Best Home Remedies for Coughs and Colds
Coughing is perfectly normal and can happen a lot during the winter seasons. A cough is something that can help you clear your throat from phlegm and the other irritants. The sustained coughing can be symptomatic and can lead to number of conditions like viral infection, allergy, and bacterial infection and so on.
Sometimes, the cough has nothing to do with the lungs. Gastroesphageal reflux disease is sometimes the reason behind cough. There are a number of over the counter medicines that can help you treat colds, coughs, allergies and sinus infections. However, those who prefer to avoid the chemicals can look forward to the home remedies we have listed below-
Honey is the sweetest – It is an all time honoured remedy for the sore throat. As per one study, it has been observed that it relieves the cough more effectively than the medicines available for it. You can always create your own home remedy at home by mixing up of the 2 teaspoons of honey with the warm water and herbal tea and lemon. Honey is soothing whereas lemon juice will help you with the congestion. Also, you can eat the honey simply or spread it on the bread as a snack.Get ready for the best cough medicine.
Bromelain – It is not usually the cough remedy because most of the people have never heard of Bromelain. It is an enzyme that is found in the pineapple juice or the pineapple stem. It has been found out that this enzyme can suppress out the coughs as well as loosen the mucus in the throat. You can eat a slice of the pineapple or drink 3.5 ounces of the fresh pineapple juice three times a day. It has also been claimed that it helps in reliving the sinusitis and the allergy based sinus issues that can contribute to the coughs and the mucus. It is also sometimes used to treat inflammation and the swelling. Bromelain supplement is something that cannot be taken by children or the adults who want to take it as blood thinners. In case you are on anti-biotic then you should keep this in mind that you need to talk to your doctor before that.
Peppermint –The peppermint leaves are well known for their healing properties. Menthol in the peppermint soothes the throat and acts as a decongestant which helps in breaking down of the mucus. You can always benefit by drinking peppermint tea or by inhaling the peppermint vapors from the steam bath. To make it better, you can add three to four drops of the peppermint oil for the 150 milliliters of hot water and then drape a towel over your head. Take deep breaths directly above the water to have some relief from the cough and cold.
A gargle of water and salt -This is one of the simplest and the most effective remedies that can help you soothe your scratchy throat. You can mix ¼ to ½ ounces of warm water which can help you in reliving the irritation. The children under the age group of 6 years shouldn’t do this as they are not good in gargling. It is best to try out some other remedies at this age group.