10 Natural Cough Remedies you should know
In addition to taking cough remedies, there are several independent efforts that can be made to treat coughs. You can make natural cough remedies yourself at home as an initial treatment step before the cough gets worse. Some natural cough remedies that you can try are pineapple, salt water, and probiotics.
Coughing is the body’s natural response to expel substances and particles from the respiratory tract so they do not enter the lower respiratory tract. Coughing can also signal other conditions, from asthma to lung cancer.
The throat and lungs produce a small amount of mucus or phlegm to keep the airway moist. Occasional coughs are normal, because they help move phlegm, which is responsible for keeping the airways moist.
Symptoms and Causes of Cough
Coughs are usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as a runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, wheezing, shortness of breath, heartburn, fever, earache, and muscle aches. Based on the duration of occurrence, cough can occur less than 3 weeks to more than 8 weeks.
Coughing can be caused by an infection in the upper respiratory tract or lower respiratory tract. It could also be due to allergies or other long-term conditions, such as asthma, COPD, or chronic bronchitis.
If the cough remedies at the pharmacy runs out or you want to try natural alternatives, you can use natural cough remedies available at home or supermarkets.
Ten Natural Cough Remedies
1. Honey
Besides ginger, honey is also known as a natural cough remedies that can reduce phlegm. In fact, honey was found to be more effective than cough remedies containing dextromethorphan.
You can pour two teaspoons of honey with tea, warm water, or lemon juice. You can also put honey on bread or crackers as a jam. However, do not give honey to children under one year of age.
2. Peppermint
Peppermint gives you a fresh taste in your mouth and helps relieve coughs and loosens phlegm in the throat. You can drink peppermint tea or inhale peppermint steam by dipping three or four drops of peppermint oil in 150 milliliters of hot water.
3. Probiotics
Uniquely, probiotics can indirectly be one of the natural cough remedies that you can try, because they can increase the body’s resistance by balancing the microorganisms in the stomach. You can try eating yogurt, kimchi, or other probiotic foods.
4. Menthol
Menthol is actually made from ingredients that are in peppermint. However, if you want something practical, you can easily apply menthol to the chest area to ease breathing.
5. Lemons
Lemon can be one of your choices to relieve cough. As a cough remedies, lemon is able to reduce inflammation that occurs in the throat, while providing vitamin C intake for the body.
6. Water
Don’t look too far, a glass of water in your hand can help relieve coughs, treat dry throat, and loosen phlegm. Drinking warm water can also provide a sense of comfort in the throat.
7. Steam
Inhaling steam from hot water can be one of the natural cough remedies that can help relieve coughing. You can add some essential oils, such as peppermint to hot water.
8. Salt water
No need to be confused, just take or teaspoon of salt from the kitchen to mix it into 236 milliliters of water. Gargle a mixture of salt water to overcome a cough and dry throat.
It’s best to avoid giving salt water gargles to children under six years old because they still can’t gargle properly.
9. Ginger
Ginger is one of the kitchen spices that is famous for its healing abilities, including treating coughs naturally. You can chew ginger alone or mix ginger powder with honey or tea.
10. Pineapple
Pineapple is not only delicious and fresh to eat, but also can be a natural cough remedies. The content of the enzyme bromelain in pineapple plays a role in overcoming coughs and relieves phlegm.
You can consume one piece of pineapple or drink pineapple juice as much as 103 milliliters per day three times a day. However, don’t eat pineapple if you’re taking blood-thinning medications or antibiotics.
Cough Treatment and Prevention
Vitamin C is useful for increasing the strength of the immune system in eradicating bacterial infections, including infections that occur in the respiratory tract.
You can make a simple cough remedies by mixing one teaspoon of lemon juice with one teaspoon of honey. Drink this mixture 2-3 times a day, or consume lemon as a cough remedies by mixing pepper and honey into lemon juice.
Keep in mind, most coughs occur due to viral infections. Therefore, the way to prevent it is to avoid the transmission of the virus. In addition, coughs can also be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Related posts:
