Colds are especially active in the autumn season, when the virus enters the body, weakening the immune system. In addition to drug treatment, the scheme of which only a doctor has the right to prescribe, inhalation will be an excellent auxiliary procedure. You can buy a device for inhaling therapeutic vapors at any pharmacy or store selling medical equipment, but it would be better to make an inhaler with your own hands.
Most affordable options
If you do not want to bother making the device, you can use the most common techniques that will have the effect of inhalation. The easiest option is to heat the water in a bowl and add a few drops of essential oils, preferably coniferous trees, to it.
An alternative to these substances can be ordinary baking soda at the rate of two tablespoons per half liter of hot water. After dissolving, you should bend over the resulting solution, covered with a towel, and inhale the vapors until the liquid in the container cools down.
You can also make an inhaler with your own hands using an ordinary kettle, in whichyou should preheat the water, then add a mixture of essential oils or the Pinosol pharmacy medicine to it. Inhale the vapors of the inhaler kettle with a paper tube, which should be held directly above the spout. Do not forget about safety rules. After all, you should inhale the vapors only over a hot liquid, which can burn you. An ordinary watering can for indoor plants can become an analogue of a kettle.
Do not forget about the old "grandmother's" method, with which you also get a real homemade inhaler with your own hands. You can make it with a pot of freshly boiled potatoes, the vapors of which should be inhaled, covered with a towel or blanket.
Using a bottle
With the help of the simple algorithm presented below, you can build an inhaler from a bottle with your own hands. This process will require the following materials:
- small plastic bottle, preferably 0.5L;
- plastic straw (you can use a cocktail straw);
- scissors or knife;
- scotch.
Approximately in the middle of the bottle, make a hole with a knife and insert a tube there, part of which will remain outside. The cap from the bottle should be removed, because the neck should be inhaled during inhalation.
Hot water is poured into the bottom of the bottle, in which soda or drops of a mixture of essential oils are dissolved. To seal the device, glue the placeattaching the tube to the bottle with tape.
Using such a device is very simple - a long breath is taken through the neck of the device, which should last at least seven seconds. The air, passing through warm water, is saturated with essential oils and has a positive effect on the mucous membrane, removing bacteria.
Inhalation options
Home procedure for saturating the body with healing air can be carried out with a variety of fillers.
- A solution of soda and water. It is the most common option, a spoonful of table soda is used per liter of boiling water. With the help of this composition, sputum softens and is excreted. If an inhaler is made with your own hands, this filler is most often used for it.
- Use of mineral water. No additional components are required here, but gases must first be released.
- Coniferous oils. Suitable for any kind of cough. A couple of drops of any essential composition or mixture should be used per liter of water.
- Herbal inhalation. In this case, medicinal herbs, such as chamomile and coltsfoot, or ready-made pharmacy fees, should be pre-boiled in boiling water. It is necessary to inhale the vapors of the hot decoction.
- Using onions and garlic. The gruel from these components should be squeezed through gauze, thus obtaining juice, which is added to the liquid for inhalation.
Rules and contraindications
Regardless of whether the inhaler was made by hand or purchased ready-made, there is a certain rule when followingto which the procedure will give the desired result. If nasal congestion is present, then inhale the healing composition through the nostrils without holding your breath. In case of disease of the pharynx, bronchi or lungs, the breath is taken through the mouth, while holding the breath for a few seconds will be important.
Despite all the positive properties of inhalation at home, there are certain contraindications to this procedure that should be considered. The main ones are listed below:
- overeating;
- high body temperature;
- hypertension;
- diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- pathological diseases of the lungs;
- frequent nosebleeds due to vascular weakness.
During pregnancy, home inhalations are not contraindicated, but they can only be carried out with the permission of a doctor, observing all precautions.
