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A reflex action, coughing serves to clear the breathing passages of irritants and excess mucus . Dry or smoky air, vehicle exhaust fumes, chemical vapors, mucus from the nasal passages tricking down your throat, or an allergy or respiratory infection can provoke coughing . a cough may bring up mucus (phlegm) ,or it may be dry.

The most common cause of cough is an upper respiratory infection, such as a cold, the flu or bronchitis. The resulting inflammation produces irritation and swelling of the lining of the upper airways- and sometimes mucus, which you cough up as phlegm. A dry cough may caused by asthma, which narrows the bronchioles (small airways in the lungs), often as a result of an allergic reaction to a substance in the air, such as pollen or dust. Coughs are more common in winter and in areas with significant air pollution.

The most important way to reduce your risk of developing a cough is not to smoke. A void smoky atmospheres and insist on a smoke-free working environment. When possible, stay out of crowded public spaces during severe cold or flu outbreaks in your community.

You can also help prevent coughs by boosting your immune system. The means eating a healthy diet with plenty of foods rich in vitamin C (such as citrus fruits) , getting regular brisk exercise, and learning to manage stress. See also articles on STRESS.

• Coughing in babies and toddlers may be caused by bronchiolitis (a viral infection of small airways in the lung).
• Acute bronchitis (inflammation of the bronchi, the large airways in the lungs) results from a viral or bacterial infection. Viral bronchitis generally produces a mild cough, with minimal or clear phlegm. Bacterial bronchitis, which requires antibiotics, may cause a more severe or yellow phlegm.
• Chronic bronchitis, which involves a persistent phlegm-producing cough, is nearly always associated with smoking.
• Viral or bacterial infections of the lung , such as pneumonia or tuberculosis, may cause a painful , phlegm-producing cough.

If you are bringing up phlegm, don’t take over- the –counter cough medicines that are designed to suppressed coughs.

Also avoid decongestants, which are intended to dry up mucus. Instead, you may want to try an expectorant, a remedy that will help to loosen the phlegm. There are many natural types of expectorants available from health- food stores and pharmacies. If your coughs is dry, try home remedy to relieves irritation.

Lemon juice and honey blended with hot water is a tried –and –true cough remedy.

Fluids: For all types of coughs, drink of fluids- choose hot ones in particular. Fruit juice, warm water or herbal tea will not only quieten a dry cough but also help loosen any phlegm. Avoid drinks containing caffeine and alcohol, however, as these are diuretics- flushing fluid from the body via the urine- and fluid loss makes mucus harder to cough up. It’s also wise to eat a healthy diet. See articles on diet at alternative sections on health and condition on this site. With five servings a day of vegetables and fruits.

From the green grocer: Many vegetables form the basis of traditional cough remedies, such as juices, teas and poultices.

• Make a juice from carrots, which help shift phlegm, or from turnips, which boost immunity and have an antiseptic effect on respiratory system. T o draw out the juice from a turnip, slice and cover with sugar for few hours.
• Squeeze boiled leeks through a clean cloth to extract their juice. Drink the juice sweetened with honey according to taste.
• Slice a raw onion , drizzle honey over it and leave overnight. The next day , take two tea-spoon of the juices from the onion every two hours. Or substitute three or four cloves of finely sliced garlic for the onion, and take a teaspoon every two hours.
• Drink cabbage tea or apply a cabbage –leaf poultice to the chest.

A child with croup has a harsh, barking cough and difficulty breathing as a result of inflammation and congestion of the voice box and windpipe. Croup is often worse at night and is most prevalent in winter. Although distressing, this condition, caused by a viral or bacterial infection, is usually not dangerous. Steam is the beat home remedy. Create a steamy atmosphere by keeping a kettle of water safely boiling, running a hot shower or bath, or using an electric vaporizer. The homeopathic remedy Acinite may be effective. Belladonna can also be used for croup.

Seek emergency medical help if treatment is ineffective and the child is struggling to breathe and getting bluish around the lips.

The juices from carrots onions , leeks and garlic may reduce or stop coughing.

Certain herbs can help soothe inflamed breathing passages, break up mucus, counter infection or bolster immunity. Remedies containing Echinacea can bolster immunity, and those containing garlic help counter the viral infections that are the underlying cause of many coughs.

Asian exercise therapies can help overcome susceptibility to coughs. Consider learning yoga, tai chi or chi kung. With practice, all these gentle forms of exercise encourage proper breathing and improve posture. They also relax the muscle tension in the shoulders, chest and abdomen that in may cases accompanies aa cough, and they help you cope with stress. Try the chi kung exercise, known as supporting the sky, described below.

1. Stand relaxed , with your feet shoulder-width apart , kness slightly bent lightly and freely.

2. Hold your hands out in front of you, palms upward, as if you were holding a large , light object, such as ball.

3. While inhaling, slowly raise your arms above your head, palms upward. Stretch your arms and look up.

4. Exhale as you lower your arms out to your knees slightly .Repeat six times.

• For a cough that produces phlegm, drink hot teas made from a herb that helps liquefy and bring up the mucus, such as thyme, marshmallow or hyssop.
• For a dry cough, try a tea made from a soothing and antispasmodic herb, such as liquorice.
• Astragalus tablets or capsules and reishi mushrooms (available in dried form to be made up as a tea or used in cooking ) can alsoprovide relief from various types of coughs.

• Try steam inhalations scented with a few drops of eucalyptus oil and / or peppermint oil.
• Springkle a few drops of one of the above oils on a handkerchief and inhale the vapour.
• For cough caused by a cold or sore throat , soothe irritation at night by putting two drops of eucalyptus oil on a handkerchief under yopur pillow. Alternatively, put a few drops of the oil in a vaporizer.
• Add oils of cedarwood (three drops) , peppermint (two drops ) , and cajuput (one drop) to two teaspoon of unscented lotion and massage onto your throat and chest. Do not use cedarwood or cajuput oil if you are in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Try this herbs as a tea for your cough. Add a teaspoon of chopped liquorice root to boiling water . steep for 10 minutes, strain and add honey.

• A mild cough is no better after seven days or gets worse after three days.
• A dry cough lasts longer than a month.
• A chronic cough gets worse.
• Any change occurs in a smoker’s cough.
• Your cough is painful or produces green or yellow phlegm throughout the day.
• You have a fever.
• The cough develops after taking medication.

• You cough up blood
• You have chest pain.
• You become breathless.
• A baby has a cough.

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