Coughing, coughing away

It has been nine days since I started coughing and there is lots of phlegm. It gets quite bad, especially at night. It is like there's something tickling you in the throat and then you starts coughing non-stop. It's that kind of cough that will keep you awake at night. I have been coughing so much now that my chest hurts and there is shortness of breath at times. The shortness of breath gets worse when I am at the research centre as there are a zillion stairs to climb. Hahaha. Ok, I exaggerated a bit but there is this LONG flight of steps that I need to climb to get to the nice canteens over at NTU and to get home. I don't like medicines because I have to be very careful as I am allergic to some very common chemicals/ ingredients in them. But maybe it's time I see a doctor about this cough...