system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: what makes a cough dry?
gpt
Dry coughs lack mucus and are the result of tissue inflammation. Basically your lungs are swelling, but not producing much mucus (also called sputum when it's from the lungs). Other types of infections tend to trigger your nose or lungs to make a lot of mucus, which will come out when you cough or sneeze.