A Cough-It-Up Guide
During a cold or other respiratory infection, mucous membranes don’t release as much liquid as they normally do. So the mucus that is there in the tract changes from its benign, watery consistency to the thick, gross, gummy stuff we call phlegm.
Any aid you use to help you cough up phlegm and get it out of your chest and your life is called by a fancy name: expectorant. Many people think that expectorants work by stimulating your cough reflex so you will cough more. That extra coughing, they believe, helps bring up the phlegm. But that is probably not how expectorants operate at all; instead, they do their job by attempting to thin out phlegm so it is easier to cough up.
Which expectorants work? That is hard question to answer, experts say. Expectorants are tough to test under rigorous scientific conditions because everybody’s phlegm is different and difficult to measure. Here is a rundown:
Extra fluids
From water to chicken soup, almost every expert we consulted said that extra fluids were the most effective expectorants to reach for, especially as a first line of defense. Extra fluids go into all compartments of the body, including your respiratory tract, where they help to liquefy hardened mucus so it is easier to cough up. How much extra fluid is enough? Six to eight ounce glasses a day, which includes your usual amount.
Chicken soup made volunteers’ noses run faster than did other hot or cold liquids. But the researchers didn’t attempt to measure the soup’s effect on phlegm deeper in the respiratory tract, the kind that needs to be coughed up.
And what about that oft-quoted piece of wisdom that says avoid drinking milk during a cold because it increases the amount of phlegm in your system? Not true, milk does not produce phlegm, infection does, why do so many people think milk is a phlegm producer? It may because milk is a coating liquid. It gives you the feeling of more phlegm in your throat but the milk is not really increasing the amount.
Over-the-counter drugs
What about cough medicines that combine expectorants with other cold remedies? Many doctors and pharmacists would probably be reluctant to recommend such combination drugs if all you need is an expectorant. But a lot of physicians would also agree that in some situations a cough. Suppressant/expectorant is justified.
Some people may have an incredibly sensitive cough reflex, which the suppressant could help tone down so they are not coughing all the time.
Then, if the expectorant is doing its job, you will only cough when there is something actually ready to be coughed up.
Other home remedies
Lozenges containing licorice, horehound or aromatic oils, such as peppermint or spearmint, are often linked with increased breakdown of phlegm, as they dissolve in your throat, they help liquefy mucus.
Hot & spicy foods the kind that makes your eyes water or your nose run, may also be modestly effective. They help mucous membranes all over, not just in your nose, to secrete more liquid, which can help thin mucus, so you might want to add foods containing hot peppers, curry and other hot and spicy flavorings to your menu when you have a cold.
- A Social Time Bomb 21/01/2012Sex lures fall into a number of categories. Knowledge of them is so basic to a child’s safety that they should be taught by every parent. Following each lure is the recommended preventive measure. Affection lure Most people think a molester is a sleazy character, a stranger sitting in his car near a school […]
- What Is The Art Of Conversation? 14/12/2011What has happened to the art of conversation? By conversation I do not mean merely word exchanges between individuals. I am thinking, rather, of one of the highest manifestations of human intelligence the ability to transform abstractions into language; the ability to convey images from one mind to another; the ability to build a mutual […]
- Women’s Contribution In Building Better Societies 03/12/2011It will not be wise to say that women do not have any contribution in country’s progression; there is no profession in which women has not actively made her mark. Whether it is journalism or film making, we have example of noble women taking pressures in proving themselves equally productive in comparison to men. Many […]
- Exercises To Bulid Up Your Mental Muscles 21/11/2011Use our memory every minute of the day for everything we do. We use it every time we speak a word, drive a car, brush our teeth or shop for groceries. Many of the everyday lapses we experience are more the fault of our poor memory techniques than of any physical problem with the brain. […]
- PMS – Premenstrual Syndrome 14/10/2011What is premenstrual syndrome? Premenstrual syndrome is the name given to a group of physical and emotional symptoms that some women experience on a regular basis in relation to menstruation. The symptoms occur monthly, generally within 7 to 14 days prior to menstruation. Symptom may seem to worsen as menstruation approaches and subside at the […]
- Child Abuse 21/08/2011Every child has the right to be love and care. There are many children who suffer child abuse. Here we will discuss four main types of child abuse such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Physical abuse: Physical abuse is an important type of child abuse. Child abuse consists of different physical […]
- Suicide is a Social Phenomenon 08/08/2011Napoleon, made a complete botch of suicide. When 3,000 French troops were slaughtered during the last engagement of the Peninsula War at Toulouse in 1814, the ill-fated emperor swallowed a vital of poison prepared two years before (he believed he had thought of everything). Unfortunately for him, it was stale and he was forced to […]
- The Meaningful Sounds 01/08/2011I recently met a mother whose three-years-old child sat amidst a rowdy group of children, yet was completely quiet. This appeared odd and when the other mothers inquired about the child’s unusual silence his mother has an interesting account to relate. She was a working mother and left her child at a day care centre […]
- Kids & Bikes: Are Cycling and Football the Most Dangerous Sports for Children? 24/07/2011It is a very tricky issue in order to spot out the most dangerous sport of the world. Dangerous sports refer to those sports in which a person participates just for the reason that danger is involved. Even the fact that these sports show large number of death figures does not prevent people from taking […]
- Sound Sleep For Everyone 09/07/2011It is a tragedy that so many of us unable to take a deep sound sleep. There is a reason for it, that their lifestyle becomes unhealthy. For example the people, who suffer from insomnia, have various health problems and ultimately have a bad, disturbed and scattering sleep. As a result this phenomenon makes the […]