Using more cough syrup can lead to needing more injections to treat complications. The goal isn’t to stop the cough itself but to treat the cold and the inflammation causing it.
Natural Response
Coughing is the body’s physiological way to clear the bronchi and lungs; it’s a reaction to increased mucus production. By increasing mucus production, the body helps expel viruses and bacteria during respiratory inflammation. Avoid cough suppressants without medical guidance: unwarranted use of broncholytin and other self-medication is not advised. Safer options include ammonia-anise drops, potassium iodide, and mucolytic medicines that thin mucus and improve bronchial motility, such as bromhexine, Lasolvan, and Mukaltin.
When you have a cold or sore throat, prevent mucus from drying out: keep the mucous membranes moist with hydration, cool air, and plenty of fluids. Gargling can soothe a dry cough with throat pain, while compresses can help with a wet cough when expectoration is difficult.
Gargling Guidelines
Gargling is recommended for a dry cough accompanied by a sore throat. The goal is to cleanse the tonsils of mucus. Here are some options for broths and warm solutions:
- For one cup of water – three drops of iodine and one teaspoon each of baking soda and salt;
- For one cup of water – one teaspoon of lemon juice;
- Half a cup of carrot juice, half a cup of water, and one teaspoon of honey;
- Half a cup of beet juice, half a cup of water, and one teaspoon of vinegar;
- For half a liter of water – three tablespoons of oak bark, coltsfoot, calendula, chamomile, eucalyptus, or licorice root: pour boiling water over the dry herb mixture, let it steep for an hour, and strain before gargling;
- To remove pus and blockages, gargle with a hydrogen peroxide solution mixed with water (1:3), followed by a propolis tincture (with an alcohol strength of at least 70%, otherwise the propolis won’t dissolve), diluted in warm water (one teaspoon in two-thirds of a cup of warm water).
You can gargle up to ten times a day. Do not swallow the gargling solution.
Expectoration Compresses
An expectoration compress can help manage a wet cough when expectoration is difficult.
Precautions:
1) When treating cough in children, avoid skin-contact compresses that contain vinegar or alcohol (risk of poisoning);
2) Do not apply a warming compress if there is a high fever, and do not place a compress over the heart (front or back);
3) Remove the compress once you feel warmth.
Liquid Honey
Apply liquid honey to the chest, cover it with parchment paper, and then with a blanket.
Honey with Mustard
Mix one tablespoon each of mustard powder, honey, and radish juice, place the mixture on gauze, and tie it with a wool scarf.
Vodka with Potatoes
Divide mashed potatoes into two parts, place them in plastic bags, shape them into cakes, and apply them to the chest and back, wrapping them with a scarf or towel.
Vegetable Oil
Soak a towel in room-temperature oil, wrap it around the chest, cover it with parchment paper, and leave it on until you feel warmth.
Vinegar
Adults can also benefit from a neck compress soaked in vinegar water (1:10) for sore throats.
External Heating
Mix one tablespoon each of instant coffee and yogurt, add half a head of garlic (crushed into a paste), and two tablespoons each of honey and corn flour. Apply the mixture to the neck and leave it on until symptoms improve.
Grandma’s remedy for colds—mustard plasters—hasn’t gone out of style. Used alongside prescribed medications, they can help with coughs, acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), bronchitis, and pneumonia. This warming treatment can help thin mucus and expel it from the bronchi and lungs. Do the warming procedure before bedtime: apply mustard plasters, drink tea with honey or raspberry, and then go to bed under a blanket.
Precautions:
- Do not place mustard plasters on the heart or spine;
- Avoid mustard plasters if there is an allergy, tuberculosis, or cancer.
Homemade Mixtures
Homemade broths and tinctures can sometimes serve as alternatives to pharmaceutical remedies.
Almond Oil
Almond oil is a soothing, anti-inflammatory, and expectorant remedy. Indications include cough, bronchial asthma, otitis, and pneumonia. The therapeutic dose for expectoration is 50 grams.
Contraindications:
1) Almond oil is dangerous for small children (risk of aspiration);
2) Possible allergic reactions;
3) Unripe almonds contain poison—cyanide.
Chest Collection
The herbal collection includes marshmallow and licorice roots, thyme and coltsfoot leaves, linden and chamomile flowers, and raspberry leaves and berries. Pour one cup of boiling water over the chopped herbs, let it steep for two hours, strain, add one teaspoon of honey, and take one tablespoon three times a day.
Black Elderberry
This medicinal tea is made from dried black elderflower. For one teaspoon of the mixture, add one teaspoon of honey and one cup of boiling water. Drink one cup three times a day.
Radish with Honey
Peel a black radish, carve out a hollow, and pour in two teaspoons of liquid honey. After an hour, juice will start to flow from the root. Drink this juice throughout the day as it forms, every two hours.
Onion with Honey
Finely chop an onion, mix it with honey, and let it sit overnight to release its juice. Sip the juice throughout the day.
Milk with Honey
Mix warm milk with alkaline mineral water in a 1:1 ratio and add honey (one teaspoon per cup of milk).
Operation “Inhalation”
Use peppermint and eucalyptus oils for inhalations, or try traditional folk remedies.
Homemade Inhaler
Take a narrow polyethylene bottle about 10 centimeters tall and poke a tiny hole for air. Chop an onion, place it in the bottle, and insert the neck into your mouth: inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose. Inhale for 15 minutes. Continue the treatment for at least a week.
Berries and Herbs
Three times a day, inhale a powdered mixture of dried herbs: 20 grams of coltsfoot and 10 grams each of rue and elderberry. At night, inhale the steam from a wormwood or sage decoction. Also inhale the hot steam from a decoction of raspberry or strawberry.
Essential Steam
Grate two tablespoons of garlic or onion, place it at the bottom of a glass, set the glass in a mug of hot water, and cover it with a funnel made of thick paper. Put the narrow end of the funnel to your nose and inhale for ten minutes, alternating nostrils. Repeat this procedure three times a day. Do not use this remedy if you have bronchial spasms.
Garlic Smoke
Separate a head of garlic, remove the core, and detach the dry stem. Hold the end of the stem near a flame for a few seconds, blow it out, and immediately inhale the smoke from the smoldering core.
Classic Potato
Inhale the hot steam from boiled potatoes and warm your face with a hot potato carefully to avoid burns. Quickly roll a hot potato in its skin over your forehead, nose, and ears, then cut it in half and apply one half to your forehead and the other to your nostrils. Use three potatoes throughout the day. After each procedure, place a wool wrap on your forehead.
Don’t neglect bed rest and get well soon!
