Summary: Cough is pretty common in an industrialized society. Since the COVID-19 pandemic it has become not only a medical but also a social issue. Therefore, its symptomatic treatment has become more and more important not only for physicians but also for patients. Unfortunately, we still have several old anti-cough drugs on the pharma market. Some of them were registered based on few poorly designed and performed clinical trials. Others may cause troublesome adverse events. This short review focuses on a practical approach to patients with cough. It provides some useful solutions and suggests a diagnostic algorithm based on national and international guidelines. The importance of parallel utilization diagnostics, causative and symptomatic treatment is stressed.