Respiratory diseases are among the top three most common infectious diseases along with gastrointestinal pathologies and sexually transmitted infections. The nasal cavity is a hollow organ that is divided by a septum and lined with mucous membranes from the inside. It ensures the amount of air we breathe and its quality.
The ciliated epithelium covering the walls of the nasal cavity retains dust, toxic substances inhaled by a person along with the air, preventing their penetration into the lower respiratory tract and lungs. About 90% of all protective functions are performed in the nose by mucous membranes. They are vulnerable to pathogens, so inflammation of the nasal mucosa (runny nose) is the most common pathology in people of any age.
Runny nose (rhinitis) is not an independent disease, but a pathological syndrome that must be treated in the early stages. Otherwise, it can cause inflammation of the ear canal,sinusitis, adenoiditis and other severe inflammatory processes. If rhinitis has not become chronic, it can be de alt with without medication at home with folk remedies. There are many alternative medicines for the common cold, which we will introduce you to in this article.
How does a runny nose develop?
The disease develops in three stages:
- In the beginning, the manifestation of discharge is characterized as a slight runny nose. At this stage, clear mucus is released from the nasal passages. Early treatment with home remedies for the common cold gives good results.
- Then the infection enters the soft tissues of the nose, causing a significant discharge of watery substance. As a result, swelling of the mucous membrane occurs, breathing becomes difficult.
- At the third, final stage, the body begins to defeat the infection, the discharge becomes thicker due to the accumulation of leukocytes in them.
Causes of pathology
There are many reasons for the appearance of this pathology, but the most common of them are:
- nasal injury;
- penetration of pathogenic bacteria;
- hypercooling of the body;
- poor circulation in the nose;
- irritation of mucous membranes with gases or dust;
- allergic reactions.
You need to know that by curing a runny nose in the early stages with home remedies, you can avoid more serious diseases and complications.
Types of runny nose
Because there are many reasons that causeinflammation and irritation of the nasal mucosa, several types of rhinitis are also known. Doctors distinguish the following types of rhinitis:
- Cold. It accompanies many infectious diseases, including influenza, measles, scarlet fever.
- Chronic. Pathology develops with prolonged mechanical or thermal exposure, deformation of the partitions, circulatory disorders.
- Neurovegetative. A runny nose occurs when the mucous membrane is exposed to dust, cold air, and harsh odors.
- Infectious. Pathology is typical for meningitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, SARS, etc.
- Allergic. A runny nose occurs when exposed to allergens (dust, wool, pollen from flowers and grasses, etc.).
Nose rinse
Speaking of home remedies for the common cold, you should start with the simplest but most effective procedure. To wash your nose you will need:
- Glass of warm water.
- Sea s alt - 2/3 teaspoon.
- The smallest syringe or syringe without a needle.
Dissolve s alt in water, you can add a few drops of iodine. Fill the syringe with the composition. Flush one nostril with it, and then the other. It is desirable that the solution flow smoothly from one nostril to the other. It may not work at first, but gradually you will be able to do it professionally.
The procedure should be performed 2-3 times a day. This simple remedy for a cold at home quickly relieves the symptoms of pathology. Two days are usually enough for a complete cure, and a runny nose inthe initial stage is completely gone. This procedure can also be carried out for children, only the amount of s alt in this case is reduced to a third of a spoon.
Inhalations
This is an effective home remedy for colds and respiratory problems. During the procedure, the medicinal substances used are dissolved to microscopic particles that settle on the mucous membranes. At home, inhalation is carried out using an inhaler or nebulizer. Such medical devices can be operated using ultrasound or a compressor. They are capable of spraying drugs and treatment solutions with particles ranging from 1 to 5 microns. But if there is no such device, you can use the old method - breathe over the steam, covered with a towel.
Many patients find an effective remedy for the common cold at home inhalation with a solution of sodium chloride 0.9% (saline). You can prepare a concentrated product yourself by dissolving a dessert spoon of table or sea s alt in a glass of water. However, doctors recommend using ready-made formulations, since they are completely sterile, and the concentration of mineral s alts in them provides for the needs of the nasal mucosa. Use this home remedy for a runny nose and stuffy nose three times a day. The procedure lasts from 5 to 8 minutes. If you follow a sparing regimen, carry out the manipulation correctly, then you can cope with an unpleasant symptom of a cold in 3-4 days.
Heat inhalation
Such home remedies for a cold are more suitable for adults. Duringprocedures, hot liquids with medicinal components dissolved in them are used. The most common and effective are products with natural essential oils: coniferous (juniper, larch), bergamot, tea tree or eucalyptus.
Before starting the procedure, especially if inhalation is carried out for the first time, you should do a test for the absence of an allergic reaction. To do this, a drop of oil is applied to the inside of the elbow bend for 30 minutes. If redness, irritation, burning appear on the skin, the oil cannot be used to treat a runny nose, if the test shows a negative result, treatment can begin.
Dissolve 10 drops of oil in five liters of boiling water, bend over the container, cover your head with a terry towel and inhale the vapors for 10 minutes. Inhalations with oil have a moisturizing, bactericidal, anti-edematous effect, help strengthen the protective functions of the mucous membrane.
Rules for thermal inhalation
In order not to harm a sick person, you should know a few rules for such procedures:
- Inhalation should not be carried out at elevated body temperature.
- Before inhalation, it is necessary to find out if the patient has signs of purulent inflammation, since in this form thermal procedures can cause increased secretion of pus.
- The steam should not be too hot, so leave the container open for 10 minutes before the procedure so that the water cools down a little.
- Close your eyes during inhalation so as not to irritate the conjunctiva of the eye and not burncornea.
You should know that decoctions of medicinal herbs and plants are successfully used for steam inhalations: a decoction of pine buds, oak bark, calendula, chamomile flowers. If your home first aid kit has an Asterisk balm, dilute 1-2 grams of the balm in a container with hot water and breathe it in pairs for 10-15 minutes. Relief comes after one or two procedures. It is advisable to carry out 2-3 inhalations per day. The duration of treatment does not exceed 5 days.
Rhinitis drops
The choice of medicines intended for the treatment of rhinitis in pharmacies is quite large, but many of them have contraindications, are not suitable for the treatment of certain categories of patients, for example, pregnant women and children, cause individual intolerance. In this regard, home remedies for a runny nose and congestion are often used. Nasal drops are convenient to use, especially when unpleasant symptoms occur at night. Below we will present you the most effective remedies for the common cold. At home, many of them can be used to treat rhinitis in children older than one year.
Bay leaf and s alt
Having a drying, bactericidal and disinfecting effect, bay leaf will eliminate swelling and relieve inflammation. S alt will restore the circulation of fluids and reduce discharge from the nasal cavity. Such a home remedy for a cold for adults is prepared as follows:
- wash 10 bay leaves under running water and place in an enamel pot;
- fill them with boiling water (150 ml) and put on a slow fire;
- add table s alt (a teaspoon), mix and cook for a quarter of an hour;
- cool the broth and remove the leaves from it.
Instill three drops into each nostril 3-4 times a day. Keep this home remedy for a cold at room temperature for up to four days. Duration of treatment - until the symptoms disappear, but no more than three days.
Garlic and honey
If you do not know how to get rid of a runny nose with home remedies, we recommend that you pay attention to these drops. Natural antibiotics (phytoncides) contained in garlic can easily cope with a bacterial cold at an early stage. Honey will have an immunostimulating and anti-inflammatory effect, moisturize and soothe irritated mucous membranes, reduce itching and burning.
To prepare a medicinal composition, six cloves of garlic should be chopped in any way convenient for you and placed in a glass container. Pour the garlic mass with boiling water (70 ml), cover and let it brew for an hour. Then add half a spoon (teaspoon) of honey and mix thoroughly. Instill drops with a sterile pipette four times a day, one drop in each nasal passage. The duration of treatment is not more than five days. Store the medicine at a temperature not exceeding +5 °C.
Vegetable drops
Possessing powerful anti-inflammatory properties, beet and carrot juices are used as home remedies for the common cold. In some recipestraditional healers are invited to add honey to the juice, but even without it, the remedy copes well with the pathological manifestations of rhinitis and significantly improves the patient's well-being on the second or third day of treatment.
You should instill freshly squeezed juice of beets or carrots or a mixture of 2-3 drops into your nose. At an early stage of the disease, the procedure is carried out three times a day. If the manifestations of the pathology are very pronounced, it is necessary to increase the number of instillations up to five times a day. The duration of treatment is from 3 to 10 days, depending on the individual characteristics of the organism.
Egg from the common cold
Effective home remedy for runny nose and congestion - the most common hot chicken egg. Boil it until tender, cool a little or wrap it in a towel so as not to get burned. Apply it to your forehead or to your sinuses. The procedure continues until the egg cools down. Warming up is carried out up to three times a day. Contraindications to such a procedure can be bacterial rhinitis, adenoiditis, purulent sinusitis.
How to speed up recovery?
Everyone wants to get rid of such an unpleasant manifestation of a symptom of a cold or infectious disease as quickly as possible. To speed up recovery, you should follow a sparing regimen for at least 48 hours after the onset of the first symptoms. It is advisable to spend most of the time in bed.
The air temperature in the room should be as comfortable as possible for staying in light pajamas, because clothes are too warmmakes thermoregulation and skin breathing difficult, especially if the patient has a high body temperature.
The room should be fresh and clean air, so it must be aired at least six times a day, while airing should last at least 15 minutes. Wet cleaning should be carried out daily, as dusty air exacerbates the symptoms of pathology and makes recovery difficult. Drink warm fruit drinks, herbal teas, decoctions of wild rose or blueberries, compotes more often: these drinks contain a lot of vitamins. They support a weakened body and strengthen the immune system to fight bacteria and viruses.
Cure a runny nose in one day
How to get rid of a runny nose at home? A tool, more precisely, a set of such measures exists:
- Rinse your nasal passages with saline.
- Pour four drops of menthol oil into your nose, lubricate your temples and forehead with it.
- Steam your feet with mustard.
- Drinking should be plentiful.
Additional treatments for the treatment of rhinitis
If the treatment of the common cold is supplemented with some procedures, it will be significantly accelerated. During any procedure, it is necessary to monitor the patient's condition: the slightest discomfort or deterioration in well-being - and treatment should be stopped.
Massage of the wings of the nose
Massage of the nose will help to improve the discharge of mucus and prevent its stagnation. It should be performed with rubbing or tapping movements not only along the lateral sections of the nose, but also along the bridge of the nose. The procedure followsrepeat up to five times a day. The last massage should be done no later than two hours before bedtime, so as not to cause active secretion of mucus at night and not worsen the quality of sleep.
Dry heat
It is necessary to warn that at high temperatures, as well as bearing a child, thermal procedures are prohibited. If the discharge from the nose is transparent and has a watery texture, you can use folk remedies for the treatment of the common cold, based on the use of dry heat. To do this, put a tablespoon (tablespoon) of dry mustard in each sock, put wool socks on top and go to bed. In the morning, you need to rinse your feet and wipe dry, without pressing on the skin and without rubbing it.
