Suffering through a cough is quite an ordeal. It gets in the way of your communication. Sometimes, it comes with phlegm that’s very uncomfortable. Generally, it’s annoying. Most especially when it confines you to the house so you don’t end up passing it to others and taking medicine for cough.
But in a sense, being stuck at home due to cough is a good thing. Why? Because in this article, we’ll look at 5 home remedies that help ease cough. There’s no need to go to the doctor with these quick and easy solutions.
1. Water
You’ve always heard of water as a common method of dealing with sicknesses. It may sound cliché, but this cure actually holds…um…water. According to research, staying hydrated keeps your throat moist, which is important. A dry throat is more susceptible to cough.
2. Cough expectorants
When your cough is bad enough that it prevents you from resting properly or hurts your chest/throat, take expectorants like guaifenesin. It comes in liquid form. Rush allergist and immunologist Giselle Mosniam says that ingesting expectorants thins out the thick mucous lodged in the throat passages so that one can easily expel it when coughing.
3. Thyme
Research gathered in an article from Reader’s Digest shows that thyme leaves contain flavanoids that relax the tracheal and ileal muscles.
Since warm drinks are good remedies, you can make this into a hot tea to soothe your throat and arrest your cough. If you’re reading this and you have a coughing fit, maybe it’s “thyme” to drink some thyme.
4. Gargling with salt water
You’ve probably heard this remedy as often as you have water. This is usually associated in dealing with sore throat. But in a shocking twist, saltwater is also a viable home solution for cough!
Based on an excerpt by Dr. Philip T. Hagen in the Mayo Book Of Home Remedies, he says this about a saltwater solution,
“A saline solution can draw excess fluid from inflamed tissues in the throat, making them hurt less…gargling also loosens thick mucus, which can remove irritants like allergens, bacteria and fungi from the throat.”
5) A warm shower
Just like warm liquids, a hot shower will do wonders for your throat, as it moistens both passages in the nose and throat, allowing mucous and phlegm to loosen. This ultimately helps you spit it out.
Aside from that, taking a nice warm shower de-stresses you from the tension of a coughing fit.