Medications used to treat cough belong to two main categories. Cough expectorants are those medications that help to bring out the sputum from the lungs and the bronchial tree. These medications are used in wet cough like those due to pneumonia, bronchitis etc. On the other hand, cough suppressants are medications used to suppress cough that is dry, irritating and disturbing, but non-infectious. It should be remembered that cough is basically a protective mechanism of the body to expel a foreign substance or an infectious agent from the respiratory tract. Thus, suppressing cough may be harmful in some cases and cough suppressants should be used judiciously.