What to do if you have a runny nose combined with a cough? Many people, in search of a suitable solution, turn to traditional medicine - someone prefers to use exclusively folk remedies, someone combines them with pharmacological drugs prescribed by a doctor. Is it possible to get rid of cough and nasal congestion at home? What to keep in mind when choosing home treatment? Relying on traditional medicine and self-prepared medicines, you need to find out the best folk recipes for coughs and runny nose, rules of application and precautions.
The effectiveness of the treatment
Cough and runny nose are symptoms that often occur at the same time, but their causes can be different. How to be treated at home and is it safe? To make sure that the decision is correct, you need to know what the disorder is about.
Most often, a person complains of nasal congestion and coughing with a cold, that is, an infectious inflammation of the respiratory tract, provoked by hypothermia. The common cold is often called various types of ARVI - acute respiratory viral infection (influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial infection, etc.), transmitted by airborne droplets.
At the same time, respiratory allergies (allergic rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis) can be mistaken for a cold or ARVI. This is because with nasal congestion and coughing of an allergic nature, an increase in body temperature to subfebrile numbers is sometimes recorded, which is mistakenly considered as a reliable sign of an infectious process.
Rapid treatment is not always possible, since inflammatory processes proceed sequentially, in stages, and recovery, even with active therapy, occurs only after a few days. The main goal is to relieve symptoms and prevent complications that can significantly lengthen the course of the disease.
When starting treatment at home, you need to clearly understand what is the reason for the appearance of a runny nose and cough. Many folk recipes that can relieve colds are contraindicated in case of allergies.
In addition, additional pharmacological drugs are often required, and refusal from them leads to an aggravation of the condition, the transition of inflammation to a chronic form. Therefore, it is important, even with home treatment, to see a doctor first.
It is also necessary to understand that some patients suffering from coughs and runny nose need to be treated in a hospital setting. It is required if the patient is in a serious condition: worried about severe weakness, high body temperature and chills, "chest", deep or, conversely, a tearful, dry and very painful cough, there is an admixture of pus, blood, necrotic elements in the sputum.
A coughing child with a stuffy nose needs to be shown to a specialist even with a relatively satisfactory condition - many pathological processes in children are faster and more severe than in adults. It is impossible to treat children according to traditional medicine prescriptions without a doctor's recommendation.
How to be treated at home
At home, a variety of folk remedies are used to relieve a cold and cough. They may include:
- medicinal herbs;
- vegetable and fruit juices;
- milk, honey.
Traditional medicines, like pharmacological drugs, are not always safe, which requires care. It is very important to make sure in advance that the patient is not allergic to any ingredients of the homemade product. If it is known that he suffers from allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, suffered episodes of urticaria, Quincke's edema, anaphylactic shock, home medicine is used only after discussion with a doctor.
It is necessary to prepare the medicine at home from fresh raw materials, all components must be safe in infectious terms (for example, milk should be boiled if it was purchased from hands and has not been pasteurized), wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly. Collect herbs away from industrial facilities, they should not grow in areas contaminated with waste, since harmful substances will enter the body along with the prepared product.
The use of home prescriptions should not imply the complete exclusion of those drugs recommended by the doctor. It is worth knowing in advance whether the pharmacological agents that the patient takes often or constantly are compatible with treatment at home. Only a specialist can answer this question.
Juices, decoctions and infusions for the treatment of cough and runny nose at home should be fresh. It is best to prepare the ingredients and make the medicine immediately before use, unless the prescription suggests otherwise. It is worth remembering that long-term storage of home remedies is not always possible, and many of them become useless and even dangerous after a few hours from the moment of preparation.
To cure a cough and a runny nose at home, you need to consume a sufficient amount of fluids (water, tea, compote). This will help to avoid drying out of the mucous membranes, to cope with fever, intoxication. If the patient drinks little water, it is more difficult for him to cough up phlegm, so the easiest way to get it out is to adjust the drinking regimen.
Cold recipes
To treat a runny nose at home with a cold, you need:
- To cleanse the nasal cavity from secretions.
A saline solution is used to rinse the nose - for example, isotonic sodium chloride solution at a concentration of 0.9%.
- Avoid irritating factors.
Do not breathe too hot air, lubricate the mucous membrane with onion or garlic juice. In the initial period of a cold, the patient is worried about dryness, then there is an increasing edema and profuse discharge. The use of aggressive treatments can provoke mucosal burns and deterioration.
- Monitor the microclimate indicators.
Adequate humidification and a comfortable room temperature are required. Regular ventilation is recommended, wet cleaning to eliminate dust. So the mucous membrane will not dry out, and recovery will come faster.
Folk remedies for the common cold are used mainly locally, for lubrication of the mucous membrane or for administration in the form of drops, rinsing the nose. What can be used to combat nasal congestion and discharge?
Carrot juice
Wash and peel a ripe vegetable, grate, squeeze out the juice. Strain with clean gauze. Use to lubricate the nasal mucosa several times throughout the day.
Onion inhalation
Select a fresh onion, peel, wash and chop finely. Place on a plate, close your eyes and breathe over it for a few minutes. In order not to provoke a burn, do not bend over the plate too low, take care of your eyes, do not touch your face, mucous membranes with your hands, if you have just cut an onion.
Kalanchoe
Mix Kalanchoe juice with water in a 1: 3 ratio. Inject 2 drops into each nostril in the morning and evening.
Indian bow
Take Indian onion juice, olive oil and boiled water, mix in equal proportions. Lubricate the nasal mucosa several times a day.
Cough recipes
With a cold cough, you must first decide what its nature is. A productive, that is, a wet cough, is accompanied by the separation of sputum, but an expectorant may be required to facilitate its excretion. Obsessive, unproductive coughing with pharyngitis with sputum thinning agents does not need to be treated.A very dry, painful cough, disturbing even after improvement in the condition, may be an indication for the appointment of antitussive drugs.
- Infusion of primrose.
Dry raw materials in the amount of 2 tablespoons, pour 300 ml of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Wait until it cools down, strain, take 100 ml three times a day - before meals. Honey can be added to improve flavor and potency, but not more than a teaspoon. This agent helps to remove phlegm and is positioned in folk medicine as an expectorant, but at the same time it also has a sedative, hypnotic, diuretic and laxative effect of moderate severity.
- Plantain.
Plantain is another plant used to make an expectorant. Take the leaves of the plantain, partially removing the cuttings, pour over with boiling water. Grind (you can use a meat grinder) to get juice, boil it for 1 to 5 minutes. Take 3 times a day for a tablespoon of the product.
- Milk, honey, butter.
Boil 1 cup milk or heat pasteurized milk. Cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. Add a teaspoon of butter and the same amount of honey. Drink in small sips before bed, go to bed. This remedy softens the cough, warms from the inside.
If you experience itching, difficulty breathing, swelling of the mucous membranes, you should immediately stop taking home remedies for a cold and cough and consult a doctor.
Such symptoms may indicate the development of an allergic reaction. There is a risk of a severe course, so stop using the medication, flush the mucous membrane (if the agent was used topically), contact a medical institution. You may need to take an antihistamine (Cetrin, Claritin).
