Cough: How to Become Active Yourself

What to do about a cough? Medications such as cough suppressants or expectorants can help stop coughing. However, home remedies such as chest compresses or herbs as well as alternative treatments such as acupressure are also used against cough. Which remedies against cough there are, we present to you in the following.

Treat a cough – spare the respiratory tract

To stop coughing, you should first spare your airways:

  • Avoid anything that puts additional stress on the mucous membranes of your airways. Do not smoke, respectively avoid smoky rooms.
  • Drink plenty, preferably about three liters of water or tea daily. This makes the bronchial mucus more fluid and can be coughed up more easily.
  • Ensure a comfortable indoor climate: overheated and dry air is poison for your bronchial tubes – set up a humidifier is best, alternatively, you can hang up moist towels.

Herbs work from the inside and outside

With herbal teas you kill two birds with one stone – you ensure adequate hydration and use the healing power of herbs:

  • The irritation of the cough relieves a tea with mallow flowers or leaves or with ribwort herb. Also tea from nettle, licorice, ginger, fennel or aniseed have a soothing effect on cough.
  • To loosen the mucus, prepare an infusion of eucalyptus leaves, elderberries or thyme herb. Honey not only sweetens the tea, but also loosens mucus.

Medicinal herbs you can get loose or as a ready mix in the pharmacy. There you can also ask the exact preparation. Eucalyptus oil, by the way, you can also apply externally for rubs. Or you can take a warm bath with the essential oil, the vapors soothe your respiratory tract. However, a bath with eucalyptus is not suitable for children, as its vapors can cause respiratory distress.

Wraps help with cough

Throat and chest compresses have already relieved cough symptoms in the generation of our grandmothers. For acute coughs, you can apply throat compresses with boiled, still warm, mashed potatoes or try the variant with chopped, warmed onions. To do this, cover your neck with a thin inner cloth, then put potatoes or onions on a tea towel, for example, and carefully wrap the mass around your neck. Another cloth keeps everything in place. For chronic bronchitis, hot, moist chest compresses help; they loosen mucus.

Homeopathy and acupressure for coughs.

Many homeopathic remedies are recommended for cough, for example Bryonia alba (white fence beet) for gradually developing cough with stabbing chest pain, Cuprum metallicum (metallic copper) for prolonged cough attacks or Ipecacuanha (ipecac) for thick mucus that cannot be coughed up. Acupressure can also help with coughs. The relevant points Lung 7, 8 and 9 are located on the side of the wrist, just below the ball of the thumb. Press one or more of these points as hard as you can stand for one to two minutes. Repeat as needed after half an hour.

Medication for cough

There are several medicines for cough with different effects:

  • Cough suppressants (antitussives) relieve the discomfort of dry irritating cough and provide a quiet night. However, do not take them for a long period of time, as they prevent the mucus from being coughed up. Active ingredients include codeine, dextrometorphan or noscapine. There are also herbal preparations from, for example, coltsfoot, marshmallow, Icelandic moss or ribwort.
  • Expectorant drugs (mucolytics) ensure that the mucus can be coughed up more easily. Known active ingredients are, for example, acetylcysteine, bromhexine or carbocisteine. Those who prefer to choose a herbal remedy can take preparations with ivy, thyme, eucalyptus or myrtol.

If there is a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic.

Cough – when to see a doctor?

For the treatment of cough, it is important to know the (usually harmless) cause and treat the underlying disease. Usually, the symptoms disappear quickly if you actively support your body in healing. In the following cases, you should definitely consult a doctor if you have a cough:

  • If you do not know why you cough
  • If you cough for more than two weeks
  • If you cough up greenish or yellowish sputum or blood
  • if you also get a high fever
  • If you have severe breathing difficulties

How can you prevent a cough?

Many diseases – including cough – can be avoided if you keep your immune system fit and follow some simple rules:

  1. Make sure you eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.
  2. Drink two to three liters a day.
  3. Do not smoke, if possible.
  4. Strengthen your body with alternating showers or sauna sessions.
  5. Wash your hands frequently if you have had contact with people with colds.