If your cough is productive, meaning that you are coughing up mucus, you shouldn’t try to completely stop it, because your body needs to get rid of that mucus. However, you can make your coughs more productive and under your control so they are less bothersome. A non-prescription cough medicine with an expectorant and cough suppressant, such as certain Robitussin products, will help by keeping the mucus secretions liquid and easily expelled while the cough suppressant helps you bring your cough under greater control.