INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s cold season, but not every cough might warrant a trip to the doctor’s office. Local doctors say there are some natural or at-home remedies to help you treat your cough.

IU Health Primary Care Physician Dr. Shoma Sanyal joined Daybreak on Tuesday to discuss some of them.

“Your basic things like your honey and your salt water that can help a ton,” Sanyal said. “But there are actually some supplements or some natural ingredients that you could find. Things like bromelain, which is actually a really cool ingredient found in pineapple. It’s an enzyme and I can actually help break up the mucus on a molecular level.”

She says bromelain is an anti-inflammatory, similar to ginger, cinnamon, anise, or marshmallow root. They can help soothe the throat. 

“A lot of these things might not have all of the evidence behind it, but some people report anecdotally that it works pretty well. And there’s a lot more research going on to kind of figure out exactly why these work,” Sanyal said.

At-home remedies such as Vick’s VapoRub can also help treat symptoms. However, Dr. Sanyal says you should know when to reach out to a doctor.

“If once you’re kind of hitting that 7-to-10 day mark, maybe look into seeing your doctor,” she explained. “That’s kind of when you’re thinking viruses and maybe even allergies are creating more of a wet environment, which is just inviting more bacteria into the party. Once that happens and then you’re kind of set up with a sinusitis or a mucosal type of inflammation and infection that can occur. That is probably when you want to think about talking with the doctor.”