Inhalation with cold in the home

Inhalation procedures are a method of treatment recognized by traditional medicine as an effective way to deliver drugs to the place of injury in any parts of the respiratory system. Not for nothing because inhalations are prescribed even to those who are on inpatient treatment. Physicians of most hospitals are equipped with special inhalers and nebulizers, which are cumbersome enough to be used at home.

If a person is on an outpatient treatment, visiting the fizkabinet daily for inhalations will not be very convenient for him. Especially if you consider that inhalation with a cold and cough can be carried out at home without special difficulties.

For steam procedures in the household there will always be suitable utensils, as inhalation in the rhinitis can be carried out over the pot, over the kettle, and even over the cup, into which the hot inhalation solution pouches. There is in the dresser and a matching towel, which will need to be thrown over your head while inhaling the medicinal vapors.

On the question of what to do with steam inhalations in the common cold at home, you can offer several options for medicinal compounds:

• solutions of soda, salt, soda plus salt,
• mineral water without gas ("Borjomi", "Essentuki", "Luzhanskaya", "Svalyava", etc.)
• herbal infusions,
• essential oils,
• folk remedies: potato broth, with garlic, onion, Kalanchoe juice,
• a solution of furacilin, which is not afraid of high temperatures.

Those who have taken care of and purchased an inhaler for home use (except for an ultrasonic nebulizer), the choice of therapeutic solutions will be greater. In addition to the compositions described above, they will be able to take inhalation medicines: saline, antiseptics and antibiotics, mucolytics, immunostimulants.

In the notebooks of our grandmothers and online resources today you can find various prescriptions for inhalations with a cold, nasal congestion, coughing, accompanying infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Consider first those ingredients for which you can always find at home, which means you can do without going to the pharmacy.

Inhalations with soda in the cold

Soda is a substance used both in cooking and in the household to soften water, clean dishes, silver objects, etc. It is unlikely that there will be a house where they do not know about all the advantages and possibilities of using this effective emollient and disinfectant.

Soda inhalation with a cold helps not only to eliminate the inflammatory process on the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract caused by bacteria and microbes (soda effectively fights them and creates conditions in the nose that are not suitable for the propagation of pathogenic microorganisms), but also contribute to the easy excretion of sputum. They are very effective, if the patient lays a nose and mucus can not leave it on his own. Soda inhalations help prevent complications of rhinitis such as sinusitis or otitis caused by congestion.

To prepare the inhalation solution for 1 liter of water, take 1 tbsp. Soda and carefully mix the composition until the alkali is completely dissolved. For inhalers, take a filtered solution of room temperature. When carrying out steam inhalations, it is heated until steam appears or the soda is directly covered in hot water.

In the people it is believed that with a runny nose in a soda solution it is good to add a few drops of iodine (without fanaticism!). On 1 liter of water in this case it will be necessary to take 1 tbsp. Soda and a couple drops of alcohol solution of iodine, which is a good antiseptic and only enhances the effect of soda.

Another option of inhalation with soda is the increase in the inhalation solution with the antibacterial action of garlic. The inhalation solution is prepared as follows:

• first the middle head of garlic is disassembled into teeth, cleaned and poured with 1 liter of water,
• the composition is brought to a boil and kept on a small fire for no more than 5 minutes,
• the broth is cooled to the desired temperature and added to it 1 tsp. Soda.

It can be made easier by adding a few drops of garlic to the hot soda solution. Such inhalations will not leave microbes a chance to permanently settle in the nose. However, children do not like the procedure of breathing in garlic vapors.

Inhalation of soda is enough to spend 1-2 times a day. Adults need only inhale healing couples within 10 minutes, enough for children and a three-five-minute procedure.

For those who are afraid to use concentrated alkali (soda), doctors advise to carry out inhalations in the cold with a mineral water. Such inhalations are considered useful when thickening the snot, drying out the nasal mucosa, the formation of hard, hard-to-remove crusts in the nose.

Most often the doctors suggest inhalation of "Borjomi" at a cold and nasal congestion. But this does not mean that other naturally mineralized waters will not be of use. It is just necessary to choose natural natural slab-alkaline kinds of water that will promote the excretion of mucus and shift the pH level in the nose to the alkaline side, which is not suitable for microorganisms. Inhalations in the common cold can be done with mineral water "Essentuki", "Narzan", "Luzhanskaya", "Svalyava", etc.

Using bottled mineral water for inhalations it is recommended to pre-release gas from it. Mineral can be used in a heated form for steam inhalations or in nebulizers, making sure that the water temperature is not less than 20 degrees. Mineral water is permitted for use in inhalers of any type.

Inhalation with salt

Salt is popular among people only as a known food seasoning, which gives dishes a special salty flavor, but also as a natural antiseptic. With a cold, salt disinfects the nasal mucosa, relieves swelling and inflammation, preventing the natural cleansing of the nasal passages. And salt doctors recommend to use in the form of inhalation at any stage of the disease.

For the treatment of the common cold, it is possible to take table salt or edible sea salt, which additionally contains iodine and other useful microelements. At ½ liter of water, usually take 2 tsp. Salt. Such a solution, as well as soda compositions, can be used both in inhalers and for steam procedures used for the treatment of adults and children.

To facilitate breathing and enhance the anti-inflammatory effect, a few drops of essential oils with appropriate action (eucalyptus, conifers, lemon, chamomile, thyme, etc.) can be added to the salt solution. To dilute thick mucus in a purulent runny nose associated with a bacterial infection, in addition to salt, doctors advise adding 1 tsp to the water. Soda.

Inhalation in the common cold with garlic and onions

Garlic - a vegetable with a sharp taste and a pungent odor, which also has a high antibacterial and antiviral activity. Knowingly, as a prophylaxis for colds, even doctors themselves advise regularly to introduce garlic into their diet, eating at least a tooth per day. And in the treatment of colds garlic is very helpful.

True, not everyone approaches this treatment, and even to eat garlic is not so simple, especially for children. But the antibacterial ester of garlic can penetrate the body and bypassing the oral cavity, as occurs during inhalations in the rhinitis, which can be carried out at any period of the disease. What recipes of garlic inhalations are offered by folk medicine in addition to those described above:

• We chop several cloves of garlic, stir in a small saucepan and put it in hot water. We lean over the saucepan, covering the head with a towel, and inhale the healing vapors with antimicrobial effect.
• Purified garlic with a press or grater is crushed into a gruel, which is filled with hot water. Lean and breathe over the steam.

Garlic inhalations adults can do several times a day with an interval of 3-4 hours, children have enough two inhalations per day.

For onion inhalations you need to heat up to a boil of half a liter of water, add a crushed large onion to it and breathe steam from this distance so as not to burn your face and mucous membranes. You must always close your eyes in order to avoid burning and lacrimation. The recommended frequency of inhalation with onions is 1-2 times a day.

Garlic and onion inhalation is an effective fight against microbes and viruses, which is suitable not only for adults, but also for children and pregnant women, because such treatment does not harm the body, and is almost as effective as inhalation with antibiotics. However, children can treat such procedures extremely negatively.

With the help of products such as onions and garlic can be carried out and dry inhalation with a cold. Phytoncides and volatile essential oils of these products have high antimicrobial activity, so even inhaling the aroma of cut or chopped vegetables helps fight pathogens. In addition, air is also disinfected in the room in which the patient is. For medicinal purposes, you can also use cut citrus fruits.

Inhalation of potatoes with a cold

This is an old, absolutely safe method of treating a common cold, which, unlike inhalations of garlic and onions, should appeal to children. Not everyone agrees that such inhalations are beneficial for the common cold, comparing their effectiveness with steam inhalations with ordinary water. But those who have liked this method, argue that the evaporation of boiled potatoes contain useful medicinal components: dipropylene glycol, tetradecane, ethyl alcohol, the phytoncides of which particles are capable of:

• to remove swelling of tissues and inflammation, stimulating blood circulation in the area of injury,
• facilitate the excretion of mucus from the nasal passages,
• stimulate the regeneration of tissues by improving the metabolic processes in them,
• soothe the nasal mucosa, removing unpleasant symptoms: burning, itching, pain
• to fight against bacteria, viruses and protozoa due to the maintenance of phytoncides.

Inhalations with potatoes are shown not only in rhinitis, acute respiratory infections and other manifestations of cold, but also with such severe ENT pathology as sinusitis. But for such procedures to bring real benefits, you need to consider some requirements:

• potatoes are boiled "in uniform", i.e. Not purified, because it is in the skin and the upper layers of the pulp contains a maximum of useful substances,
• before filling in the water, the vegetables are thoroughly washed with a brush,
• potatoes should be cooked for 15-25 minutes, making sure that it does not boil much,
• it is strictly forbidden to carry out inhalations during cooking potatoes or immediately after the pot with it was removed from the plate,
• so that the effect is higher, the potato tubers can be mashed by a fork or tolstick,
• before you begin to inhale the pairs of potatoes over a slightly chilled saucepan it is desirable to clean (better rinse) the nasal passages and do a nose massage.
• To breathe a healing steam better covering your head with a towel that will not allow useful substances to scatter around the room.

Inhalations with potatoes can be carried out up to 5 times a day with a duration of 5-10 minutes.

Inhalations in the common cold with herbs

Medicinal plants, which are usually called herbs, is a great gift of nature that helped people to be healed even in times of lack of effective medicines. It is not surprising that to this day many recipes of traditional medicine have come down, the main components of which are herbs.

With a cold, our ancestors were saved by steam inhalations with herbal infusions, which require special care, and today some inhalers allow these compounds to be used more safely. However, in such popular nebulizers, herbal preparations and essential oils are not recommended. And it's not just that the device can break down, but the fact that the rhinitis does not require deep penetration of volatile substances into the respiratory tract, which provides an innovative device.

Treatment of rhinitis can be carried out with the help of decoctions and infusions of herbs. The most suitable for inhalation are chamomile, St. John's wort, calendula, coltsfoot, needles and buds of pine, juniper, fir, etc. But choosing plants from which a decoction or infusion for inhalations will be made, it is necessary to take into account the fact that herbs carry the risk of allergic reactions (up to the Quincke edema and bronchospasm when plant ethers enter the bronchi), so you need to choose those for which a person just does not have allergies.

The most useful and hypoallergenic plant with a pronounced anti-inflammatory and soothing effect is chamomile. Inhalation with chamomile in the cold helps to remove swelling of the tissues and eliminate nasal congestion. Chamomile infusion also has some antiseptic action that will help in fighting the pathogens of the disease, slowing down their reproduction in the nasal passages.

For the preparation of the composition for inhalation on a half liter of water, you need to take 2 tablespoons. Whether the fresh flowers of the plant are dry. We pour the vegetable raw material with boiling water and insist in the heat (you can use a thermos or wrap the dishes with a woolen cloth) for 10-15 minutes. After the composition is somewhat cool, you can begin to inhale the healing couples, covering your head with a blanket, or use a steam inhaler.

To increase the dosage of the herb does not make sense. The therapeutic effect of this does not increase, but there may appear a perspiration and a feeling of dryness of the mucous throat. The water temperature of the herbal composition is also best kept within 45-50 degrees. If steam inhalations are carried out to a child, the temperature of the liquid should be even lower - 30-40 degrees. Carry out steam treatments with chamomile three times a day for a week.

With any catarrhal diseases, eucalyptus is of great benefit, not without reason, the water extract is included in the compositions of many drops and sprays used for catarrhal diseases. With a cold, you can carry out inhalation with eucalyptus leaves.

To prepare the inhalation composition for half a liter of boiling water, take 2 tablespoons. Leaves of the plant and insist in warmth for a couple of hours, trying to keep the composition during this time is not cold. Breathing pairs of eucalyptus should be covered with a towel for 15-20 minutes daily 3-4 times a day. With a shortage of plant raw materials, it is not necessary to prepare a new infusion each time, it is enough to heat up the old one. The infusion of eucalyptus keeps its properties well, so during the day you can use the prepared formula, and the next day you have to prepare a new one.

Invaluable use in the common cold will be inhalation with coniferous plants. The easiest way is to use the kidneys and pine needles, having prepared it during the New Year's Eve, but you can also take spruce needles, shoots of juniper or fir.

Pine infusion is prepared as follows: for half a liter of water take 2 tablespoons. Shredded needles and insist in heat for about 1 hour. Inhalation is carried out over the hot composition (about 50-55 degrees) for a quarter of an hour (the children enough 10 minutes). Multiplicity of procedures - from 1 to 3 inhalations per day.

For inhalation procedures, you can use not only one-component formulations, but also the collection of herbs. We give examples of such charges:

• Leaves of eucalyptus, the herb of St. John's wort, the flowers of marigold.
• Flowers of calendula and chamomile.
• Chamomile flowers and eucalyptus leaves.
• Flowers of lime and chamomile, yarrow herb.

Effective collection of herbs can always be made independently from the available home of raw materials, taking into account the effects of individual plants. In order to prepare an inhalation composition from a collection of herbs, it is necessary to take 2 tablespoons per half liter of boiling water. Dry or fresh vegetable raw materials, keep the composition in a water bath for 20-30 minutes (you can use a thermos for insisting), cool to a temperature of not more than 50 degrees and use it for the intended purpose.

In infusions and broths you can use not only herbs, but shoots of plants (pine, currant, raspberries, blackberries). In this case, shoots are recommended to boil in water for about 5 minutes and mix with the infusion of herbs. By this principle, an inhalation composition is prepared from shoots of blackberries and herbs of mother-and-stepmother, leaflets and twigs of raspberries with flowers of calendula.

Selecting herbs and plants for infusion should be monitored so that the plant does not hit plants that cause allergies in the patient.

Essential oils for inhalations with colds and colds

As we know, medicinal herbs contain healing essential oils, which are actively used in cosmetology and non-traditional medicine. You can buy oil in most pharmacies and beauty salons. If you do not find a suitable herb in your home medicine set, you can use essential oils, which are added dropwise to the inhalation solution (usually 2 to 10 drops).

Inhalations in the common cold with essential oils are not only a pleasant but also very useful procedure, because ethers are volatile substances that easily penetrate the nasal passages and envelop the nasal mucosa, creating an invisible film on it. Depending on the properties of the plant, the essential oil of which is used in inhalation, we get anti-inflammatory, soothing, antimicrobial and antiviral effect.

Most often, for colds and colds, they turn to the eucalyptus ether. And this is not surprising, because this plant is considered the strongest defender against colds. It's not for nothing that in places where eucalyptus trees grow in large numbers and the air is saturated with curative ether, people practically do not know what respiratory infections are.

The next in effectiveness is the oil of coniferous trees. The situation with coniferous forests is identical with eucalyptus forests. People living near them are very seldom sick with colds. This speaks in favor of the use in the cold and common cold oils, pine, juniper, fir.

Very popular with the common cold and cough inhalation with fir oil, which has a disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effect, facilitating the withdrawal of sputum from the nasal passages, increasing local immunity. In this case, a liter of warm water will need to take only 2-3 drops of ether.

If the house did not find essential oil of eucalyptus and conifers, this is not a reason for despair. There are many other oils that have a curative effect in the cold: lemon, orange, mint, cypress, lavender, chamomile, tea tree, etc. Oil can be taken separately or in a mixture.

For example, adult patients can be given steam inhalations with bitter orange and rosewood oils (2 drops per liter of hot water) with the addition of 1 drop of black pepper oil. Or take a mixture of these oils:

• cinnamon and lemon (3 drops each)
• lavender, pine and thyme (1 drop each) plus 3 drops of eucalyptus oil
• eucalyptus, pine and lemon (or orange) 3 drops each
• juniper (3 drops) - is especially effective at the very beginning of the disease
• mint (3 drops), fir (2 drops), eucalyptus (1 drop)
• tea tree, eucalyptus and mint (2 drops each) is a good option for nasal congestion
• lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary (2 drops each) - suitable for both prevention and control of the first signs of a cold.

Inhalation steam procedures with essential oils should be carried out without covering the head with a towel, especially if more drops of oil are added to the water. The duration of such procedures usually does not exceed 10 minutes (for children it is enough 5 minutes). Multiplicity of procedures is usually 1-2 times a day.

In addition to steam procedures, air inhalations can be carried out that are more suitable for young children. Water, in which a few drops of oil are dissolved, are sprayed using a spray gun in the room where the child is, and he breathes healing couples without breaking off from the games or during sleep. You can use an aromatic lamp with the corresponding essential oils.

Another inhalation option, which does not require a child or adult ten-minute sitting over a saucepan, is a bath with essential oils. A few drops of oil added to the bathing water will make the procedure not only pleasant, but also useful (warm water contributes to the evaporation of the ether, and it will fall into the nasal passages during the breathing process). Oils can be used the same as for steam inhalations.

Select the aromatic oils you need on the same principle as the herbs. The ether should possess the properties necessary for a runny nose and not cause allergic reactions.

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