Bronchitis 9 Tips to Stop the Cough
It all starts with a tickle. Like an invisible hand brushes a feather against the back of the throat. Then the rumblings start from deep within your chest cavity. Suddenly the volcano in your lungs erupts and you spend the next few minutes hackling up a mouthful of phlegm. The lava of your lungs that is.
You have bronchitis. Or bronchitis has you! In many ways bronchitis symptoms is a lot like a cold. It’s usually caused by a virus so “antibiotics” won’t do much good. Though sometimes bronchitis is caused by bacteria, that’s when antibiotics work.
Here are 9 tips to stop the cough from conquering your system.
STOP SMOKING! – if you are a smoker you have to quit and your chances of ridding yourself of bronchitis go up dramatically. 90% to 95% cases of chronic bronchitis is due directly to smoking. If you’ve been smoking for a long time, some of the damage to your lungs may be irreversible, but “the fewer years you’ve smoked, the more likely is that you will have a complete recovery”; according to pulmonologist and Boston University Professor Gordon L. Snider, M.D.
GET ACTIVE ABOUT PASSIVE SMOKING – Avoid those who smoke. Even if you don’t smoke, but if you are exposed to exhaled smoke, you are doing what’s called passive smoking, and can give you bronchitis.
KEEP THE FLUIDS FLOWING – Drinking fluids helps the mucus become more watery and easier to cough up. 4 to 6 glasses of fluid a day will do a good job of breaking it up. Warm liquids of just plain water is best. Avoid caffeine or alcoholic beverages as they are diuretics; they make you urinate more, and you actually lose more fluids than you gain.
BREATHE in WARM, MOIST AIR – they will also help vaporize the mucus. Mucus that are thick and difficult to cough will be loosened up by a vaporizer therefore it will be an easy secretion. You can also stand in your bathroom, close the door and then run your shower; breathing in the warm mist that steams up your bathroom.
DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL – Fill the sink with hot water, drape the towel over the sink and put it over your head creating a tent and then inhale the steam for 5 to 10 minutes every couple of hours.
DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM EXPECTORANTS – Surprisingly there is no scientific evidence that there is any medicine that works to dry up mucus, says Dr. Barbara Phillips, Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Drinking fluids of any type is still the best way to cough secretions.
LISTEN TO YOUR COUGH – Is it a Productive cough? (where you cough up sputum). In that case you don’t really want to suppress it completely because you won’t be coughing up the stuff your lungs want to rid themselves of. Endure the best you can.
TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME – If your cough is unproductive (not coughing anything up) – then it’s good to take a cough medicine designed to suppress a cough. Look for those containing the active ingredient dextromethorphan.
WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR
Bronchitis requires a Doctor when:Your cough is getting worse, not better after a week You have a fever or are coughing up blood You are older and get a hacking cough on top of another illness You are short of breath and have a very profuse cough
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Eat spice such as green chilies, hot chili peppers, or other spicy foods. They will help out loosen up the mucus, which is very effective on how to stop a cough.