** Thanks for contacting with your health concern and symptomwise approach towards your two queries are as under: 1. In case of a cough as you have taken OTC [over the counter] drugs and without being able to examine you directly I m of the following opinion: i. An ordinary cough with the common cold is the commonest symptom seen in general practice, and moreover, the choice of antibiotic will vary from doctor to doctor and from locality to locality, make sure to adopt certain guidelines till you get an appointment from a general physician: - maintain good oral hygiene, rinse your mouth after every meal, avoid smoking, tobacco chewing. - Take mainly soft diet - rice, chapati, or phulka, with nonspicy vegetables. - Avoid fried foods like wada, samosa, dosa, pakodas, papad,namkeen and potato chips, avoid hotel food. . Do not take any cold drinks, cold water, ice cream, chilled food from the refrigerator. . Avoid sour fruits like citrus fruits, grapes, take sweet fruits- bananas, papaya . Steam Inhalation and warm salt water gargles. . Cover the mouth while coughing (using hand or handkerchief) to prevent the spread of infection to other family members. iii. If a cough worsens or duration increases consult a chest specialist for an immediate chest x-ray and other blood investigations like: - Hb%, WBC for eosinophilia - X-ray chest for TB, Pneumonia PS. you may simultaneously consult an ENT specialist who will inspect the throat with a good torch and tongue depressor to exclude any other pathology. [pharyngitis, laryngitis, and bronchitis] 2. In case of pain in the breast area with a history of injury and symptom increases while coughing/laying in bed, the symptomwise approach should be: i .Think of fractured rib. ii. Think of costochondritis, very common anteriorly iii. Think of muscle sprain . If by adopting - hot water fomentation - rest with minimal movements - chest strapping - intercostal nerve block - taking an analgesic, anti-inflammatory enzymes, and muscle relaxant, the pain goes away continue with the same, however, if the pain is not relieved to ask for Hb%, WBC, ESR & X-ray Chest ii. since pain increases on coughing, pain could be a pleural pathology. [ask for chest X-ray to exclude pleuritis, pleural effusion]