Most heavy smokers regularly experience a severe, hacking cough. However, cough attacks are familiar not only to long-term tobacco connoisseurs. Even those who have recently become addicted to the addiction are well aware of this problem.
Before choosing the best remedies for a smoker's cough, we advise you to consider its causes and symptoms. Immediately, we note that such bronchospasm is quite difficult to confuse with any other. The attacks are always painful and suffocating. Most often, they occur immediately after waking up or smoking.
Causes and characteristic symptoms
To understand why a smoker's cough appears, let's look at the composition of tobacco smoke. According to experts, it includes up to 4 thousand different chemical compounds, 200 of which are real poisons.
Dangerous substances with inhaled smoke penetrate the bronchi and lungs. The airways are lined with ciliated epithelium, which constantly purifies the incoming air. If a person continues to smoke, gradually, with the accumulation of toxic compounds, the protective functions of the epithelium deteriorate. As a result, the body loses its natural protective barrier.
Because of this, the bronchial sacs are destroyed, which creates the preconditions for the occurrence of chronic non-infectious bronchitis, which is accompanied by a cough from smoking. There is an active production of mucus. It accumulates within the bronchi and begins to irritate their mucous membranes.
The ciliated epithelium is not able to quickly excrete phlegm. When a smoker tries to cough up mucus, he experiences unpleasant, choking coughing fits.
As noted above, a smoker's cough can hardly be confused with any other. At times, it intensifies, and sometimes it completely disappears. At the same time, coughing attacks are always debilitating and very severe. In some cases, coughing may be present constantly. The main signs of non-infectious chronic bronchitis are as follows:
- Difficulty breathing air during an attack.
- The cough usually appears in the morning and immediately after smoking.
- The sensitivity of the cough receptors increases. For this reason, a sharp breath can provoke a severe attack.
- Mucus is secreted in large quantities.
- Even minor physical activity can cause a smoker's cough.
- There is palpable shortness of breath.
- For experienced smokers, blood clots may be present in the sputum.
Drug therapy
What are the best expectorant smokers to use to reduce the severity of their attacks?
First of all, we advise you to pay attention to pharmaceuticals in a large assortment presented today in any pharmacy. Directions of treatment:
- If you are unable to cough up the phlegm, it is necessary to reduce the viscosity of the phlegm. Mucolytic drugs are perfect for this, for example, "Mukaltin". They contribute to the thinning and rapid discharge of mucus.
In especially severe cases, a pulmonologist can prescribe oxygen therapy, as well as prescribe glucocorticoids ("Betamethasone", "Cortisone", "Prednisolone" and some others).- Special preparations in the form of pills help to treat a cough caused by smoking well. They quickly reduce the intensity of attacks, make them less acute and frequent.
- Don't forget about another supportive agent - cough syrup. Every tobacco lover should always have "Doctor Mom" close at hand. You need to drink it no more than twice a day. In addition, pay attention to the new generation drugs "Eucabal" and "Gedelix" with a significantly expanded spectrum of action. They have expectorant and bactericidal properties, and can also be used to treat a cold cough.
- Treatment with medicines is not complete without bronchodilators. These drugs are available in the form of inhalation aerosols, tablets, and injection solutions. They have a positive effect on vascular smooth muscles and reduce the intensity of bronchospasm by expanding the bronchial lumen. We are talking about "Ventolinom", "Salbutomolom" and other means.
- After reducing the intensity of coughing attacks, you can start physiotherapy. Regular massages and warming up improve bronchial function. In addition, do not forget about baths and saunas, but only if you do not have the following pathologies: fragility of blood vessels, hypertension and other disruptions in the work of the heart system.
In especially severe cases, a pulmonologist can prescribe oxygen therapy, as well as prescribe glucocorticoids ("Betamethasone", "Cortisone", "Prednisolone" and some others).We are treated with folk methods
A smoker's cough is helped to calm the arsenal of traditional medicine. They cleanse the respiratory system and have a positive effect on the entire body. According to experts, herbal decoctions, infusions, and healthy natural products are considered the most effective.
Note the black radish juice mixed with honey. This medicine quickly and safely clears the airways of nicotine tar. The treatment course lasts 90 days. Take 1 kg of black radish and squeeze the juice out of it, mix it with 500 g of honey. Consume immediately before meals no more than 2 times a day, 35-40 g.
To strengthen the body's defenses and cleanse the respiratory system of toxins, try making a mixture based on:
- linden honey (1.5 kg);
- homemade aloe leaves (300 g);
- olive oil (200 ml);
- linden inflorescences (50 g);
- birch buds (50 g).
How to prepare such a remedy? It is necessary to melt the honey in a water bath, and then add finely chopped aloe leaves and other components to it. The course of treatment lasts no more than 30 days. The mixture should be taken 40 g no more than 5 times a day.
Infusions based on dandelion and thyme cleanse well the lungs and bronchi from toxic substances. Steam a teaspoon of thyme in 100 ml of boiling water. Then mix the infusion with 20 ml of dandelion juice (you can make it yourself or buy it at the pharmacy). This remedy is used slightly warmed up 2 times a day.
What cough suppressant for smokers shouldn't be prepared? It's about whey. Regular use of this product contributes to the liquefaction and rapid removal of phlegm from the body.
Useful Tips
If you want to consolidate the positive effect of fighting cough, we advise at least for a while to give up the addiction and minimize the number of cigarettes smoked every day. It is best to go outdoors in the morning.
After the frequency of attacks begins to decrease, get used to regular exercises and breathing exercises. Do not exhaust yourself with hours of races in the stadium. For a start, a couple of push-ups and a 100-meter run are quite enough. Thus, you can improve the supply of oxygen to the body, which is always lacking in smokers. Also, don't forget:
- alternate rest and work;
- do not overdo it with physical activity;
- walk more often;
- regularly walk on the street for at least 30 minutes;
- ventilate the rooms every day (at least 10 minutes);
- periodically perform wet cleaning at home;
- eat at the same time in sufficient quantity.
Remember that your health is in your hands. Naturally, giving up a bad habit is incredibly difficult, especially for people with a long history of smoking. But you can always keep the number of cigarettes smoked to a minimum. This will help at least ease coughing attacks and improve overall well-being.
