Definition
Chest compresses are a well proven and old household remedy. They have been used as part of a gentle medicine for centuries. They serve as an alternative or supplement to conventional medicine.
All compresses are therefore based on a similar principle. First you take an inner cloth, which can contain various additives. An intermediate cloth is wrapped over it.
This stores the heat and covers the wrap. To fix the wrap you use another cloth, the outer cloth. The chest compress stimulates blood circulation and can be used for various diseases. It is particularly often used for the symptomatic treatment of bronchitis.
When do you do chest wraps?
Chest compresses can be used very well as an alternative to conventional medicine for harmless colds. They are particularly suitable for dry, irritable coughs or mucous bronchitis. They are also used for fever.
Even in cases of pneumonia, chest compresses can be used as a supplement to antibiotic therapy. These very often improve the well-being and alleviate the general feeling of illness. Relaxed positioning improves body perception.
This type of household remedy is usually used to treat body and soul in one. Chest compresses are old, well-known household remedies. The heat promotes blood circulation in the area of the chest.
Especially in cases of bronchitis, warm chest compresses are the therapy of choice. The vapours of their essential oils dissolve the mucus in the bronchial tubes. This makes it easier to cough up.
Therefore, a chest compress can also be used for dry, irritable coughs. Ultimately, the chest compress not only supports the mucus solution, but also ensures that the mucous membranes swell and you can breathe more freely again. The addition of medicinal herbs such as lavender or thyme has an additional relaxing effect and relieves the coughing irritation.
This is often perceived as particularly beneficial by patients. In addition to herbal additives with which the wraps are soaked, onions, potatoes, honey or curd can also be applied to the inner cloth of the chest wrap. These also lead to a significant improvement of the symptoms of colds.
Chest compresses are also suitable for treating fever. We particularly recommend moist and cold chest compresses. However, you have to consider a few points.
The cold compress must not be ice-cold, otherwise it would be too great a shock for the cardiovascular system. The affected person should also not freeze under any circumstances. It is important that the feet are kept warm and the fever should not be lowered by more than one degree. A regular temperature control is therefore recommended.
How do you do a chest compress?
Chest compresses are old home remedies. Like calf compresses, all compresses follow a similar structure. There are different wraps, cold or warm wraps.
In addition, you can choose between different additives. Potatoes, onions, honey or curd can also be applied to the inner cloth of the compress. If you want to apply a chest compress to relieve the symptoms of a cold in the case of bronchitis, you first soak a cloth with certain additives, usually essential oils, cold balsam or medicinal plants.
Eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and Rescue Spitz are suitable for this purpose. You can also dip this cloth in warm/hot water if you want to make a warm wrap. Afterwards you have to wring it out briefly.
Before you put it on your chest you should make sure that it is not too hot. You should not scald yourself under any circumstances. However, the cloth should be warm, because the heat promotes blood circulation.
Warm chest compresses are the therapy of choice, especially in cases of bronchitis. Then place the soaked cloth on the chest. If you want to apply other substances such as onions, potatoes or honey, you should apply them to this cloth.
Then you put an intermediate cloth on it. This has the task of covering the inner wrap and storing the heat. In the last step you wrap a third cloth completely around the chest.
The outer cloth wraps the wrap and fixes it. You can easily use a towel or bath towel, but in any case the outer towel should be thick enough that the wrap is dry on the outside. It is also recommended not to make more than two wraps per day.
The procedure is similar for a cold wrap, similarly the inner towel is washed with cold water. Again, one should make sure that the cloth is not ice-cold, this would be too much strain on the cardiovascular system. With a finished chest wrap you should then lie down in bed and rest for at least 15 minutes.
However, the wrap can also be left for 2 hours. After that, however, the compress should be removed. Breast wraps are well-proven home remedies that are often used as a supplement to conventional medicine.
For harmless colds, they can also be used as the sole therapy. Chest compresses are usually well tolerated and have no side effects if used correctly. However, they should not be used more than two to three times a day.
If the cold symptoms do not improve after several days of breast wraps, it is worth consulting a doctor. It is generally recommended to let the breast compress work for at least 15 minutes, or even better half an hour. The duration of application should not exceed two hours.
After this time the cold or warming effect of the compress will also decrease. The inner cloth has adapted to the body temperature. Therefore the wrap should be removed.
The following also applies: If you feel uncomfortable during the wrapping treatment and develop circulation problems or shivering, then the wrap should be removed. Chest compresses usually take effect within 15 minutes. The vapours of the essential oils have an expectorant and calming effect.
The warm inner cloth stimulates blood circulation. You can leave the breast compress for up to two hours. However, the first symptom relief will already appear after 15 minutes.
With breast wraps it is important to ensure that the inner cloth is at the right temperature. If the wraps are warm, the inner cloth must not be too hot, otherwise burns or scalds may occur. This also applies to cooked potatoes and heated curd cheese.
Even with cold wraps you can do something wrong with the temperature. Especially in case of fever it is important that the compress is not too cold. Otherwise this can put an enormous strain on the cardiovascular system.
Also, the wrap should never be laid directly on the skin in freezing cold, as there are also so-called “cold burns”. If the wrap is used correctly, it has no side effects. However, you should adhere to the maximum application time of two hours and do not apply the wrap more than two to three times a day.
You should not use a chest wrap with essential oils if you are allergic to them. You should also be cautious with wounds around the chest. If the cold does not improve with the chest compresses, and other symptoms such as high fever and massive mucous sputum occur, a visit to a doctor is strongly recommended. You can then discuss with your family doctor to what extent chest compresses are useful as a supplement to conventional medicine and can be continued.
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