| Strangely,
coughs may be good for us
The cough reflex is actually quite a healthy thing,
designed to prevent us from choking by clearing debris from
the respiratory tract.
When people give up smoking, for example, or if they
are exposed to an abnormal amount of airborne debris such
as that experienced when living in a city, the lungs will
attempt to rid themselves of the accumulated toxic material
by initiating muscular spasms that project the material upwards.
A bacterial or viral infection may also initiate a cough,
as the body attempts to remove the dead cells and waste matter
left behind after the fight between the immune system and
the germ.
Sometimes, though, things go
wrong
The problem with what is, therefore, a useful tool for keeping
us healthy, is that some coughs are ineffective and we continue
coughing irritatingly without improving the condition of our
respiratory tract at all. This might be due to the continued
presence of the irritant (such as tobacco smoke) or the very
viscose nature of the material the body is trying to shift.
Thick, treacle-like substances, left behind by tobacco inhalation,
may be almost impossible for the body to break up and bring
up. Additionally, when a cough has been present for a while,
the lining of the respiratory tract becomes inflamed and easily
irritated, so more coughing can be triggered by very mild
and innocuous irritants.
You need to take firm action
- Keep
your immune system strong by taking a maintenance dose of
Echinaforce (15 drops once daily) if you are prone to coughs
and colds in the winter.
-
Use a remedy that soothes spasm in the respiratory tract
without weakening the ability of the body to expel foreign
matter. A herb well known for its anti-spasmodic action
is Ivy. Many clinical trials have shown it to work well
for repetitive or hacking coughs. Alfred Vogel added it
to Thyme, to create a remedy that reduced constant, wearing
coughs, whilst strengthening the body’s expectorant
powers. Thyme helps loosen and thin mucus in the respiratory
tract too, which is an additional benefit.
- Sucking
a lozenge or taking a throat-calming syrup will coat a raw
or inflamed throat, making it less reactive to irritants.
Try Santasapina Syrup
or Lozenges
Vogel
recommended chewing pine buds to eliminate catarrh and to
prevent frequent infection with colds.
Pine bud syrup has been made for centuries, as pine
buds were known to be full of healing properties. Sweetened
with honey, the remedy was good enough to tempt children to
feign a cough in order to get a dose! The fresh sap pressed
from spring buds and shoots of Norway spruce contains aromatic
substances, terpenes and resins, which soothe the bronchial
tubes and alleviate tickly coughs.
Or if the cough is deep and chesty
Try
Drosinula Syrup, which gets right
down to the deep-seated mucus in the chest.
Please remember that anyone with a persistent
cough should be taken to the doctor for a proper diagnosis.
Coughs can indicate serious respiratory problems and should
never be ignored.
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