Cough is one of the most prominent and frequent diseases suffered by human beings. It is not only an irritating state but also drains a lot of energy from your side. Not only for yourself, coughing can also be quite annoying, for your near ones. However, it cannot be suppressed as it will aggravate the condition even more. For this reason, one should try to get rid of cough as soon as possible. For this, you can employ a number of home remedies, which will be natural as well as beneficial for your system. For more on getting rid of coughing, read on.
Natural Cures for Cough
- Suck something soothing, which relaxes your throat.
- You can take white horehound, which is a bittersweet herb. It acts as an expectorant, triggers the cough reflex and helps to bring up phlegm. Try a horehound and aniseed cough mixture, which is easily available in drug stores or pharmacies.
- For dry cough, take slippery elm lozenges, made from the bark of the slippery elm tree. Slippery elm contains a gel - like substance that coats the throat and keeps coughing to a minimum.
- You can even prepare a dose of homemade syrups for the cough.
- For this, mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of honey and add a pinch of cayenne pepper. The honey coats the throat, soothing irritated tissues, while the lemon reduces inflammation and provides a dose of infection-fighting vitamin C. The cayenne pepper enhances circulation in the area, hastening the healing process. Instead of cayenne, you can also add a little freshly grated onion. Onions contain irritating compounds that trigger the cough reflex and bring up phlegm.
- Another remedy for relieving cough is to peel and chop 6 medium onions and mix them with 4 tablespoons of honey into a bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water (double boiler). Cover the pan and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the mixture and take 1 tablespoon every 2 or 3 hours.
- Mix a little blackcurrant cordial with a tot of port, as the alcohol is purely therapeutic to help you sleep.
- Treat yourself with a cough-calming tea. For instance, to make thyme tea, place 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon of dried thyme into a cup of hot water. Allow it to suffuse for 5 minutes and then strain out the herb. Add honey as per taste and drink.
- A cup of marshmallow tea can also prove to be quite helpful. When combined with water, marshmallow leaf yields mucilage that coats the throat and thins mucus in the lungs. For tea, put 2-3 grams of dried leaf in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes and strain before drinking. Drink about 3 cups a day.
- While coughing take a series of small, gentle coughs, finally ending with a large one. The tiny coughs move mucus towards the upper part of your air passage, facilitating you to expel more of it with a last, big cough.
- Use a chest percussion technique to help clear the chest congestion.
- For this, lie down on your stomach and ask someone to slap cupped hands rhythmically over your back, progressing from the lower back up towards your neck. Repeat the process until your congestion starts to loosen up.
- Keep the system hydrated by drinking some fluids every half hour.