A cough and cold are caused by infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, and exposure to dust. Ayurveda recommends not just medications to treat a cough and cold. It also insists on incorporating certain dietary and lifestyle changes for complete cure. A cough is a way that the human body uses to blow off foreign bodies from the respiratory airways. However, when someone coughs for long, it can lead to dizziness, hoarseness of voice, and wheezing. In case of a chronic cough, fatigue and aches in the joints are experienced.

In Ayurveda, cold is also known as Vata-Kaphaja Pratishaya. According to Ayurveda, Virudh ahar (incorrect combination of foods), Ama (toxins), and Asatmya (change in environment) lead to allergic reactions, and cold is one such example. Toxins may accumulate in the body of an individual due to impaired metabolism and digestion. On the other hand, intolerance towards specific food items may lead to an allergy.

Vamana Panchakarma, followed by Virechana can be administered for the treatment of a chronic cough and cold. This helps correct the balance between the three doshas and to eliminate toxins. In some individuals, nasal drops therapy or Nasya treatment can be administered to clear congestion. This is done by pouring herbal oils such as Shadbindu or Anu taila in the nostrils. Ayurvedic medications can also be administered to strengthen the immune system and the respiratory tract.

The following sections explain some of the other Ayurvedic remedies that a person can try out to relieve cough and cold.

Home remedies: Ayurveda points the kitchen to get relief from a cough and cold. Ingredients from the kitchen shelf can help a lot, along with medications. Ginger juice is an effective way to treat a cold and cough. This helps in ejecting mucus. To try out this remedy, an individual can prepare fresh ginger juice and add turmeric (one-fourth teaspoon), tulsi leaves juice and honey (half teaspoon each) and a pinch of black pepper powder to it. Mix everything together. If you want to use it multiple times, you can increase the quantities in the same ratio and refrigerate it. Consume one and a half teaspoon of the mixture at least three to four times a day to get relief from a cough. For children, give half the quantity thrice a day. This is an excellent remedy to relieve a cough and cold without leading to any side-effects.

Gargling also helps. Mix a spoon of salt to warm water. Gargle twice a day with this. Chewing cardamom buds and cloves also help in eliminating cough. You can also take four black raisins and add a pinch of rock salt and black pepper powder to them. Dry roast and take this three times a day. You need to eat this for at least for 15 days.

Otherwise, take a glass of water. Boil with licorice powder and black pepper powder (half teaspoon each). Grate fresh ginger and add one spoon of it to the mixture. Add 10 basil leaves, and make a decoction of everything. The water should turn half the quantity. Palm candy can be added to sweeten the decoction. Try this instead of coffee or tea in the morning and evening to relieve cold and cough.

Dietary changes: Take lots of fresh pulses with grains. Taking pulses with grains help in gaining all the goodness of the pulses. Green gram, yellow lentils, and red lentils can offer nutrients that are required and are easy to digest. Vegetables such as pumpkin, marrow, squashes, ivy gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, smooth gourd, onions, beetroot, celery, carrots, and parsnips can be consumed as well. However, consume cooked vegetables only. Grains such as rice, oats, and millets are good choices. You should refrain from taking wheat and processed flour. Almonds, apricots, figs, dates, and hazel nuts are beneficial. Limit your consumption of fish, chicken, and turkey. Red meat can be taken twice a week. Avoid dairy milk. You can take soy milk or oat milk as a replacement.

Lifestyle changes: Quit smoking. The health of the lungs can be damaged to the core with smoking and this can also lead to cancer. When you suffer from chronic cold and cough, immediately consult a doctor, if you smoke. Avoid exposure to pollens, dust, and pollutants. Use a mask while driving, and cover ears and nose exposed to cold.

Talk less: This gives enough rest to vocal cords. Taking warm water instead of plain water is a good option. Take tea made of herbs. Tulsi, mint leaves, and ginger can be added to the herbal tea. Do not mix milk with tea. Take a balanced diet and keep yourself away from processed and junk foods.

Chronic Cough And Cold - How Ayurveda Remedies Can Help? 

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

A cough is not necessarily to be worried about always. It is the natural response of our body to throw out harmful particles which somehow managed to enter our respiratory tract. There is sticky mucus situated in the pathway to lungs which plays a major role in trapping harmful particles. Coughing once or twice is generally a natural phenomenon but if it s persistent it is called the chronic cough, and there is a reason to worry.

Is your cough chronic?
An acute cough aggravates within a very short span of time, maybe 2-3 days. There are situations when coughing doesn t hinder your day to day activities and are easily neglected. Sometimes these infrequent bouts of a cough can persist for long and continue for more than 2 months, which has been characterized as a chronic cough.

A chronic cough is sometimes found associated with blocked or running nose. Persons suffering from a chronic cough feel very exhaustive and suffer from a headache, dizziness along with excessive sweating. Under such situations, you must consult a pulmonologist.

Know the causes of a chronic cough
There are several causes for persistent coughing, and the following are the common causes of a chronic cough and medication is taken in consultation with a trained medical practitioner only.

Infections: Bacterial or viral infection in lungs can be one of the causes of a chronic cough. Tuberculosis is one of them which initiates as a chronic cough and is later characterized by emitting blood after cough bouts.
Drug Interactions: Antihypertensive drugs have been found to be responsible for a chronic cough in some people. Hypersensitivity to the prescribed drugs is found to responsible for the cough bouts, and change in medication takes care of the issue.
Asthma: It s a situation characterized by blockages in the bronchi which disallows the normal air flow during inhalation and exhalation. Due to inadequate oxygen, brain assumes that there is a blockage which needs to be expelled and coughing pattern starts. However, asthma has to be treated, and the bronchi have to be brought back to normal with the help of medication by an expert medical practitioner.
COPD: The most common cause of a chronic cough nowadays is COPD, better known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This is one of the progressive diseases which means it deteriorates with time. Active smokers are the biggest victims of it. Persons exposed to high degree of pollution or similar occupational hazards are also at high risk. Exposure to these pollutants causes inflammatory responses in lungs resulting in the tapering of the airways and destruction of lung tissues. These can be measured by lung function tests. In asthma, the narrow airways can be broadened by external medication, but in case of COPD, it s not possible.
To conclude, chronic cough is a preventable disease by reducing the exposure to risk factors as mentioned above. Quitting smoking, improving the indoor air quality with the use of solar cooking and moving on battery run vehicles can prevent COPD from further worsening. You can also undergo pulmonary rehabilitation program which is being counseled and coordinated by many physicians to benefit the individual suffering from the issue.

Chronic Cough - Why It Happens?

Cough is also known as a sudden reflex in which you have to clear your throat and breathing passage from microbes, irritants, fluids and mucus. You can also call coughing as the rapid expulsion of air from your lungs. Coughing can be both deliberate and involuntary. There are two types of cough which can make you suffer dry or wet. Wet cough is caused due to cold, cold extremities or viral attack. Dry cough is caused due to exposure to pollutants, smoke, environment and also if you have allergy from dust. Cough problems have an effect at your lungs, respiratory tract and immunity system. Ayurvedic treatment is oldest holistic medicine treatment and was developed thousands of years ago in India. Ayurveda promotes good health and can be used effectively for both wet and dry cough.

Ayurvedic remedy for wet cough:
Symptoms for wet cough includes pain in your throat and chest, fatigue and irritability.
1. Using liquorice powder (3 tsp), black peppercorn (1 tsp) and sugary candy (2 tsp) can make an effective natural home remedy. Crush all three ingredients all to form a powder and you should eat half tea spoon of this mixture 4 times a day.
2. Crush a little ginger to make a paste and paste it on a sieve. Extract the ginger juice and add honey (1 tsp). Mix well and heat it till it becomes lukewarm. You should eat 1 tea spoon thrice a day.

Ayurvedic remedy for dry cough:
The causes for dry cough include pneumonia, sinus infections and viral infections in your respiratory tract. Symptoms are fatigue and weak immune system along with an itchy throat.
1. Using almonds, butter and sugar makes for an effective natural Ayurvedic home remedy. Make a paste with 7 almonds (soaked overnight) and add 2 tea spoons of butter and sugar each to the paste. You should mix well and eat it twice every day, at morning and evening.
2. You can also make a paste by mixing small quantity of basil leaves, ginger and honey. Mix well and have 1 tea spoon thrice a day.
3. Take a glass of warm water and add 1 tea spoon each of turmeric powder and carom powder. Mix it well and drink the mixture about two times a day. This is an effective remedy for dry cough.

Ayurvedic Remedies for Cough

Come winter or even a slight change of season, and it is easy to catch a cold. With cold, it is quite normal and natural to develop a deep chest cough. However, it is to be noted that chest cough develops due to different reasons. Some are due to chest infections, while others are dry cough. Thus, for these different variations of cough, different homeopathic treatments are administered. Here is a list of some of the common types of treatments for curing deep chest cough-

Pulsatilla: Pulsatilla is administered to those who have a sore throat, constant irritation in the eyes and fever. When fever is accompanied with cough and cold, it is important to treat all three symptoms, lest it might usher in a more serious disease. Homeopathy is often described as a holistic form of treatment. Through the medicines, the personality of the patient can be determined. For instance, Pulsatilla is administered on those who are soft, gentle, mild and timid and who have a fear of being abandoned and thus cling on to people.

Nux Vomica: Those experiencing high levels of stress and falling prey to cough and cold with a sore throat and sharp pain while swallowing should try a dose of Nux Vomica. This is used to cure cough and cold, which block the nose, especially at night, making it troublesome for the individual to breathe. This might also cause blockage in the ear and sharp pains while trying to swallow food.

Phosphorus: At times, one experiences an extreme bout of cough that is triggered through dry throat and coarse fever. This violent cough can be nerve wrecking at times and a relaxing remedy is preferred by the patient as soon as possible to soothe the irritation.

Bryonia: This is the best medicine to treat dry cough that can be a symptom of a slowly approaching influenza. Such coughs occurs when an individual takes a high intake of cold drinks or due to sudden weather changes. The cough is followed by fever and dryness of the throat. It might also itch to a certain extent.

Natrum Mur: It is the best treatment for a dry cough, which often causes a tingling sensation in the throat. This sensation creates irritation and often leads to sleepless nights for the patient. There is also presence of whitish mucus in such types of cough.

These are some of the most common types of homeopathic treatments for treating deep chest cough. Each cough is different in nature and origin, and hence should be treated differently as per the individual symptoms.  

How To Treat Deep Chest Cough With Homeopathy?

It is a known and proven fact that eating while consuming alcohol is necessary. One tends to grow hungrier, the more he or she drinks alcohol. This is because alcohol has the attribute to stimulate one s appetite in such a way that one would have you craving for food that is rich in salt and high in fibre. Consuming only alcohol ignoring the hunger would lead to several diseases like pancreatitis and issues with the liver.

Though the appetite of an individual during alcohol consumption tends to incline towards snacks like pizza, french fries, nuts and cheese cubes, it is wise to opt for healthier food choices. Salty food can worsen the dehydration effects of the body. And as the body tends to be dehydrated during drinking, it is better to avoid salty food. High-fibre food items are not good for the health either. It delays the digestion process, which is not a good sign for the body. Also, it is also not advisable to eat food in large portions before going to bed, especially after alcohol intake.

There is a variety of healthy food that one can eat along with alcohol

Soup: A clear soup, like chicken clear soup or vegetable clear soup, which has a broth-like texture, is a healthy choice. Creamy soup with cream of chicken or cream of mushroom should be avoided as it would make one heavy, thus delaying the digestion process.
Rice: Plain rice is said to be one of the best food that is easy to digest, paired up with a light vegetable dish. It is very nutritious as well.
Chicken sandwich: Grilled chicken sandwich without cheese and mayo is a healthy food tip as it contains sodium.
Popcorn: Popcorn does not contain fat, neither is it high-fibre. It is the best low-calorie food to go along with alcohol and it tastes really good too.
Wheat crackers: Wheat crackers contain whole grains. It is full of complex carbohydrates, which help the alcohol to absorb easily. It also consists of Vitamin B, which like potassium, gets reduced with the consumption of alcohol.
Banana: It is rich in potassium. Though an individual would never have a banana along with alcohol, it is healthy as the level of potassium should be taken care of while drinking alcohol.
Wheat bread: Wheat bread toast can be consumed with alcohol without butter or cheese. It is an alternative to wheat crackers for those who do not prefer it.
Oats: Cooked food is easy to digest with alcohol, so a pot of cooked oatmeal can be a healthy accompaniment. It can be spiced up a bit to add flavour.
Salad: Salad is refreshing and healthy at the same time. It can be bland, but it is better to have healthy salad as an accompaniment than having salty food with alcohol.
Milk cereal: Cereal, especially whole grain cooked with low-fat milk, is healthy.
By being aware of the right eatables, the ill effects of alcohol can be mitigated to a large extent.

Alcohol - 10 Healthy Foods that You Can Eat With It!

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