Cough Information

Cough is one of the ways by which the body drives out excess mucus from the lungs and throat. The air passage of our body is lined with cells secreting the mucus that traps dust. When the cell membrane gets infected or inflamed, there is an increase in the secretion of mucus, which leads to the blockage of the passage. This blockage causes coughing, as a reflex action to remove the excess mucus. Cough can generally be classified into two types - productive cough, which produces mucus from the lungs, and non productive cough, also known as dry cough that does not produce any mucus from the lungs. Affecting people of all age groups, coughing can be acute or chronic, depending on its duration. In the following lines, we have listed the causes and symptoms of cough.

Causes Of Cough

• Inflammation of larynx or pharynx
• Smoking
• Exposure to allergens, like dust, smoke, pollen grains and chemical fumes
• Asthma
• Weather changes
• Acute/ Chronic sinusitis
• Bronchitis
• Common cold
• Hay fever
• Influenza (flu)
• Laryngitis
• Lung cancer
• Medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
• Pleurisy
• Pneumonia
• Postnasal drip
• Respiratory syncytial virus (especially in young children)
• Respiratory tract infection
• Tuberculosis
• Whooping cough

Symptoms Of Cough

• Coughing up phlegm that is green, rusty brown or yellow in color, blood-stained or foul smelling
• Raised temperature
• Aching muscles
• Pain in the throat
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Lethargic feeling
• Chest pain
• Pain and swelling in the calf
• Recurrent night-time cough
• Whooping cough
• Worsening smoker's cough
• Sudden weight loss
• Fever and sweating
• Hoarse voice

Coughing is a means by which the body throws out or gets rid of substances that are irritating the air passages in their way. Cough can be classified into two types - productive cough, which produces phlegm from the lungs and the other is nonproductive cough, which is dry and doesn't produce any phlegm from the lungs. Cough can be acute lasting for a few days to chronic, lasting for a few weeks. It is not restricted to any particular age group and can affect everyone. Coughing is accompanied with a typical noise from the act of exhaling air suddenly in order to clear the phlegm or the blocking. Cough can be treated at home. Read onto know the how to treat cough using the natural ways.

Home Remedy For Cough

• An effective remedy for treating cough would to slightly cut a lemon and fill it with black pepper. Suck this as it would reduce the cough.
• One of the easiest methods would be to add a pinch of grounded white pepper in one tea spoon of pure honey. Intake this 2 to 3 times a day for about 4 to 5 days.
• Grapes tone up the lungs and act as expectorant. Increase in the consumption would be favorable in curing cough.
• Take 1-2 gm each of black pepper, long pepper, and dry ginger. Make a mixture of these ingredients and have it along with honey for 2-3 days.
• Increase in the consumption of garlic also acts beneficial in treating cough.
• Add ¼ teaspoon of red pepper, ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 table spoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 table spoon of honey in 2 tablespoon of normal water to make a paste. Make a paste of these ingredients and have it once a day for treating cough problem.
• Gargle with warm spinach juice. This is helpful in curing dry cough.
• For people suffering from dry cough, mix half spoon of Cuscus grass (khas khas) in 3-4 teaspoons of coconut milk. To enhance the efficacy, add one teaspoon of honey. Drink this before going to bed.
• Take 100 grams of raisins and grind it with some water. Add 100 grams of sugar and heat the mixture till it turns saucy. Intake about 20 grams of this every day before sleeping at night.
• Prepare a tea. Add aniseed and holy basil to it. Drink this tea at least twice a day to get relief from relief from cough.
• Soak almonds overnight. In the morning, remove their brown cover and make a paste adding 20gm of butter and sugar to it. Have this twice a day in the morning as well as in the evening.
• Another effective home remedy would be to chew 4 basil leaves and black pepper. It would provide instant relief and treat the cough quickly.
• Onions when mixed with honey also provide relief. Extract onion juice and mix it with honey. Consume this mixture 2-3 times' day. Another method would be to crush onions and add one lemon juice to it in a cup of boiling water. Pour in some honey and drink this mixture 2-3 times a day.
• Take 500 grams of water and Boil 10 grams of Sprague in it for 15 minutes. After it has cooled, add two pinches of salt. Gargle with this mixture two times a day. Apart from clearing excessive mucous, it would also soothe the throat.
• Boil a cup of water and put a 1 tsp of Marjoram in it. Leave this mixture for 10-15 minutes and then drink. Have this three to four times a day to get cured of cough.