Everything you need to know
When you smoke anything, such as cigarettes, cigars, and vaporizer, you inhale many chemicals. These chemicals is stock in your body and lungs. Coughing is your body's natural way of clearing their ways. When the cough lasts for a long time after an extented period of smoking, it's known as Smokers Cough.
Smoker's cough can be chronic if you are a daily smoker. It is sound different than the other regular coughing. It involves crackling noises and wheezing associated with phlegm in your throat. Smoker's cough tend to be wet and productive. That means it carries a lot of plegm and mucus with it.
What causes Smoker cough?
The tiny hair like structures along your airways is called Cillia. When smoking, your cillia looses some of their abilities to push chemicals and other foreign materials out of your lungs. That is why, toxins remain in your lungs much longer than it normal could. As a result, you have to cough much often to remove the chemicals from your lungs.
In the morning, Smoker's Cough can be irritating. It is because cillia regain their ability to remove chemicals from you lungs if you smoke for a few hours. Qhen you wake up, this can make much more unpleasant. It also involve postnasal drip. This is when mucus leaks into your throat.
Treatment options
There is a variety treatment for smokers cough. These range from traditional to home remedies alternative.
Treating smoker's cough
Drink 6-8 glass of water per day to keep the mucus in your lung and throat thin.
Soothe your throat with cough drops, lozenges and salt water gargle.
Elevate your head above the rest of your body while asleep so that the mucus doesnt gather in your throat.
Exercise 30 mins everyday. Exercise loosens up the mucus and makes it easier to up phlegm.
Avoid coffee and alcohol. They can dehydrate you and cause irritation.
Ask your doctor if these treatments cannot help. Common medication for smoker's cough includes bronchodilators and cortecosteroids.
Bronchodilators helps the muscles relax. They are usually taken using inhalers. A short acting bronchodilator works fo few hours and only used if necessary. A long acting one works for 12 hours and you take it everyday. Your doctor will decide which one is right for you.
Cortecosteroids help relieves inflammation. It is used alongside with bronchodilator.
Natural and Alternative treatment
In relieving a symptoms of a smoker's cough, the vapor of a certain essential oil can be useful.
Example is the Eucalyptus oil, a study suggested that it is effective
Humidifier or a diffuser with this essential oil can soothe your throat and relieve symptoms such as inflammation.
Herbal supplements can also help:
Ginger
Rosemary
Oregano
Home Remedies
Try the following remedies to make at home yo relieve and treat the discomfort of your cough:
Take vitamin C supplements or drink liquid with high amount of vitamin C like orange juice.
Use honey in your tea or water. Or swallow a teaspoon of it everyday. Honey will coat your throat and reduce irritation.
Drink green tea, which is contain antioxidants, or chamomile tea, which have the ingredients that relaxing effect to you body.
For my next article:
Complications of a smoker's cough
Is smoker’s cough a sign of lung cancer?
How long does smoker’s cough last?
When to see your doctor
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