Adult patients, aged 18 and older, totaling 2,419, who presented with an acute cough for less than 29 days completed a daily diary for up to 28 days after presenting to their family doctor. Symptom recovery was not influenced by the presence or not of coloured sputum (yellow or green) and was no different in the 58% of patients who were prescribed an antibiotic, when compared with the 42% who were not prescribed an antibiotic.