essential oil
An old medical study found that mustard oil can be inhaled to induce a cough. Put a few drops in a bottle, smell it and you will start coughing.
Step 4. Cook a chili
Chillies contain a compound called capsaicin, which can irritate the mouth, throat and airways. When you expose yourself to capsaicin by cooking chili, some of its molecules are dispersed in the air. Inhaling them can cause irritation in the throat and lungs, which, in many people, causes a coughing fit.
Step 5. Return the mucus back to the throat
If you have a cold, rhinitis, or stuffy nose, bring the phlegm back into your mouth and throat to induce a cough. This promotes dripping from the nose to the throat, which occurs when mucus enters the throat via the nasal passages. Postnasal drip helps induce cough and potentially prolong it.
Step 6. Inhale an allergen such as dust or smoke
Deliberately inhaling allergens such as dust, pollen, or smoke will likely cause you to cough, especially if you are sensitive to these substances. Hold your face over a duvet for dusting and open your mouth. Inhale by taking a quick deep breath.
Alternatively, ask someone to blow cigarette smoke directly in your face. Inhale through your mouth to bring the smoke into your lungs. If you are not a smoker, this will trigger a cough. However, if you are a smoker, this is probably not a very effective method
Step 7. Take a long inhalation of bad smells
The lungs have an innate system for detecting odors and irritants, such as toxic chemicals or bad smells, and react by provoking a cough. The lungs have a sort of "memory" imprinted in order to protect themselves. This is why there is often a sudden and violent reaction, such as gagging and coughing, to irritants and odors.
Find something that really smells bad, like rotten food or feces. The reaction to the smell could include retching and coughing
Method 3 of 3: Induce Cough for Medical Purposes
Step 1. Use a cough stimulator
This device is typically used by quadriplegic patients who do not have the ability to cough on their own. The device is implanted under the skin near the neck or in the upper chest area and sends electronic impulses to the phrenic nerve in the neck. In this way the diaphragm contracts, simulating an inhalation. Continuing, these impulses cause minor spasms that induce coughing.
Step 2. Apply pressure to the chest
An assistant can help a disabled patient cough by pressing hard on the chest just below the rib cage. At the same time, the patient has to exhale while trying to cough. The pressure should induce a kind of cough which, for example, helps the lungs clear during a chest infection.
The assistant must be very cautious when applying pressure, so as not to cause injury to the patient
Step 3. Take Fentanyl to induce a cough
It is a pain reliever drug that is administered as an anesthetic only by licensed doctors. An intravenous injection of Fentanyl tends to induce cough in the patient.
