Cough is the natural reflex action of a human being to clear the throat or breathing passage from obstructions by foreign particles. Whooping cough or pertussis can be identified by the whooping sound that accompanies cold cough. Whooping cough is caused due to bacterial infection or through transmission from the infected person.

The following are few symptoms of whooping cough:

1. Runny nose and frequent sneezing
2. Cough accompanied by a whooping sound
3. Frequent vomiting
4. Nasal congestion
5. Fever
6. Sore throat
7. Fatigue

Whooping cough must be cured since it can pose serious health hazards for both children and adults and at times can even turn out to be life threatening. Ayurveda can effectively heal whooping cough naturally. The 

Following are few simple steps offered by ayurveda for treating whooping cough:

1. Honey: this is the most common and effective remedy suggested for whooping cough. Take a tablespoon of honey and mix it in a glass of lukewarm water to experience fast relief.

2. Avoid smoking: smoking makes whooping cough worse. So you must take care to quit the habit of smoking.

3. Castor oil: castor oil is also a remedy for whooping cough offered by ayurveda.

4. Ginger juice: ginger juice is a very effective remedy for curing whooping cough. You may mix the juice with honey or herbal tea.

5. Aloe vera juice: aloe vera juice mixed with honey is considered to be a cure for whooping cough in ayurveda.

6. Cloves: sometimes cloves can also offer very fast relief from continuous coughing.

7. Tulsi leaves: tulsi leaves are also considered to be a very effective cure for whooping cough according to ayurveda.

8. Breathing exercises: practicing breathing exercises regularly can also give you relief from whooping cough.

Whooping cough generally persists for a week or two, but if severe it can continue to persist for even longer. You should not neglect whooping cough and must follow the above mentioned remedies right from the beginning to experience faster relief.

Ayurveda and Whooping Cough

Coughing during the night can really wreak havoc for your sleep and cause inexplicable discomfort in the throat and chest region. Thankfully, you can manage it by soothing your tickling throat as well as sensitive airways before you go to bed at night. 

Drink herbal tea: A mugful of non-caffeinated tea mixed with a teaspoon of honey before going to bed can help you to a considerable extent. This is because any warm liquid has the power to break down the formation of mucus in the throat region and with a bit of honey, the herbal tea becomes even more powerful.
Try to sleep in an inclining position: Gravity is your greatest enemy while combating night-time cough. When you lie down flat on your back at night, all the mucus and dust particles, which you have swallowed all through the day, would accumulate in the throat area and aggravate it making more cough. But you can easily defy gravitational force by piling up some pillows and prop yourself on them while sleeping. You may also keep a wooden block of 4 inches height under your head, which would keep the acids in the stomach so that they don t come up to irritate your throat.
Make sure you use the steam cautiously: When your airways are dry, it can make you cough harder. Therefore, you may find relief if you take a warm shower or a bath before going to bed. But you have to be sure that you don t have asthma as steam can prove harmful for you.
Check the level of humidity: Humidifiers are known to soothe the problem of persistent coughing when the surrounding air is dry. But too much of moisture during the night can also make you cough. This is because dust mites, mold and other allergens thrive well in the damp air and they could conspire to make your cough even worse. So, pick up a cheap hygrometer from a hardware store and see that the humidity level stays within 40 to 50 percent.
Equip yourself at night: Keep all the things from drops to water to cough syrup or anything that soothes coughing at your bedside so that you can help yourself in case you wake up in the middle of the night and start coughing.
By following these few tips every day, you can manage the night time cough and have a good night s sleep without any interruptions.

Night Time Cough - 5 Tips to Manage it

Chest congestion is a symptom of cough and cold and may also happen when you have other infections related to the nasal and bronchial tracts. It can erupt into potentially fatal diseases like pneumonia and bronchitis, if not treated on time. Mostly, patients should look at fixing the problem at home before it develops into a full-fledged infection or hazard. Here are a few home remedies for clearing chest congestion.

Gargling: a glass of moderately warm water with a teaspoon or two of salt should be used for gargling at least twice a day as this can help in flushing out the bacteria that are present in the throat. It can also clear the mucus from the airways and help in clearing the chest to a great extent. Take care not to drink the water. Tip your head back, gargle and then spit it out into the sink.

Steam sessions: whether it is a hot bath or a mug of your favourite piping hot beverage, there is nothing that a good steam session cannot fix. Take care to avoid exposure to a sudden dip in temperature after you step out of the bath or the shower stall, as this can worsen the situation and lead to a fever. Also, you can have mugs of green tea seasoned with peppercorns, ginger and basil. This concoction will gradually clear the chest and air passages. Taking steam with the addition of eucalyptus oil to steaming hot water, is also a good idea. Cover your head with a towel or a sheet as you inhale - and don't forget to be careful not to spill or tip the vessel.

Elevation: keeping your head in an elevated position as you lie down will help in keeping the air passages relatively free of mucus build up which can also eventually lead to chest congestion. Elevation can also help you sleep better.

Yoga: breathing exercises for at least ten to fifteen minutes can help in clearing all the passages starting from the nose to the chest.

Humidifier: using a humidifier when you sleep can lend some much needed moisture to the air, which can be particularly helpful if you have contracted the chest congestion during the cold and dry wintery months which can lead to heavy, hacking coughs. The use of a humidifier will help you in breathing better as you sleep. You can also add some nasal congestion medication to the slots so that it spreads in the air as you sleep.

For persistent problems and coughing that is accompanied by fever, you must see a doctor for more focused diagnosis and treatment.

Home Remedies for Chest Congestion

A cough is probably one of the most common respiratory diseases that people suffer from. In most cases, it is nothing to worry about and can be cured with cough suppressants and salt water gargles. However, coughing of blood is a serious problem. The coughing up of blood that originates from below the level of the larynx is known as hemoptysis. This can vary in terms of severity depending on the amount of blood being expelled. This disease is a common condition, but on an average, less than 5% of hemoptysis cases are life threatening.

Hemoptysis rarely affects children. The symptoms of this condition include:
Sudden onset of a cough with bloody phlegm

Fever
Anorexia and weight loss
Dyspnoea
Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
Fatigue
Chest pain: Medical attention should be sought in cases where this condition recurs often, if it lasts for longer than a fortnight or if the volume of blood expectorated is more than 30ml per day. The various tools that help in the diagnosis of this condition are:
Chest radiography: This imaging modality helps lateralize bleeding and understand the amount of lung involvement. It is quick, inexpensive and can also help detect other underlying abnormalities.
Bronchoscopy: This involves the insertions of a rigid or flexible endoscope into the bronchial passages to check the airways and determine active bleeding sites.
MDCT: A multidetector CT is a non-invasive imaging tool that provides a comprehensive evaluation of airways, lung parenchyma, and thoracic vessels. It can also be used to uncover potential causes of bleeding such as bronchiectasis, pulmonary infections and lung cancer. In some cases, a multidetector CT angiography may also be used.

Oral antibiotics are usually the first stage of treatment for this condition. Smokers will also be urged to quit cigarettes as this can worsen their condition. Treatment for minor hemoptysis may also include:

Oral hemostatics
Cough suppressants
Anticoagulants
Radiation of laser treatment
Therapeutic bronchoscopy
In its later stages, hemoptysis can be treated with a minimally invasive procedure known as endovascular embolization or with surgery. In some cases, endovascular embolization may also be sued to stabilise the patient before surgery. This procedure reduces the pressure in the hypertrophic arterial blood vessels and decreases the risk of perioperative bleeding.

Hemoptysis is also one of the most common complaints of lung cancer patients. Depending on the stage of cancer and the amount of blood expectorated, treatment in some cases may not be possible. In such cases, a parenteral opioid and fast-acting benzodiazepine may be administered. 

How to Treat Coughing Blood (Hemoptysis) Problem

One thing that a weather change brings about is lung infections - most commonly cough and cold. Most people dread the change of seasons from one temperature to another because of the fear of how their body will react to the weather change. Be it extreme hot or cold, most people end up with a cough and cold. The more affected age groups again are the children and the elderly. However, all it takes to prevent this is to plan a little so that the body can get used to the change and not react with a cough or cold.

Prevention: There are few things that can be done which can help avoid catching cold.
1. Avoid sudden exposure to cold, from a heated room to the cold outdoors, especially in the evening and morning. Those who are used to a morning and evening walk may have to change the routine.
2. Avoid cold food items such as cool drinks, milk shakes and ice-creams.
3. Having a warm bath, early morning and late evening is advisable.
4. Avoid foods such as sour stuffs, pickles and fried foods.
5. Eat small, frequent meals that are prepared fresh are nutritious and of moderate temperature.
6. If there are infected people in your neighborhood, avoid being in close contact with them as you might get infected as well.
7. Wash your hands enough to keep them free of germs
8. As much as cold weather does not make you thirsty, push enough fluids so that your body stays hydrated. If water is not appealing enough, drink warm water or tea or lime.
9. Ensure the house, especially kitchen and bathroom are clean and disinfected.
10. Avoid exposure to dust and pollen as they carry lot of germs.
11. Avoid staying in a poorly ventilated room, enough circulation ensures germs are not concentrated in one room
12. Timely vaccination against flu

Treatment: Despite these measures, once the cough and cold has set in, the following are some easy remedies:

1. Steam inhalation, preferably with eucalyptus oil added to it.
2. Having warm soup with ginger and garlic added to it to soothe the throat
3. Ginger and other spices like cardamom and cinnamon can also be added to tea.
4. Lemon and honey can be added to a glass of warm water. This will soothe the throat and help fight cold.
5. Chewing Tulsi leaves can be beneficial
6. Yoga exercises such as Pranayama and Jalneti can be done to cleanse the nasal cavity, prevent sinus congestion, and clear mucus

Cough and Cold Due to Weather Change - Prevention & Treatment Tips

Whooping Cough (another name for Pertussis) can be termed as an infection to the respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella Pertussis (B. pertussis). It generally affects infants (below one year of age) and who have not yet been immunized; also kids between 11 to 18 years of age whose immunity graphs are on a downward spiral.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?
Initially, whooping cough produces signs and symptoms that may just seem to overlap with those exhibited during the average cough and cold; mild coughing, sneezing, runny nose, low fever, etc. These persist for about a week or two and then slowly, there is the onset of the dry, irritating cough which again turns to prolonged coughing spells. The child s face may seem flushed with a purple hue. The child may also vomit or make the distinctive whooping sound at the end of one such spell. Breathing difficulty can be another issue.

What is the Diagnosis?
The doctor performs an initial check-up followed by tests of mucus sample from the nose or throat. The mucus is checked for the presence of the Bordetella pertussis bacteria. To make a more thorough diagnosis, a blood test is also advisable.

What is the Treatment?
Hospitalisation might be required in case of acute distress. Respiratory support may also be provided if required. If there is intense dehydration, intravenous (IV) fluids may also be administered. As this disease is on account of a bacterial infection, antibiotics will be needed. But these will just treat the immediate effects and the cough cannot be completely done away with.
What can be the Possible Complications?

The possible immediate complications include:

Brain Damage
Pneumonia
Convulsion
Haemorrhaging in the brain
What can be the Prevention?
Vaccination is needed in order to prevent whooping cough. The vaccines are advised to be administered at the age of two months, four months and six months respectively. The 1st booster dose is to be given at 16 to 18 months age and 2nd booster dose is given on 5 year completion of age. An optional booster may be given at 10 year age.

Whooping Cough in Kids - How It Can Be Treated?

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