
10. Drinking Cough Syrup
Not treating a serious cough can lead to problems ranging from hoarseness to pulling muscles in your back. Oftentimes, people grab cough syrup the second they begin coughing, even when the cough is not severe and will resolve quickly on its own. The problem is that cough syrup has tons of sugar. Companies that make cough syrup pile on the sugar to hide the awful taste of the medication that will alleviate the cough; otherwise, you would not be able to swallow the stuff. That sugar is good news for the harmful bacteria in your mouth that cause cavities and bad news for you if you want to avoid getting your teeth drilled. Don’t reach for the cough syrup right away whenever you have a cough. See if it will resolve on its own, and then try some natural remedies before turning to medication. Consider using cough drops, which have less sugar than cough syrup. If you need cough syrup, look for some low in sugar.