Dry cough can be treated naturally but it is important to know and identify its origin in order to be able to prevent it properly.
Coughing is a natural reflex of the respiratory tract that arises as a result of an irritating process. In many ways, this reflex is beneficial as it helps expel secretions or foreign bodies. In other cases, however, a cough may be a sign of a more serious health problem (especially when the cough is excessive and accompanied by discharge).
Types of cough
There are two types of cough: dry cough and productive cough. A productive or wet cough is accompanied by discharge, which can be mucus (clear discharge produced by the body) or purulent (indicating an infectious process).
There is another possible qualification for cough: acute cough, subacute cough, and chronic cough.
- Acute cough usually starts suddenly and is so often due to a cold, flu, or sinusitis. It disappears within three weeks.
- Subacute cough lasts for three to eight weeks.
- Chronic cough lasts more than eight weeks.
What are the causes of dry cough?
- Recent upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold or the flu, can cause a dry cough. Other common causes can also be:
- The use of medications used to control blood pressure
- Allergic rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nose and sinuses)
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema or chronic bronchitis)
- For smoking
- Exposure to cigarette smoke
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
A good way to end a dry cough is to keep a hydrated and clean throat, gargle with warm salt water, for example, since salt helps fight the microorganisms that cause coughs.
How to treat a dry cough naturally
In addition, there are other tips that can help you relieve a dry cough, including:
- Consuming hot echinacea or ginger tea, 4 to 5 times a day can help relieve a dry cough, hot water helps hydrate the throat, while ginger or echinacea helps strengthen the immune system.
- Drink 2 glasses of orange juice with acerola daily, because vitamin C helps strengthen the immune system as well, so we can reduce the symptoms of a dry cough.
- With a saline solution you can make nebulization 2 to 3 times a day, to help release secretions that may be small, relieve cough;
- To facilitate the hydration of the throat and decrease the chances of a cough attack, another important tip is to add honey to hot tea or take a tablespoon of honey every day, it is an excellent natural moisturizer that reduces throat irritation.
- You can consult the home remedies for cough that will give you a more general aspect on how to relieve its symptoms in a natural and very fast way.
However, if the dry cough persists for more than a week, it is advisable to consult a doctor to diagnose the problem and start the treatment for dry cough that tries to find the root problem.