How to treat a cold and cough at home. Cough and runny nose in a child - what to do, how to help him at home and not harm him, when it’s time to see a doctor

At the same time, we completely forget that our grandmothers, great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers also caught colds in those days when there were no traces of tablets, drops or new-fangled sprays. And nothing, somehow they were treated and, thank God, they recovered - otherwise you and I wouldn’t exist... So, maybe we should also look into our grandmother’s old “pharmacy” for lost health recipes?

When a cold begins, it is useful to rub the palms of your hands and soles of your feet with garlic, put on woolen socks and go to bed, keeping your hands under the covers all night.

You can rub your feet with castor oil at night and wear wool socks. To enhance the therapeutic effect, add turpentine (1 tablespoon) to heated castor oil (2 tablespoons) and rub the chest with this mixture before going to bed.

This original and, at first glance, rather funny advice will help you quickly get rid of unpleasant sensations in your throat: try... singing. At first it will be unusual and difficult, but after a while you will sing so much that you will forget about the pain. After several chants, the symptoms of the disease will completely disappear.

At the first signs of a cold, you should drink two cups of hot tea with raspberries, linden blossom and lemon or hot milk with honey and a small amount of soda, apply a pepper patch to your heels or put on socks with dry mustard, go to bed, cover yourself with a warm blanket and try to sleep . After a good night's sleep and profuse sweating, you'll feel much better by morning. Otherwise, the next day you need to move on to more intensive methods of treatment.

Burying

If you have a runny nose, do not rush to buy galazolin, naphthyzin, or sanorin at the pharmacy. It is much more effective to bury your nose with warm olive, peach, rosehip, sea buckthorn, menthol or sunflower oil, as well as an oil solution of vitamin A.

Every home probably has several heads of garlic. You can make garlic drops from it. To do this, you need to peel 3 cloves of garlic, chop them, pour 50 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 hours and drop them into your nose several times a day.

Onion juice is also suitable for this purpose. It can be obtained by grating the head of an onion on a fine grater and squeezing the onion pulp through cheesecloth. For 1 tbsp. A spoonful of water will only require one drop of onion juice. This mixture should be dropped into the nose every hour.

If you have honey, prepare honey drops. Dilute honey (preferably linden) with warm water in a ratio of 1:2 and place 5-8 drops in each nostril 3-4 times a day.

Rinse

If you experience a sore throat or sore throat, start gargling as soon as possible with herbal decoctions, especially sage and chamomile. These herbs are practically irreplaceable for their anti-inflammatory and softening effect on the nasopharyngeal mucosa. Tricolor violet has a similar effect. Herbal decoctions for gargling are prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon of herb per 1 glass of water. The herb is brewed with boiling water, infused for 15-20 minutes, and the solution for treating the throat is ready. During the day you need to gargle at least 4-5 times.

You can dilute 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons of honey in a glass of water at room temperature. Gargle with this solution 3 times a day. Before each rinse, prepare a fresh solution.

Black radish juice is good for the throat. A glass of juice should be diluted with half a glass of water and gargle as often as possible. For severe coughs, it is recommended to take freshly squeezed black radish juice orally. This is an excellent anti-inflammatory and expectorant. To prepare it, you need to mix 1 part of black radish juice with 2 parts of honey and take 1 tbsp. spoon 3-4 times a day. You can do without honey. Cut 6-8 black radish tubers into thin slices, sprinkle each slice thickly with sugar, and leave in the pan, covering it with a lid. After 10-12 hours, sweet juice is formed. Take it 1 tbsp. spoon every hour.

A very simple recipe - drink warmed beer at night. It’s not very tasty, but it’s useful: it heals the throat, softens coughs, eliminates sore throat and restores a hoarse voice.

When a sore throat begins, slowly chewing raw lemon, especially the zest, or gargling with lemon juice helps. After this, it is advisable not to eat anything for an hour. Repeat the procedure every 3 hours.

Inhalations

Typically, steam inhalations are done for respiratory diseases 2 times a day - morning and evening. The duration of any inhalation should not exceed 15 minutes, since longer procedures can increase dryness in the throat and cause irritation of the already inflamed mucous membrane of the nasopharynx. People suffering from hypertension should be treated with special caution when using inhalations.

Inhalations are carried out no earlier than half an hour after meals and physical work. During inhalation, you should not be distracted - read, talk. If the nasopharynx is predominantly affected, it is preferable to inhale through the nose, and exhale through the nose and mouth. If the bronchi are predominantly affected, inhale through the mouth and exhale through the mouth and nose. In any case, after inhaling, you need to hold your breath for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly. Breathing should be infrequent, of medium depth, so as not to cause coughing.

To carry out inhalations at home, you need to have a saucepan or kettle (sometimes a tin can) specially designed for this purpose, a red brick, a large thick towel with which you will cover yourself when inhaling the vapors, and the main active ingredient, which, when brewed, will exude healing properties. couples.

Another auxiliary device is a funnel made of thick paper, through which, in fact, the vapors will be inhaled. The funnel is either inserted with its narrow end into the spout of the kettle, or its wide end is used to cover a pan or jar (the diameter of the wide end of the funnel should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pan or jar neck).

Most often they breathe over potatoes. But there are many other much more effective inhalation formulations.

Here are some of them:

add 5-10 drops of iodine tincture or 1 teaspoon of onion juice to a kettle with boiling 4-5 glasses of water;

put 3 tbsp in the pan. spoons of pine buds, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, heat for 3-5 minutes over low heat, remove the broth from the heat and place the pan on a hot brick;

Place very heated stones on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle them every 2-3 minutes with a decoction of St. John's wort or oak bark;

half a hot brick is placed in a pan, finely chopped garlic is poured onto it, which soon begins to smoke;

Add 2-5 drops of eucalyptus, menthol (1-2% solution) or fir oil to a kettle with 250 ml of boiling water;

pour 250 ml of boiling water into a can and add a small amount of Vietnamese Golden Star balm.

Garlic inhalations are used to quickly eliminate cold symptoms. To do this, grate 3-8 cloves of garlic on a fine grater and quickly, so that the phytoncides contained in it do not evaporate, apply this pulp to a bandage measuring 10x40 cm. The bandage is immediately placed on the bottom of an empty teapot and covered with a lid. Place the spout of the teapot in your mouth, pinch your nostrils with your fingers and slowly inhale the garlic aroma for 8-10 minutes. Exhale through the nose so that the exhaled air does not enter the kettle. If you are persistent and do 5-6 such inhalations a day, not only the incipient runny nose and cough will recede, but also much more serious diseases - sore throat, bronchitis and even pneumonia.

Rubbing

They are used to artificially warm the skin, for which they smear it with some medicinal product and rub it evenly into the skin with their hands. After rubbing, the lubricated areas of the skin are wrapped in a warm scarf or scarf. Most often, vodka or alcohol is used for rubbing. But other means can also be used.

For example:

onion pulp is mixed in half with goose fat and rubbed on the chest for a strong cough;

2 tbsp. tablespoons of sunflower oil are mixed with 0.3 teaspoons of ground red or black pepper;

add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tbsp to 0.5 cups of radish juice. a spoonful of honey;

mix alcohol and castor oil in a ratio of 1:2;

melted pork fat is mixed with turpentine and the chest is rubbed dry with this mixture.

Sometimes, instead of rubbing, they draw a grid on the skin with iodine. To do this, dip a thin wooden stick in iodine tincture and draw parallel strips along the chest at a distance of 5-10 mm from each other: first horizontal and then vertical. The iodine mesh is also applied to washed and dried feet from the soles to the ankles. Usually this procedure is done at night.

In the initial stage of a cold, a mixture of essential oils should help: eucalyptus (11 drops), ravansara oil (11 drops) and cinnamon leaf oil (2 drops). This mixture is combined with 30 g of vegetable or almond oil, mixed well, then applied to the throat and upper chest and rubbed.

Put on old pajamas that you are not afraid of getting dirty, and repeat the treatment several times a day. Rub yourself one last time before going to bed. In the morning you will feel that the cold has subsided.

Compresses

The compress is used to quickly resolve local inflammatory processes. It is applied to the sore spot - throat, ear, chest, back, back of the head, soles, calves.

The compress should consist of 4 layers. The first layer is a piece of fabric folded into 2-3 layers and soaked in water at room temperature or vodka: it is strongly wrung out and applied to the body. The second layer is oilcloth, wax paper or cellophane. The third layer is cotton wool. The fourth layer is a cloth or bandage with which the wrap is made, and thus the compress is tightly, but not tightly (so as not to compress the blood vessels) fixed on the body. You can also tie a woolen scarf or scarf over this structure.

The size of the first layer should be slightly larger than the area of ​​the body to which the compress is applied. The size of each subsequent layer is 2-3 cm larger than the previous one. The duration of the compress is from 1 to 12 hours, depending on the age of the patient, the severity of the disease and the type of compress.

Traditional medicine has a rich selection of remedies that can be used to treat colds at home.

The fabric is soaked in sunflower oil and kept on the body for 4 hours.

At night, make a compress by mixing 50 ml of vinegar, 20 ml of camphor oil and 30 ml of vegetable oil.

Red pepper powder mixed with a slightly squeezed gruel of grated potatoes is applied to the neck, chest, calves, soles or behind the ears.

Horseradish gruel is placed in a thin layer on a cloth and applied to the back of the neck for 30 minutes for fever.

Crushed potatoes, boiled in their skins, are mixed with honey, vegetable oil, alcohol, mustard and applied to the back in the form of cakes.

The pumpkin pulp is grated on a coarse grater, mixed with warm milk and rye flour and applied in the form of cakes to the back, chest, and neck.

The throat is wrapped in fresh cabbage leaves and tied with a warm scarf on top. Leaves are changed every 2 hours. To enhance the healing effect, a fresh cabbage leaf can be ironed with a hot iron or steamed in hot milk and applied as a compress to the throat.

A mixture of honey, alcohol and sunflower oil (all in a tablespoon) is spread on paper and applied to the sore spot, a layer of mustard is spread on top of the paper and covered first with cellophane, then with cotton wool.

At high temperatures, grate 2 raw potatoes with skins on a coarse grater, add 1 tbsp. spoon of vinegar, wrap the resulting mass in a clean cloth or gauze and apply to your forehead - the heat will subside within an hour.

Baths

Baths with medicinal plants give noticeable results for colds, but we must remember that if you have a high temperature and feel unwell, you should not take a bath. The water temperature should be between 35-37 degrees, and the duration of the bath should not exceed 15 minutes. It is best to take baths at night or an hour before meals.

To prepare medicinal baths, it is recommended to add plants such as chamomile (flowers), pine (needles and shoots), oak, birch leaves, mint, oregano, wormwood, sage, valerian, and yarrow to the water. In this case, 300-400 g of raw material is poured into a bucket of boiling water, infused for an hour, filtered and poured into the bath. You can use 1-2 plants, but decoctions of 4-5 plants give a stronger healing effect.

Mustard baths promote rapid recovery from colds. They are prepared like this: dilute 250-400 g of mustard powder in warm water to the consistency of sour cream and grind until a pungent mustard smell appears. Pour the resulting slurry into the bath and shake it well in the water. The duration of such a bath is 5-6 minutes. After your bath, you should quickly wash yourself in the shower and go to bed, wrapped in a warm blanket.

Garlic baths are very useful. You need to crush 30 cloves of garlic, pour 10 liters of boiling water over them and leave to steep for 6-8 hours. Heat the resulting infusion again, without bringing it to a boil, pour it into the bath and add plain hot water to the required volume.

If you want to take a full garlic bath, then the ratio of garlic broth and water should be 1:6. If sitting, then 1:3. If you need to steam only legs or arms, then 1:7. Just keep in mind that hot and warm garlic baths have a stimulating effect, so be careful not to overdo it with the time you take them. It is better not to do this procedure at night.

Wraps

Hot chest wraps are performed for colds accompanied by cough, but only at low body temperature. This procedure is performed as follows. A bare-chested patient sits up in bed. Behind him lies a folded flannelette blanket, over which a sheet folded in four is thrown.

The one who performs the wrap, wearing thick rubber gloves on his hands, immerses a terry towel pre-rolled with a roller into water with a temperature of 65-67 degrees, then quickly and strongly wrings it out and places it on the patient’s back. A prepared blanket and sheet are immediately placed on top of the towel, and the patient, with his hands behind his head, lies on his back.

A woolen cap is placed on the patient's head to cover his ears, and he is wrapped in a cotton blanket on top. After 20 minutes, unwrapping takes place. A warm flannelette shirt with long sleeves is put on the body. The patient, wrapped in a dry, warm blanket, should remain under it for at least 2 hours. The hat does not come off.

There is a saying: “If you feel a cold, starve it to death.” If you feel unwell, you need to urgently change your diet. Try to give up dense, heavy foods for 1-2 days. Go on a cleansing diet. Eat mostly salads, vegetable soups and fruits. Drink more. Sudorific teas and freshly squeezed juices, especially pineapple, are very useful.

There are often cases when a runny nose is combined with a cough. In search of a suitable solution, many begin to use folk remedies for coughs and runny noses. Some people combine them with medications. Before choosing a treatment method, it is important to understand the cause of the pathological condition and consult a doctor who will explain the rules and precautions for treatment.

In most cases, a runny nose along with coughing are a manifestation of a viral infection, sometimes these are signs of a hypersensitivity reaction. It is important to take this into account before getting an answer to the question of how to treat a runny nose and cough. A cough often develops against the background when mucus flows down the back wall of the throat, it irritates it, causing inflammation and coughing. In addition to these manifestations, the disease may be accompanied by other symptoms:

  • congestion;
  • productive or non-productive cough of varying degrees of strength;
  • pain, sore throat;
  • general weakening of the body;
  • itching in the nasal cavity;
  • temperature rise to 37 - 38 degrees.

The listed signs, as a rule, indicate cold pathologies. The allergy is similar in symptoms, but there is no increase in temperature.
Treating rhinitis is easier than treating a cough. Sometimes, even after all symptoms have been cured, the cough persists for several more weeks. A persistent manifestation is a reason to visit a doctor and conduct a diagnosis for the presence of complications - bronchitis or pneumonia.
With a runny nose and cough, people begin to look for effective ways to eliminate unpleasant symptoms. There are a large number of special drugs, as well as traditional methods. Taken together, these methods will eliminate symptoms in the first days of the lesion. It is necessary to begin therapy immediately after identifying the causes, always using an integrated approach.

Self-treatment

If an illness accompanied by a disease is detected, it is important to immediately begin therapy. Thanks to this, recovery will occur within 5 days. If treatment is delayed, the disease is greatly delayed, and recovery will occur only after a few weeks.
If there are no serious health problems, and a cough and runny nose are clearly signs of a cold, then you can do without medications, observing the rules of hygiene and using traditional medicine methods.

In case of a protracted pathological process, when the patient complains of a lack of improvement, and the temperature steadily increases to 38 degrees in the evening, a visit to a specialist is required and he prescribes potent drugs in order to prevent dangerous complications and consequences.
So, the first steps on how to cure a cough and runny nose are to follow the basic rules:

  • daily wet cleaning of the room where the patient is located;
  • air humidification;
  • copious fluid intake;
  • drinking decoctions;
  • carrying out inhalations, gargling, ;
  • compresses.

Medicines

Treatment of rhinitis and cough involves the organization of symptomatic therapy. Therapy aimed at quickly curing a cough and runny nose includes local medications and medications for oral administration. Before taking any tablets or syrups for a runny nose or cough, you need to determine its nature - wet or dry.
With debilitating non-productive coughing, when sputum is difficult to separate, the use of mucolytics and expectorants is required. They can be taken in syrups, tablets, lozenges or solutions for inhalation procedures. The following drugs work well:

  • Doctor MOM lozenges or syrup;
  • Sinecode;
  • Ambroxol;
  • Bromhexine;
  • Lazolvan.

The listed medications usually contain synthetic, herbal components that help reduce the inflammatory process in the bronchi and make sputum less thick, thereby speeding up its discharge. The pathology can be cured in a course of 10 days, but it is adjusted individually by a doctor for a specific case of illness.
A productive cough usually indicates that the disease has entered the recovery stage. For therapy with wet coughing, the following are prescribed:

  • Gerbion;
  • Tusin;
  • Libexin;
  • Overslept.

It is advisable that each cough relief drug be prescribed by a doctor. The doctor selects effective therapy and gives recommendations on behavior to speed up recovery.
When treating a cough, one should not forget about rhinitis. A runny nose does not cause much concern, but it greatly worsens the patient’s quality of life, and if it develops over a long period of time, it can cause complications. Vasoconstrictor, antibacterial and antiviral drops and sprays are used for therapy:

  • Xylene;
  • Galazolin;
  • Vibrocil;
  • Sanorin;
  • Nazivin;
  • Otrivin.

Any product may be used for no longer than 7 days.

Also, rinsing the nasal cavity with the following means has a good effect:

  • Otrivin;
  • Aquamaris;
  • Salin;
  • Aqualor;
  • Dolphin.

Rinsing allows you to increase the effectiveness of other drugs, cleanses the nasal passages, relieves inflammation and moisturizes the mucous membrane. If rhinitis does not go away after 5 days, the risk of complications increases and antibacterial drugs are required. The selection of a specific medication is carried out by a specialist.

Treatment through traditional medicine

For the treatment of cough and runny nose, effective recipes are as follows:

  • Carrot juice. You need to wash and peel the carrots, grate them on a fine grater, and squeeze out the juice. It is filtered through gauze and lubricated the nasal mucosa several times a day.
  • . You need to take a fresh onion, peel, wash and finely chop. Then the chopped onion is laid out on a plate, over which it is recommended to breathe for a few minutes. There is no need to bend too low so as not to cause a burn to the mucous membranes of the eyes. After cutting the onion, wash your hands thoroughly.
  • – mix the plant juice with water in a ratio of 1 to 3, respectively. Place 2 drops into each nostril.

Folk remedies for colds, runny nose and cough are selected depending on the specific symptoms and causes of the lesion. When coughing, you first need to determine its nature. Wet ones can be treated with expectorants, but very dry ones with pain may require the use of antitussives.
Adults often wonder not only about their illness, but also wonder if a child has a cough from a runny nose, and how to treat it. To relieve this symptom, the following recipes will be effective:

  • Primrose infusion. Two tablespoons of dry leaves are poured into 300 ml of boiling water and left to steep for 20 minutes. Then the broth is cooled, drunk 3 times a day in an amount of 100 ml before meals. To improve the taste of the product, you can mix it with a teaspoon of honey. The medicine will allow you to remove phlegm faster and produces a moderate sedative, diuretic, and laxative effect.
  • Plantain - just from this plant alone you can prepare an excellent expectorant. To do this, the leaves are separated from the cuttings, doused with boiling water, then crushed to obtain juice. The juice is boiled for 1 - 5 minutes, taken 3 times a day, a tablespoon.
  • Milk with butter and honey. Boil 250 ml of milk and cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. A spoonful of butter and a spoonful of honey are added to it. You need to drink the product in small sips at night; it will quickly soften the cough and warm the body from the inside. This medicine is well accepted even by a child, provided there is no allergy to the components.


So, if you experience itching in the nasal cavity, rhinitis, throat, or cough, you need to consult a doctor to properly implement therapy and prevent dangerous complications. There is no need to delay it, thinking that everything will go away on its own. Sometimes the most dangerous diseases start out like a common cold, so it's better to play it safe and go to the hospital.

Is it possible to quickly cure a runny nose and cough? Quite! At the first symptoms of a cold - a slight runny nose and a beginning cough - it is important not to waste time. Folk remedies for the treatment of cough and runny nose make it possible to feel relief at the very beginning of the disease, without waiting for its development. And what’s especially nice is that such products are much cheaper than medications, and they have fewer side effects.

Before using one or another method of quickly getting rid of a runny nose and cough, remember whether you are allergic to the medicinal components. For example, a person with an allergy to honey should not use a honey-based product, and so on. Pay attention to the microclimate in the room: no means will help if the air in the room is too dry. To quickly cure a runny nose and cough, it is advisable to use a humidifier, as well as promptly ventilate the room where the patient is.

Quickly cure cough with folk remedies

What should you do for this?

1. Inhalations with potatoes. Boil potato peelings, add thyme and eucalyptus leaves, simmer over low heat for five minutes. Before the procedure itself, add one drop of fir oil. Lean over the container with the potato mixture and inhale the vapor for 5-10 minutes.

2. Place cupping. To get a more powerful effect, it is better to do a cupping massage. To do this, a jar is suctioned onto the back, lubricated with Vaseline, closer to the left shoulder and slowly snaked towards the lower back. Then sharply up and again slowly snaking down. First on the left side of the back, then on the right, 5 minutes on each side.

3. Take an infusion of lemon and garlic with beer. Grind a head of garlic, mince 2 lemons with peels but without seeds, mix everything with 1.5 cups of sugar and add 0.5 liters of beer. Place the mixture in a boiling water bath and keep it covered for 30 minutes. Then strain and take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.

4. Take plantain infusion. Pour a glass of boiling water over the crushed plantain leaves and cook in a water bath for 15 minutes. Strain the cooled broth and take 1 tablespoon 5-6 times a day.

5. Consume honey and butter internally. Take 100 g of honey and 100 g of fresh butter. Mix well. Take one teaspoon three times a day.

How to quickly cure a beginning cough

One of the most popular and very effective ways to combat cough is a compress of cabbage leaves. It is made like this: you need to take two leaves of cabbage and spread them with honey. Place them on the chest and on the back between the collarbones, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, and on top with a scarf to create a greenhouse effect. Leave the compress overnight. Cabbage combined with honey has a powerful healing effect on the body.

A very good remedy for a beginning cough is alcohol heating. To do this, you need to take a little castor oil, mix it with alcohol and rub it well into the skin, then wrap the area with a warm scarf or scarf.

A sweet compote made from raspberries and viburnum will help in the fight against the first signs of a cold. Mix 1 tablespoon of raw raspberries, grated with sugar, and 1 tablespoon of viburnum, also grated with sugar. Pour a glass of boiling water, let it brew for a few minutes, strain.

Raspberries are an excellent tonic and antipyretic, and viburnum is an antitussive. The proportion of berries and sugar in a medicinal drink should be 1:1.

Known to thousands of people, it will also help to soften a cough and quickly improve well-being with any cold.

If you experience a sore throat or sore throat, you should start gargling with herbal decoctions as soon as possible, especially decoctions of sage and chamomile. These herbs are famous for their anti-inflammatory and softening effects. Herbal decoctions for gargling are prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon of herb per 1 glass of water. Dry raw materials for their preparation can be purchased at any pharmacy. The herb is brewed with boiling water, infused for 15-20 minutes, and the solution for treating the throat is ready. During the day you need to gargle at least 4-5 times.

To quickly get rid of a cough, you can try another pleasant way - a medicinal drink made from milk with honey and cocoa butter. Milk with honey and butter should be drunk every day before bed, in an amount of 1 to 2 glasses. You need to heat the milk, dissolve a tablespoon of honey in it and add a little cocoa butter.

Folk remedies for quick treatment of a runny nose

1. Raspberry stems. Cut the tops of fresh raspberry stems (15-20 cm) lengthwise, pour in a liter of boiling water and simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat (until dark cherry color), leave for an hour and a half in a thermos. Drink a glass daily until the runny nose and nasal congestion are completely relieved.

2. Pine buds. Pour 50 gr. pine buds with cold water, cover with a lid, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain. Drink a decoction of pine buds for a severe runny nose 5-6 times a day with honey or jam.

3. Rinse your nose with a weak solution of baking soda 3-4 times a day (use with caution).

Those who want to quickly get rid of cough and runny nose need to remember:

Any treatment, including folk remedies, must be regular;

If you feel worse, you should consult a doctor;

If your body temperature is above 38 degrees, it is better not to self-medicate.

Please also keep in mind that a runny nose may be allergic and not a cold, then the above remedies will not help), and cough is one of the symptoms of acute pneumonia (pneumonia - a dangerous disease that can only be treated in a hospital). Before you start treating a runny nose and cough, be sure to determine the cause. A prolonged runny nose can be a symptom of sinusitis or a serious allergic reaction of the body.

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Respiratory diseases manifest themselves in the form of symptoms such as cough and runny nose. The body's protective reaction to the invasion of infection is manifested by the formation of mucus. It descends into the nasopharynx, irritating the mucous membrane of the posterior wall of the larynx, causing soreness and then coughing.

Causes of cough and runny nose in a baby

The main cause of the disease process is associated with a cold, but there are other factors that provoke such a reaction.

Doctors identify the following reasons:

  • Allergic reaction. Appears on dust, pollen, animal hair, and household chemicals. The child will have a cough and runny nose until the cause of this reaction is eliminated.
  • Dry air. Adults try to protect the baby as much as possible from drafts, so the room where the child spends a lot of time is usually “clogged.” The windows do not open, the heating devices turn on. The air in the room becomes dry. The humidity level is from 45 to 60%, and during the heating season it drops to 25%. To increase the level, you should ventilate the rooms, purchase an air humidifier, and do wet cleaning.
  • Foreign body in the nasal sinuses. During games, children take toys or their elements into their mouths. Small parts often get caught in the . After the foreign body is removed, the attack passes.
  • Physiological process. and a runny nose is considered a natural reaction - this is how the body cleanses itself of accumulated mucus. If the child is not mischievous, eats and sleeps well, there is no reason to worry.

Stages of inflammation development

If the virus has overcome the protective barrier, a cold develops. Doctors distinguish several stages of development:

  1. The mucous membrane takes on a reddish tint, and liquid mucus flows from the nasal passages. The nose itches and watery eyes often form.
  2. Duration - from several hours to two days. There is a soreness and burning sensation in the nose. The mucous membrane dries out and turns pale, the sense of smell is impaired, and breathing becomes difficult. Children's temperature rises slightly.
  3. It occurs on the 4th -5th day. Liquid snot turns into thick yellow-green mucus. Breathing through the nose is impossible.

A runny nose must be treated at the initial stage. Otherwise, it will cause complications in the form of inflammation of the larynx, soft palate, ligaments and appear dry. If a secondary infection is added, an inflammatory process will begin in the lungs and bronchi. The cough becomes harsh and exhausting. A slight runny nose in advanced form can cause pneumonia.

Treatment options for children

There are two ways to cure a runny nose and cough - with the help of traditional and traditional medicine. Complex treatment will help you quickly cope with unpleasant symptoms, stop the progression of the disease, and strengthen your immune system.

Traditional treatment

Unlike medications, folk remedies do not have side effects. At the first symptoms of ARVI, cough, runny nose, “grandmother’s” recipes will have a detrimental effect on viruses and help the body cope with the cold.

Contraindications:

  • elevated temperature;
  • allergies to drug components: honey, citrus fruits;
  • other diseases or complications, for example, bacterial pharyngitis.

Up to a year, folk remedies are allowed only after consulting a pediatrician. A nurse or doctor constantly monitors the baby's condition.

Treatment carried out in strict accordance with the doctor’s prescriptions.

If the temperature has risen to 38 0 C, it is necessary to normalize it. A clean cotton cloth is moistened in camphor alcohol and applied to the forehead (only after 9 months). Rub down with clean water. After one year, children are given warm tea with raspberries and currant leaves.

Warm, dry compresses on the neck can help cure a cough. A clean bandage can be soaked in a warm infusion of chamomile or eucalyptus.

A decoction of eucalyptus leaves is added to the bath when bathing the baby. The vapors of the medicinal plant will create an anti-inflammatory effect, disinfect the mucous membranes of the throat and nose and strengthen the immune system.

From 6 months it is allowed to use aloe juice diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 4. Gently lubricate the baby’s neck and cheeks with the solution. Irrigation and steam inhalations are not allowed at this age.

After a year, children are given warm drinks with honey, herbal teas with chamomile and sage for coughs and runny noses. Gargle with a solution of sea salt and beet juice (raw or boiled).

Thanks to the warming effect of heat compresses, blood circulation improves and inflammation resolves.

For babies, use clean warm water or chamomile decoction. The moistened cloth is placed on the upper part of the sternum, covered with polyethylene and covered with a woolen scarf or terry towel. The procedure is performed for 5 days at night.

Older children are given milk or herbal decoctions with honey.

Treatment of dry cough in a child with goat fat has a beneficial effect. It is used for rubbing. The fat is slightly warmed and rubbed into the chest, back and feet.

The product contains B vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, so it will not only be useful for colds, but will also help saturate the body with useful substances and increase immunity.

Older children are given warm milk with honey and goat fat: 5-7 grams for 1 glass. fat and bee product.

If the child has a cough, he is given a warm drink. Decoctions with licorice, raspberries, and currants have an expectorant effect and help remove phlegm. Warming the paranasal sinuses with warm salt, millet or sand wrapped in a linen bag will relieve inflammation, reduce swelling and quickly relieve a runny nose.

You can treat a child’s cough and runny nose with vegetable juices. They have an antiseptic effect and are used for any pathology.

Conservative therapy is not compatible with some folk remedies.

Traditional medicine

Treatment of runny nose and cough in children with medications takes place only under the supervision of the attending physician.

To drain mucus, medications based on sodium chloride solution are prescribed: Otrivin Baby, Salin. There are no restrictions on their use. Place 1-2 drops into each nasal passage. For children under one year old, mucus is removed using an aspirator.

If a runny nose does not go away for more than 3-5 days, the doctor prescribes nasal drops of herbal origin: “Pinosol”, “Vibrocil”. Children receive 2 drops 3 times a day. The course of treatment is 5 days.

Pinosol is produced in the form of ointment and cream. Children over two years of age are allowed to use.

The medicine contains chamomile, eucalyptus, and peppermint oils. The drug has anti-inflammatory, antiallergic effects. The ointment can be used as a prophylactic agent.

Preventive actions

A cough and runny nose in a child are the most common symptoms of a cold. Under no circumstances should the disease be neglected, as this is fraught with serious complications. Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat.

Preventive measures come down to procedures that strengthen the immune system and make the body healthier:

  1. wash your hands more often - viruses settle on your hands and remain viable for a long time. With weakened immunity, they easily enter the respiratory tract;
  2. do not allow the child to communicate with the sick;
  3. regularly do wet cleaning and ventilate the room, if necessary, use air humidifiers. Normal humidity level is 40 – 60%;
  4. Give your child vitamin teas with mint, currant leaves, raspberries, and honey. Include green and red foods in your diet - they are rich in vitamin C;
  5. eliminate allergens - remove flowers, carpets;
  6. walk more in the fresh air;
  7. perform hardening procedures;
  8. maintain a routine - a daily routine when routine moments occur at the same time, proper distribution of sleep and active activities will help the body activate its strength and cope with infection;
  9. dress the child according to the weather. The main cause of a cold is hypothermia, but you should not overdo it and wrap your baby up.

Traditional medicine advises taking immunostimulating drugs as a preventative measure. The course is up to 8 weeks. Prem medications – 10 days, break – 20 days.

What to do if you have a runny nose combined with a cough? Many people, in search of a suitable solution, turn to traditional medicine - some prefer to use exclusively folk remedies, others combine them with pharmacological drugs prescribed by a doctor. Is it possible to get rid of cough and nasal congestion at home? What should you keep in mind when choosing home treatment? Relying on traditional medicine and home-prepared medicines, you need to learn the best folk recipes for coughs and runny noses, rules of use and precautions.

Treatment effectiveness

Cough and runny nose are symptoms that often occur at the same time, but the reasons for their occurrence can be different. How to treat at home and is it safe? To make sure the decision is correct, you need to know what causes the condition violation.

Most often, a person complains of nasal congestion and cough during a cold, that is, an infectious inflammation of the respiratory tract caused by hypothermia. Colds are often called various types of ARVI - acute respiratory viral infections (influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial infection, etc.) transmitted by airborne droplets.

At the same time, respiratory allergosis (allergic rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis) can be mistaken for a cold or ARVI. This happens because with nasal congestion and cough of an allergic nature, an increase in body temperature to subfebrile levels is sometimes recorded, which is mistakenly considered as a reliable sign of an infectious process.

Quick treatment is not always possible, since inflammatory processes occur sequentially, in stages, and recovery, even with active therapy, occurs only after a few days. The main goal is to relieve symptoms and prevent complications, which can significantly prolong the course of the disease.

When starting treatment at home, you need to clearly understand what the cause of a runny nose and cough is. Many folk recipes that can relieve colds are contraindicated in case of allergies.

In addition, additional pharmacological drugs are often required, and refusal of them leads to a worsening of the condition, the transition of inflammation to a chronic form. Therefore, it is important, even with home treatment, to first consult a doctor.

It is also necessary to understand that some patients suffering from cough and runny nose require treatment in a hospital setting. It is required if the patient is in serious condition: severe weakness, high body temperature and chills, a “chest”, deep or, conversely, hysterical, dry and very painful cough, the sputum contains an admixture of pus, blood, and necrotic elements.

A coughing child with a stuffy nose should be shown to a specialist, even if his condition is relatively satisfactory - many pathological processes in children occur faster and more severely than in adults. It is impossible to treat children using traditional medicine recipes without a doctor’s recommendation.

How to treat yourself at home

For home treatment, a variety of folk remedies are used to get rid of a runny nose and cough. They may include:

  • medicinal herbs;
  • vegetable and fruit juices;
  • milk, honey

Traditional medicines, like pharmacological drugs, are not always safe, which requires care. It is very important to make sure in advance that the patient is not allergic to any components of the product prepared at home. If it is known that he suffers from allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, has suffered episodes of urticaria, Quincke's edema, anaphylactic shock, home medicine is used only after discussion with the doctor.

It is necessary to prepare the medicine at home from fresh raw materials, all components must be safe from an infectious point of view (for example, milk should be boiled if it is purchased by hand and has not been pasteurized), vegetables and fruits must be washed thoroughly. Herbs should be collected away from industrial facilities; they should not grow in areas contaminated with waste, since harmful substances will enter the body along with the prepared product.

The use of home recipes should not imply the complete exclusion of those drugs recommended by the doctor. It is worth finding out in advance whether pharmacological agents that the patient takes frequently or constantly are compatible with treatment at home. Only a specialist can answer this question.

Juices, decoctions and infusions for treating coughs and runny noses at home should be fresh. It is best to prepare the ingredients and make the medicine immediately before use, unless the recipe specifies otherwise. It is worth remembering that long-term storage of home remedies is not always possible, and many of them become useless and even dangerous after just a few hours from the moment of preparation.

To cure a cough and runny nose at home, you need to drink enough liquid (water, tea, compote). This will help avoid drying out of the mucous membranes, cope with fever, and intoxication. If a patient drinks little water, it is more difficult for him to cough up mucus, so the easiest way to get it out is to adjust the drinking regime.

Recipes for a runny nose

To treat a runny nose during a cold at home, you need:

  1. Clear the nasal cavity of secretions.

To rinse the nose, use a saline solution - for example, an isotonic sodium chloride solution at a concentration of 0.9%.

  1. Avoid irritating factors.

Do not breathe too hot air, lubricate the mucous membrane with onion or garlic juice. In the initial stage of a cold, the patient is bothered by dryness, then increasing swelling and copious discharge appear. The use of aggressive treatments can cause burns to the mucous membrane and worsen the condition.

  1. Monitor microclimate indicators.

Sufficient humidification and comfortable indoor air temperature are needed. Regular ventilation and wet cleaning to remove dust are recommended. This way the mucous membrane will not dry out, and recovery will come faster.

Folk remedies for the common cold are used mainly topically, for lubricating the mucous membrane or administering in the form of drops, rinsing the nose. What can you use to help relieve nasal congestion and discharge?

Carrot juice

Wash and peel the ripe vegetable, grate it and squeeze out the juice. Strain using clean gauze. Use to lubricate the nasal mucosa several times throughout the day.

Onion inhalation

Select a fresh onion, peel, wash and finely chop. Place it on a plate, close your eyes and breathe over it for a few minutes. To avoid causing a burn, do not lean too low over the plate, take care of your eyes, and do not touch your face or mucous membranes with your hands if you have just cut an onion.

Kalanchoe

Mix Kalanchoe juice with water in a ratio of 1:3. Inject 2 drops of the product into each nostril morning and evening.

Indian onion

Take Indian onion juice, olive oil and boiled water, mix in equal proportions. Lubricate the nasal mucosa several times a day.

Cough recipes

When you have a cold cough, you must first decide what its nature is. A productive cough, that is, a wet cough, is accompanied by the production of sputum, but an expectorant may be required to facilitate its removal. Obsessive, unproductive coughing with pharyngitis does not need to be treated with sputum thinners. A very dry, painful cough that bothers you even after the condition improves may be an indication for prescribing antitussive medications.

  1. Primrose infusion.

Dry raw materials in the amount of 2 tablespoons, pour 300 ml of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Wait until it cools down, strain, take 100 ml three times a day - before meals. To improve taste and effectiveness, you can add honey, but not more than a teaspoon. This remedy helps remove phlegm and is positioned in folk medicine as an expectorant, but at the same time it also has a sedative, hypnotic, diuretic and moderate laxative effect.

Plantain is another plant used to make an expectorant. Take plantain leaves, partially removing the cuttings, and pour boiling water over them. Grind (you can use a meat grinder) to get juice, boil it for 1 to 5 minutes. Take a tablespoon of the product 3 times a day.

  1. Milk, honey, butter.

Boil 1 cup of milk or heat pasteurized milk. Cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. Add a teaspoon of butter and the same amount of honey. Drink in small sips before going to bed and go to bed. This remedy softens cough and warms from the inside.

If you experience itching, difficulty breathing, or swelling of the mucous membranes, you should immediately stop taking home remedies for runny nose and cough and consult a doctor.

Such symptoms may indicate the development of an allergic reaction. There is a risk of a severe course, so stop using the medication, rinse the mucous membrane (if the product was used topically), and contact a medical facility. You may need to take an antihistamine (Cetrin, Claritin).