Cough Relief: How to Lose a Bad Cough Stay Hydrated An upper respiratory tract infection like a cold or flu causes postnasal drip. Extra secretions trickle down the back of your throat, irritating it and sometimes causing a cough, Mosnaim says. Drinking fluids helps to thin out the mucus in postnasal drip, says Kenneth DeVault, MD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. Drinking liquids also helps to keep mucous membranes moist. This is particularly helpful in winter, when houses tend to be dry, another cause of cough, he says. 2. Try Lozenges and Hot Drinks Try a menthol cough drop, Yoder suggests. “It numbs the back of the throat, and that will tend to decrease the cough reflex.” Drinking warm tea with honey also can soothe the throat. There is some clinical evidence to support this strategy, Yoder says. 3. Take Steamy Showers, and Use a Humidifier A hot shower can help a cough by loosening secretions in the nose. Mosnaim says this steamy strategy can help ease coughs not only from colds, but also from allergies and asthma. Humidifiers may also help. In a dry home, nasal secretions (snot) can become dried out and uncomfortable, Mosnaim explains. Putting moisture back in the air can help your cough. But be careful not to overdo it. “The downside is, if you don’t clean it, (humidifiers) become reservoirs for pumping out fungus and mold into the air, and bacteria,” says Robert Naclerio, MD, chief of otolaryngology at the University of Chicago. 4. Remove Irritants From the Air Perfumes and scented bathroom sprays may seem benign. But for some people they can cause chronic sinus irritation, producing extra mucus that leads to chronic cough, says Alan Weiss, MD, a general internist at the Cleveland Clinic. Take control by avoiding such scented products. The worst irritant in the air is, of course, smoke. Almost all smokers eventually develop “smoker’s cough." Everyone around the smoker may suffer from some airway irritation. The best solution? Smokers need to stop smoking. (Yoder warns that severe chronic cough can be a sign of emphysema or lung cancer in smokers, so see a doctor if you’re a smoker with chronic cough.) Raw or Lightly Cooked Garlic It's rich in chemical compounds that help inhibit cough-causing viruses in the respiratory tract, says pediatrician Stuart Ditchek, MD. Garlic is a wonderful natural antibiotic that can assist in fighting off colds and common upper respiratory infections. "Extracts of aged garlic can be used as well," he says. Try to eat two to four garlic cloves daily, Dr. Ditchek says. Or use garlic supplements, following the directions on the label. But avoid garlic supplements for 7 to 10 days prior to any surgery. Using these supplements can increase the risk of bleeding, especially when used for long periods of time, he says. (Source: The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies) Horseradish If you can bear the heat, eat horseradish or other hot foods such as hot mustard or wasabi several time a day. It will liquefy phlegm and help to relieve a cough. (Source: The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods) Related: 25 Foods That Fight Cold & Flu Sage Sage is one of the very best sore throat and cough remedies. The leaves can be chewed and the juice swallowed to soothe a sore throat; swallowing the healing and anesthetic juice numbs the unpleasant soreness and helps speed healing. Sage-lemon tea is an excellent drink for treating colds and flu, especially if you add some thyme for extra antibacterial action. (Source: Grow It, Heal It: Natural and Effective Herbal Remedies from Your Garden or Windowsill) Grapefruit Tea In the early stages of a cold, try this recipe from Brian Berman, MD: Place a whole unpeeled grapefruit, sectioned into four pieces, in a pot and cover with water; heat to just under a boil. Stir and add 1 tablespoon of honey, then drink the liquid as you would a tea. "The simmering releases immune boosters from the grapefruit into the water—vitamin C and flavonoids hidden between the rind and the fruit," he says. "The concoction packs more punch than store-bought grapefruit juice, plus the warmth eases a sore throat. (Source: The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies) | Kitchen Cures for Winter Misery Coughs and colds can leave you feeling miserable—and so can the over-the-counter drugs being peddled to treat them. So the next time a bad cold or cough hits, put down the blister packs and bottles of colorful pills, and head to your kitchen instead. Healing foods full of anti-inflammatory compounds and natural antiviral compounds can work wonders without the side effects of drowsiness, jitteriness, and all-over funkiness. We dug into Rodale's library of books on natural remedies and came up with some of the easiest ways to keep a cold or cough from laying you up for days on end. Alternative Cold Remedies That Work Honey The World Health Organization has cited honey as a potential remedy for colds because it coats the throat and relieves irritation (which is what usually triggers a cough). It also has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, which help fight infections from viruses, bacteria, and fungi. (Source: The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods) Lemon Christopher Hobbs, a fourth-generation California herbalist and author of several books on herbal medicine, suggests a formula that is worth taking two or three times a day for a cough. Add 2 teaspoons of organic lemon rind, 1 teaspoon of sage, and ½ teaspoon of thyme to boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. Then add the juice of half a lemon and 1 tablespoon of honey. Remember to use organic lemon rind because the pesticides used on citrus fruits are extremely hard to wash off. (Source: The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods) 13 natural cold remedies: What works and what doesn't Ginger Tea Ginger acts as a potent natural anti-inflammatory herbal agent. Most people use ginger tea as a way to soothe their painful throats, although fresh ginger from the produce section of your local supermarket is also good. (Source: The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies) Black Pepper and Honey Place 1 teaspoon of McCormick Black Pepper in a teacup, fill with boiling water, cover with a saucer, and let steep for 15 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of SueBee Honey, and drink the peppery tea. The black pepper stimulates circulation and doubles as a decongestant. The mildly antibiotic honey soothes the throat and relieves coughing. Do not feed honey to infants younger than 1 year old. (Source:Joey Green's Magic Health Remedies: 1,363 Quick-and-Easy Cures Using Everyday Brand-Name Products) Related: Honey, Olive Oil, and Lemon Juice To make homemade cough syrup, mix 1 cup of SueBee Honey, ½ cup of Star Olive Oil, and 4 tablespoons of ReaLemon lemon juice in a saucepan and warm over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir vigorously for several minutes until the mixture attains the consistency of syrup. To relieve a cough, take 1 teaspoon of the formula every 2 hours. Store in an airtight container. Do not feed honey to infants younger than 1 year old. (Source: Joey Green's Magic Health Remedies: 1,363 Quick-and-Easy Cures Using Everyday Brand-Name Products) Chicken Soup Eating chicken soup helps you stay hydrated, improves your immunity, provides antioxidants that your body needs to help fight the virus, helps clear mucus from your system, and reduces inflammation. In a study by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, chicken soup reduced the movement of the neutrophils in blood, which they think lowers activity that causes inflammation and cold symptoms in the respiratory tract. (Source: The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods) |