You have a cough for three days and nothing you do seems to help, but did you expect? It is probably a virus and you are right - you have to ride it out - so you know that a cough takes that long and longer to resolve. Maybe drop your expectations and then you won't feel disappointed. If you tried to treat the cough, to no avail (as expected - coughs take longer than 3 days to go away), you probably became disappointed, which added to the your already being depressed. If you accept that coughs take at least a week to go away, then you won't be disappointed. You will still be depressed and in physical misery, but not disappointed.

If the issue is incessant coughing, there is a prescription drug called Tessalon which makes coughing go away temporarily. It does not cure the cough, but it removes the symptoms. I have read that Tessalon can cause hallucinations, though, so as has been noted above, you need to run it by the dr (and it is not OTC anyway). If you can take it, it will make you feel much better. Other than Tessalon, there is just tea with honey and lemon or hot milk with honey (the latter will coat your throat and provide a temporary respite).

The general rule is to let it just be for a week. If you have symptoms after a week, going to see a dr makes sense.

If you use several pillows to prop your head up when you are in bed, you will feel better.

If you let the shower run on the hottest and close the bathroom door, soon there will be hot steam accumulated in the bathroom. You can sit on the closed toilet with your laptop - breathing in the steam will also provide temporary relief. Just make sure the bathroom door is closed - otherwise the steam will dissipate soon.

A very warm (almost hot) foot soak with Eucalyptus oil will provide temporary relief and the smell is so invigorating that maybe even the depressed feelings will lessen.

I think that is all as far as home remedies go. Oh, no, there is one more and it is the most important one. Saline nasal drops or spray - there are plenty brands available now. It used to be that only Ocean spray was available, but now if you go to Walgreens or CVS or Target, there will be half a dozen bottles.

Saline spray is not a medication so you cannot overdose and it will thin your postnasal drip which will provide relief. You can use it on the hour if you set a timer or an alarm clock.