Holistic Treatment for a Cough

The word cough is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as the act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly with an explosion, to breathe heavily or the act of coughing up, as in mucus. A chronic or persistent cough is an annoyance that disrupts many people's everyday life. When lifestyle changes alone do not work to rid the body of these explosive outbursts, holistic help may offer an alternative to conventional medicines.

Holistic Principle

• Holistic medicine focuses on treating physical, emotional, social and spiritual conditions associated with disease and illness. According to the American Holistic Health Association, the practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat disease as well as promote optimal health.

  When it comes to common ailments such as a persistent cough, many holistic health care practitioners will try to treat the symptoms, as well as address education and lifestyle issues that may have led the patient to the illness in the first place. In addition, a holistic practitioner will implement complementary alternatives such as regimented diet and optimal exercise along with herbal or homeopathic medicines to address the coughing symptoms.

Prevention

• One of the first steps toward holistic healing for a chronic cough is to determine the cause of the cough. According to Holistic Roads, a website dedicated to providing useful holistic advice, most common causes of a cough include allergies, bronchitis or asthma, as well as respiratory infections, environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoke, dust, pollen, pet dander and chemicals. It is also a side effect of certain medications, chronic fluid build-up or blockage of airways.

  Once the underlying cause of the cough has been determined lifestyle changes should be initiated to prevent future coughing episodes. Examples of lifestyle changes include quiting smoking or requesting that others in the home smoke outside, regularly clearing pet dander from the home and switching to chemical-free household cleaning products. In addition, regular exercise and fresh air will do wonders for cleansing the respiratory system. Take short walks outdoors in areas with high air quality.

Remedies

• According to Holistic Online, there are many common sense approaches to treating cough including ingestion of a mixture of lime juice mixed in equal parts with honey. Holistic Online also recommends gargling with liquid whey to sooth throat irritation caused from coughing or related complications. Add elecampane, an herbal expectorant, to honey mixture to increase the elimination of phlegm.

  Other holistic remedies to treat a cough include drinking extracted ginger juice four times daily with a teaspoon of honey, as well as tulasi, an herbal anti-immflamatory and expectorant that supports the respiratory system.

Precautions

• Many holistic and all natural remedies include honey. However, children 12 months or younger should not ingest honey due to honey's potential for botalism. In addition professional medical advise should be sought if a cough lasts for more than a week or is associated with extremely high fever or rash. These could be symptoms of more serious illnesses.