Coughing is a painful process, but potentially useful. Its basic function is to free the airways by removing respiratory secretions, mucus, and irritants. If there is no more serious illness behind it, the banal cause is most often a cold.
According to doctors, when you have a cough that resolves, ideally you don’t need to do anything, including not taking cough suppressants. (Except, of course, that smoking should be stopped.) After all coughing is a natural reflex process, a mechanism for protecting the body, which clears the airways. However, it should be helped to fulfill this useful function as quickly as possible.
Here are some possible solutions:
Drinking expectorant syrups and herbal teas helps. The expectorants available in pharmacies (syrups, suspensions, other “spoon medicines” or effervescent tablets) can be an effective help in relieving cough. But good warm herbal teas can also provide “extra comfort”. Among them, it is recommended for coughs, e.g. expectorant thyme tea. Preparation: pour 1-2 teaspoons of fresh or dried grass with ¼ l of boiling water, cover and soak for 10 minutes, then filter. It can also be consumed with honey, 2-3 times a day. A decoction made from fluffy oxtail, made with a similar process, can also be useful for coughing and soothing irritated bronchial tubes.
Inhalation also relieves chest pressure
Inhaling thyme, rosemary, and lavender essential oils can also help cough up phlegm and relieve chest pressure.
Let’s make our own mix: pour 3 drops of rosemary essential oil and 3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil into a bowl or inhaler filled with warm water. Lean over with a towel on your head, close your eyes, and breathe slowly and calmly for 10 minutes. Repeat 2-3 times a day (after inhaling, wait an hour before going out into the cold air).
Air purifying essential oils
They clean the air in the interior spaces and contribute to their humidification, which helps to free the airways and bronchi. We can alternately use e.g. pine and eucalyptus oil dropped into a vaporizer (e.g. using 10-10 drops for 10 minutes, 3 times a day). It is also recommended to evaporate a mixture: e.g. lavender, lemon and orange essential oils can be mixed with Scots pine oil.
Homeopathic remedies
A wide range of homeopathic remedies are also available for catarrhal cough. It is best to consult your doctor or pharmacist before using them.
When should we see a doctor?
• If the cough lasts longer than a week.
• If the cough is associated with another disease. It all depends on history. In case of chronic bronchitis, heart failure or a disease that weakens the immune system, you should consult a doctor immediately.
Source: Galen
The article was published in Patika Magazin. Look for it every month in pharmacies!
Source: www.patikamagazin.hu
