Cough ~ Halt the Hack Attacks

February 2, 2006

For Your Medicine Cabinet

Everyone coughs. Infants do it. Kids do it. The guy sitting in front of you

at the movies does it. With all of this coughing going on, it’s hardly

surprising that drugstore aisles almost overflow with cough medicines. We’ll do

anything; it seems, to rid ourselves of this all-to-common nuisance.

Nature’s Purge

As annoying and uncomfortable as coughs can be, we should be glad for them.

A strong cough is your body’s equivalent of a bouncer. It tosses out all the

potential troublemakers in the exclusive nightclub of your respiratory

system.

Take germs. The longer they stay in your upper airways, the more likely they

are to cause a lingering infection. Coughing is your body’s way to getting

rid of them before they settle in and leave you miserable with a cold or the

flu. Coughs also help eliminate irritating substances, such as smoke, pollen,

and clouds of cologne, from your lungs.

Axing the Hacking

Many coughs are now-and-then affairs. Something tickles your airways, you

cough, and that’s the end of it. With upper respiratory infections, however,

coughs really stick around, sometimes for a week or more—and all that hacking

hurts. Coughs can keep you up at night, and severe attacks have even left some

people with broken ribs. If your cough really hurts or is getting worse

instead of better after a week or so, check in with your health care provider.

You may have a hard hitting infection that won’t go away until you take

antibiotics. Coughing can even be a symptom of heart disease, so don’t wait too long

before looking into it.

In the meantime, of course, you're going to need some relief.

Over-the-counter cough suppressants aren't the best choice because they make it harder for

your body to expel whatever’s causing the trouble. What you want to do

instead is soothe the irritated tissues in your throat and airways until the cough

goes away naturally, plus boost your immune system so that any germs

disappear as quickly as possible. Here’s what may help.

Take thyme out.

This familiar kitchen spice is great for fighting off a nagging cough. It

inhibits bacteria and reduces cough-causing inflammation in your throat and

other tissues. Thyme is also an effective expectorant: It makes mucus thinner,

so you don’t have to cough as hard to get rid of it. You can make thyme tea by

seeping 1 teaspoon of dried herb in a cup of hot water. Or visit a health

food store, pick up a bottle of thyme tincture, and take 10 to 20 drops up to

four times daily.

put your feet up

Since most coughs are caused by upper respiratory infections, your first

approach should be to help your body heal. The best way to do this—one that most

of us, with our too-busy schedules, don’t do often enough—is to kick back

and take it easy until you're feeling better, says Pricilla Natanson, N. D., a

naturopathic physician in Plantation, Florida.

Watch some TV. Read a couple of novels. Shoot, take a day or two off from

work. The more you relax and take it easy, the more energy your body will have

to fight the infection and oust the germs.

Be a Water Lover

Your immune system doesn’t work very well when you're dehydrated. Drinking

lots of fluids not only helps keep your aggravated throat irrigated, it also

supports your immune system in its fight against cold or flu germs. Most

people need four to eight glasses of water a day; the exact amount depends on your

size and how active you are. But you really can't go wrong drinking more

rather than less. The best way to stay properly hydrated is to keep some H2O

nearby and sip it liberally as you go about your daily activities.

Take a Multi

Even if you get all of the essential nutrients in your diet, your body needs

extra vitamins and minerals when you're fighting an upper respiratory

infection. Taking a daily multivitamin is an easy way to ensure that you get all

the nutrients you need to heal quickly.

Drink Your Veggies.

Fresh vegetable juice is packed with nutrients that will feed your immune

system. The advantage of juices over solid foods when you're sick is that your

body is able to absorb the nutrients quickly an easily. Unpack that juicer

someone gave you for your birthday five years ago and crank it up. "Green leafy

vegetables are the best choice for juicing," says Dr. Natanson. Be sure to

use organic veggies so you don’t ingest any unwanted pesticides.

Avoid forbidden Fruit

While vegetable juices are great when you have a cold or the flu, fruit

juices can hurt more than they help. They’re loaded with sugar, and all that

sweetness is just what germs need to flourish. Also, the acids in citrus fruit

juices can aggravate your throat and make a cough worse. Stick with vegetable

juice until you're well again.

Get Extra Vitamin C.

This all-purpose nutrient is essential when you're sick because it

strengthens your immune system and can help reduce cold symptoms, including coughs, in

a hurry. Unless you have kidney or stomach problems, take 500 milligrams

every few hours until you're feeling better. If you start having diarrhea,

reduce the dose to a level you can tolerate. Okay, Okay—I can hear the claims of " self-medicating—has a fool for a doctor" theme. YOU are still the best

source for determining what works for you and how much you need. It may take you

a time or two to discover what is best but it’s called the PRACTICE and not

the ART of medicine. So there is a lot of assuming or guessing going on,

albeit, the best they can give in most cases.

A cup of Comfort

A good way to eliminate mucus—and the coughing that goes with it—is to

drink hyssop tea. A traditional herb for treating coughs, hyssop makes mucus

thinner and easier to cough up, says Pricilla Natanson, N.D. Buy dried hyssop at

a health food store, then add 1 teaspoon to a cup of freshly boiled water.

Steep for about 10 minutes, then strain out the herb, drink it through the

day.

Make Nice with Anise.

The herb anise, which has a pleasant licorice flavor and fragrance, is

another traditional cough remedy. You can buy anise tea bags at health food stores

or raid your spice cabinet and steep a teaspoon of anise in a cup of hot

water. It’s also fine to use a tincture. The recommended dose for quelling a

cough is about 20 drops up to four times daily.

Gulp Down Some Grindelia.

Despite the unappetizing name, this common herb, also know as gum weed, is a

top-flight cough remedy. "It’s great when you have a dry, raw kind of cough, " says Dr. Natanson. She advises taking about 20 drops daily of grindelia

tincture, available at health food stores.

Soften Up With Marshmallow.

When mixed with hot water, the herb marshmallow (which was used to make the

candy in the days before high-tech laboratories) forms a slippery liquid that

coats and moisturizes a dry, raspy throat. Slippery elm has similar effects.

You can buy both herbs in powdered form at most health food stores. Add a

tablespoon of either to a cup of hot water and sip it slowly several times a

day.

Look for Trouble.

A lot of coughs are caused by obvious things such as upper respiratory

infections, air pollution's, or secondhand smoke. But if you can't figure out what’ s making you cough, you're going to have to be a bit of a detective. "It can

be almost anything," says Dr. Natanson. "People can be sensitive to

certain plants, to solvents in cleaning supplies, to detergents, to perfumes, to

any number of things." The only way to find out for sure is to make notes about

what you’re doing and where you are when coughing fits strike. Sooner or

later, you’ll have a good idea of what’s causing the trouble, and you'll be able

to take steps to avoid it.

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.~ Albert Einstein ~

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Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.23/243 - Release 1/27/2006