Catarrh Remedies
A Quick Guide to Catarrh Remedies
Catarrh is a mucus discharge usually caused by excess mucus and catarrh remedies include both prescription and homeopathic cures. This excessive discharge of mucus can be because of a cold, ear infection, tonsil or adenoid infection or sinusitis. Sometimes the mucus is in varying colors and degrees of runniness.
A catarrh blockage can occur at such times when you are changing altitudes, whether in an airplane or an elevator. Often this catarrh dripping causes much coughing, which is one of the ways the body tries to get rid of toxins. If you have any kind of allergies, these can cause catarrh as well.
Sometimes catarrh remedies are needed because of dry air, hay fever, allergies to foods, pet dander, various kinds of pollen, cigarette smoke, cold or wet conditions. Usually the nasal discharge starts out to be runny, like water, but then becomes very much thicker and changes to a yellow color. It can even change to a yellowish-green color and become hard as a rock.
The biggest of the catarrh remedies is to remove the irritant, whatever it may be. It is important to know what is causing the catarrh. If the cause is the common cold, the best you can do is to try and keep the mucus as thin as possible so that you can still breathe without too much trouble. You want to avoid any hardening of the mucus.
A homeopathic catarrh remedy is the inhalation of hot steam. You can use the steam of a hot shower to help thin the mucus or you can boil a pot of water and breathe in the steam. You should only breathe it in for around fifteen minutes at a time. That should sufficiently loosen up mucus.
Some people only have catarrh in the winter, and that is because houses become very dry in the winter and it may be necessary for you to run a humidifier. Sometimes you may need to put one in every room while other times one in the bedroom is sufficient. They actually make humidifiers for whole houses which attach into the furnace.
Herbal catarrh remedies often help to clear the mucus out of the nasal passages. One of these is eucalyptus oil. You can apply it on a cloth or as a tincture. Making and drinking eucalyptus tea can also help clear the nasal passages. Mint teas often work to clear the nose as well. If your catarrh is a result of an allergic reaction, comfrey tea is often said to help control the body’s histamine.
Other methods of curing catarrh are to take in a lot of vitamins. Especially increase such vitamins as C and A and drink lots of fluids. Avoid foods which might produce additional mucus, such as processed foods, wheat or dairy products.
Over-the-counter catarrh remedies could include nasal sprays and even a warm saline solution can help clean out the nasal passages. Lying down with a heated cloth lying across your nose will also serve to reduce mucus. Staying properly hydrated and even drinking coffee are also catarrh remedies.
If you don’t mind the smell, garlic is one of the most ancient catarrh remedies. It has many health benefits. No matter what you use to dissolve the catarrh, when your body has fought off the infection, in most cases, catarrh disappears. It could become chronic if you are repeatedly exposed to allergens.
No matter why you encounter catarrh, the only thing you can really do is try to thin the mucus so that you can breathe better until the catarrh becomes a thing of the past.