We all expect our coughs to clear up in about a week after we've had a cold. Researchers reporting in the Annals of Family Medicine in January reviewed cough studies and said they found that coughs take about 3 weeks to clear up. At about 2 weeks post-cold many people visit their family practice doctor to get antibiotics. This only fuels antibiotic resistance and will not clear up a viral cough. Of course it is quite something else if after three weeks you still have fever and a cough that is not improving. You could have pneumonia. The researchers found that about 50% of patients diagnosed with an acute cough in 2006 were prescribed antibiotics, although most respiratory infections are viral. Bronchitis is generally a viral infection.
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