Dry Cough Congestion

A cough is an action that every person has performed in their lives. It is also an action that each person has done at least once each single day. The cough is largely identified as a reflex action by the body when it needs to clear a blockage in the respiratory passages. Although largely defined as a reflex action, it can also be performed proactively by the individual. Most times a cough is nothing but the body trying to clear the breathing passages of foreign bodies or irritants and should not cause any alarm. However, if it shows signs of being a chronic problem, it might point to signs of a rather more serious infection caused by bacteria or viruses in the respiratory tracts or even a symptom for a serious condition also affecting other organs of the body.

The cough is a three stage process causing the person to inhale deeply, than forcing an exhalation which then sees a violent release of air from the lungs. This allows the entire envelop of air to rush through the breathing passages with enough velocity to force any particles stuck in the passages out of the body. The cough also produces a very distinct sound.

A cough can be commonly caused by a particle of food going down the windpipe due to a malfunction of the epiglottis, which is supposed to stop food entering the windpipe instead of entering the esophagus. When a person coughs, the violent exhalation of air will cause the particle to dislodge itself and be pushed out of the windpipe.

Dry Cough Remedies

Since dry coughs have been an age old problem for many, there are a number of home remedies for coughing that will prove useful. Eating watermelon fruit has proved to be particularly beneficial when suffering from a dry cough. Eating dates and almonds provide substantial relief from dry coughs as well. Mixture and pastes have also been known to work, so listed below are a few trusted concoctions:

• Take two teaspoons a day of a mixture of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 cup of honey and a 1/4 cup of warm water.

• Drinking hot milk with honey just before retiring for the night.

• Three cloves of garlic boiled in milk to be had every night.

• Ginger tea made by adding a few pieces of ginger to the boiling water before adding the tea leaves is a well known remedy.