We have all had that sensation where our throats annoyed us and we wanted to make sure that we didn’t have some sort of cold or flu. In some cases, we may end up having what is called bronchitis.
It’s a lot better to deal with bronchitis in a natural way instead of a medicinal way, however. In this article, we’re going to take a look at what bronchitis is, why you should consider going natural when treating it, and what some of the most common natural treatments for the disease are. Let’s dig in and take a closer look.
What is Bronchitis?
In short, bronchitis is when your bronchial tubes swell, become inflamed, or become infected in some way. These tubes are located between your lungs and your nose. The issue with this is that it often makes it difficult for you to talk, breathe, and even eat, depending on the severity of your bronchitis.
Bronchitis can be caused by any number of things, including bacteria, viruses, and even just particles that get caught in there. If the bronchial tubes get annoyed in some way, it is called bronchitis.
Some people have bronchitis that is acute, that is, they have the symptoms of the disease for a short period of time, and then it goes away for good. Others deal with a disorder known as chronic bronchitis, which is where you get bronchitis on occasion, and it never truly goes away.
This is usually due to damage in the bronchial tubes, which can be caused by second hand smoke or any other number of issues that someone may grow up with.
Even though the most common symptom of bronchitis is a cough and sore throat, and mucus associated with both, there are other symptoms that happen with it at times as well. Fatigue, muscle pain, congestion, breathing problems, and runny/stuffy noses can also be associated with bronchitis.
Why Use Natural Remedies for Bronchitis?
So, now that we have an idea as to what bronchitis is, you’re probably wondering why an all-natural treatment plan is the best way to deal with it. The main reason that we find this so important is because it helps our bodies to stay healthy.
If we take medicines, we are putting foreign items into our body that shouldn’t be there, and frankly, some of them are not very safe to be taking if we take them too much. Others can end up becoming addicting.
Another reason we think that natural remedies should be used for bronchitis is because they just work a lot better than a lot of the over the counter remedies that are often recommended by doctors and other professionals.
They have a better track record and you end up with much better results in the long run. It can take a while to try and figure out what works, but that’s how it is with all treatment plans, so you have to be prepared to wait to feel better.
Lots of studies about natural remedies are out, and they show the same thing that we’re saying here. Lastly, natural remedies are incredibly easy and inexpensive. If you have ever looked at medication prices, you know how expensive that they can get.
By utilizing inexpensive, all natural alternatives, not only can you feel confident that you’re treating your body as it needs and deserves to be treated, but you can end up saving a lot of money in the long run as well.
Why should you go broke on medications when you have all natural remedies that can help you to feel great and heal from your bronchitis (or honestly, from any other disorder or disease that you may be up against at this point in time).
We love natural remedies, and that’s why we’ve put together this website – we want to make sure that you know how to find the best of the best with natural remedies and that you can feel healthy by using natural things that you can find at a health food store or in your grocery aisle.
Types of Natural Remedies for Bronchitis
Natural remedies for bronchitis are common and very helpful when it comes to fighting off the symptoms and helping you to heal. These run from foods, to techniques, to whatever else you can imagine that you can use in order to get healthy and stay healthy.
In this section, we’re going to explore some of the most common treatments that you may see when you’re looking at natural bronchitis treatments and how they can help you to feel your best, even if you aren’t necessarily feeling the best when you get started with all of the remedies that we have listed here.
Make Yourself Cough!
Trust it or not, coughing is quite good for you, especially if you’re fighting the mucus that comes as a regular part of the bronchitis process. It’s the body’s method for wiping out the disease that causes bronchitis.
In this way, rather than smothering your coughing with an over-the-counter suppressant, assist it by utilizing a warm or cool air humidifier to add dampness to the air.
Make sure that, if you do use a humidifier, that you follow the instructions that you are given when it comes to utilizing the humidifier properly. The increase in humidity will help the mucus to get out of the body much more quickly.
Don’t want to invest in a humidifier? There are other natural ways that you can work to get the mucus out of your throat and lungs as well.
You can turn on a hot shower with the bathroom door closed to help build up steam that you can breathe in, or you can put hot water on the stove and let it boil (the vapors will help to clear out your throat).
A tea pot will do the same thing as a pot in this instance, you just need that steam to come out and you need to breathe in as much of it as you can. The vapors are known for loosening up the mucus in the lungs, thus allowing you to cough more easily and get the mucus out of your body, which will in turn make it easier for your body to heal.
Another way that you can help get rid of the mucus and just cough it up is by adding essential oils to the water. The most helpful ones are peppermint and eucalyptus; both of these are used in many expectorates, so it’s no wonder that they’re useful.
Consider putting them in a hot tub or in your boiling hot water and breathing that in – that will help even more and you’ll feel a lot better when you’re done coughing everything up (and everyone around you will appreciate that you’ve finally gotten rid of all of the junk that’s currently in your body).
You can likewise utilize water for a steam treatment, if you want to take a bit of time to clear up your lungs. Fill the sink with high temp water, curve down to it, cover your head with a towel and take in the steam with full, deep breaths.
Make sure that you get that vapor deep into your respiratory system to get the best results for your efforts. Include a couple drops of eucalyptus, peppermint or rosemary oil, in the event that you have one of them.
These help clear and relieve the respiratory areas. Just relax, breathe in the vapors, and enjoy how it feels. It will help you to cough more, and it will help to make your throat feel better in general, which is vital when you’re fighting off the often painful bronchial infection that you’re dealing with.
Taking in additional fluids helps keep the sputum more liquid and subsequently less demanding to oust. It doesn’t generally make a difference what sort of fluid you drink, in spite of the fact that tea, soup and other warm fluids may feel superior to anything that is cold.
As a reward, warm liquids might likewise mitigate the soreness in the throat that may come about because of all that coughing. On top of that, warm liquids just taste good when you’re sick. You may want to think about adding honey in as well – it helps to fight the bacteria and it helps with the taste, as well as working to help soothe the pain in your throat.
Try Some Food Remedies
Many people don’t realize that food plays a significant role in helping our bodies to heal and many times, people don’t think to change their diets slightly when they’re either trying to prevent or trying to heal from a particular health problem that is short term.
Let’s take a look at some of the foods that you can eat in order to relieve the pain and the stress that often comes when you’re fighting off bronchitis and other similar diseases.
The first thing that we’re going to look at are almonds. These little cure-all nuts have heaps of vitamins and supplements, and they’re said to help everything from mental sharpness to sex. Rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium, almonds are particularly known for their recuperating forces when you’re looking at a respiratory ailment.
So when you’re down with bronchitis, eat them in any structure (aside from sugarcoated or chocolate-covered). Slice up a few almonds and include them in with your veggies or if you have a nice big salad.
They’re great in an orange salad for a bit included crunch or rubbed in a bit of honey, covered with cinnamon, and broiled in the broiler at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 25 minutes.
Almonds are known for a number of other health things as well, so it’s never a bad idea to have them in your diet. A handful a day can reduce your cholesterol and help you to feel a lot more energetic – so all the more reason that you should be eating them regularly anyway!
To calm the cough that originates from bronchitis, and to help reduce the pain that often comes with that constant coughing, cut an onion into a dish, then cover the onion with honey. Allow the honey and onion to stand overnight, then pull the onion out and throw it away.
Take 1 teaspoon of the nectar, about 4 times a day, to see the best results. Why use an onion with the honey? Because onions are expectorants and assist with the flowing of bodily fluid. You can likewise eat onions cooked, raw, heated up, in soups and stews, or as flavoring. Just get that onion into your system.
You can do a similar thing with garlic, which also has the added benefit of having additional vitamins that can help your body to recover when illness becomes a big problem for you.
Another thing that you may want to do is enjoy some tea, which we mentioned above, but we want to talk about again. Tea, as a hot drink, can help to free the respiratory arrangement of microbes and bodily fluid.
Lemon tea is one of the best types of tea to try, and even if you don’t like tea, you should consider using some lemon to loosen up the mucus and make it easier for you to breathe. Ever hear about people telling you to drink lemon and honey tea when you’re sick? That’s the main reason why.
Make some lemon tea by grinding 1 teaspoon lemon skin and adding it to 1 container bubbling water. Steep for 5 minutes. On the other hand, you can heat up a lemon wedge. Strain into a container and beverage.
For a sore throat that originates from hacking, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to 1 container warm water and rinse. This makes it much easier for your body to cough up fluids, while at the same time, soothing the throat and making it easier for you to talk, breathe, and take care of other things with your body.
Other Tips and Hints
You want to make sure that you get enough rest when you have bronchitis. Even though you may have just gotten over having a cold or flu, you want to make sure that you rest and sleep.
Just hang out around the house – your body will thank you, and all of the people that you won’t run into will be grateful that you decided to stay inside instead of infecting the rest of the world with whatever it is that you may have.
Take advantage of the break and just take some time to hang out and relax instead of exhausting yourself even more than you would have if you tried to run errands and do chores as you usually would do if you were feeling well.
Another thing you may want to try is gargling with salt water. Many people suggest this because of how soothing it can be for your sore throat. Even though there isn’t a lot of proof related to it helping in any other way, the soothing qualities are enough for you to at least try this.
Do it before bed to get the best results and to make sure that you get a good night’s sleep without a lot of pain and coughing. Relax, rest, and make sure that you feel comfortable when you sleep so that you get the best sleep, as we detailed above.
All in all, you just want to make sure that you take care of yourself. All natural care starts with self-care, and if you take the time to treat yourself and make sure that you are alright, then you’re ultimately going to feel a lot better and a lot healthier in the long run, no matter what sort of disease that your immune system is trying to fight off.
Conclusion
There are so many different things that you can try when it comes to ensuring that your treatment for your bronchitis is all natural and that it actually works as well. That being said, these natural remedies are just the beginning of what you’re going to discover – there are lots of different things that you can try out for yourself if you’re looking for natural remedies, and some of them may work better for you than others – you just have to experiment.
All that being said, we want you to make sure that, no matter what treatment you try, that you get it checked out with your doctor first. They can keep track of any issues that you may be dealing with and, on top of that, they can give you other recommendations as well.
Make an appointment and talk with a medical professional to make sure that you’re on the right track and so that you don’t have any complications with other medications and such that you may be taking at the same time. It’s all about safety and health, and your doctor can help with that.
