wet cough Archives - Remedies Lore

A wet cough, also known as a productive cough, occurs when your body is trying to expel mucus or phlegm from your respiratory system. It is often accompanied by other symptoms, such as a runny nose, chest congestion, or throat irritation. Wet coughs are typically a sign that your body is fighting off an infection or dealing with irritation in the lungs and airways.

While a wet cough can be uncomfortable and bothersome, the good news is that there are several home remedies and treatments that can help relieve symptoms. This blog will explore the causes, remedies, and when to see a doctor for a wet cough.

What Is a Wet Cough?

A wet cough is different from a dry cough in that it produces mucus or phlegm. This mucus is secreted by the lungs and airways as a protective measure against irritants or infections. Coughing helps to clear this excess mucus from your airways, making it easier for you to breathe.

Wet coughs are often accompanied by other symptoms, such as:

Chest congestion
Wheezing
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Post-nasal drip

Common Causes of a Wet Cough

A wet cough can result from a variety of causes. Understanding the root cause can help you determine the best treatment approach.

1. Respiratory Infections

One of the most common causes of a wet cough is a respiratory infection, such as a cold or flu. These infections cause your body to produce excess mucus as it fights off the virus or bacteria.

Cold and Flu: A viral infection like the common cold or influenza often leads to a wet cough. The body increases mucus production to clear the virus from the airways.
Bronchitis: This condition occurs when the bronchial tubes become inflamed due to infection, leading to increased mucus production and a persistent wet cough.
Pneumonia: Pneumonia is a severe lung infection that can cause a wet cough with thick mucus, fever, and difficulty breathing.

2. Allergies or Irritants

Allergic reactions to substances like pollen, dust, or pet dander can trigger excess mucus production, resulting in a wet cough. Environmental irritants like smoke, pollution, or chemicals can also lead to a wet cough by irritating the lungs.

3. Post-Nasal Drip

Post-nasal drip occurs when excess mucus from the nose drips down the back of the throat. This can irritate the throat and cause a persistent wet cough as your body tries to clear the mucus.

4. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

COPD is a chronic lung condition that includes bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD often experience a chronic wet cough as their airways produce excess mucus in response to irritation or infection.

5. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

In some cases, acid reflux from the stomach can irritate the throat and airways, causing a wet cough. This is known as GERD-related cough and is often worse after eating or lying down.

Home Remedies for Wet Cough Relief

While a wet cough can be annoying, several home remedies can help alleviate symptoms and speed up recovery. These remedies aim to loosen mucus, soothe irritated airways, and reduce inflammation.

1. Stay Hydrated

Drinking plenty of fluids helps thin mucus, making it easier to cough up and expel. Water, herbal teas, and broths are great options to stay hydrated.

Warm liquids: Warm liquids like herbal tea, warm water with honey, or soup can help soothe your throat and loosen mucus.

2. Honey

Honey has natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, making it a popular remedy for wet coughs. It helps coat the throat, reduce irritation, and soothe the cough reflex.

How to Use:

Mix 1-2 teaspoons of honey with warm water or herbal tea.
Drink it 2-3 times a day to relieve symptoms.
Avoid giving honey to children under 1 year of age due to the risk of botulism.

3. Steam Inhalation

Inhaling steam helps moisten and loosen the mucus in your airways, making it easier to expel. It also helps relieve congestion and soothes irritated tissues in the lungs and throat.

How to Use:

Boil water and pour it into a large bowl.
Drape a towel over your head and lean over the bowl, inhaling the steam for 10-15 minutes.
You can add a few drops of essential oils like eucalyptus or peppermint to enhance the effect.

4. Humidifier

Using a humidifier in your room can add moisture to the air, which helps loosen mucus and keeps your airways from becoming dry and irritated. This is especially helpful at night, when a wet cough can become more disruptive to sleep.

5. Salt Water Gargle

Gargling with salt water can help reduce throat inflammation, kill bacteria, and break down mucus. This remedy is particularly effective if your wet cough is accompanied by a sore throat.

How to Use:

Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water.
Gargle the solution for 30 seconds and spit it out.
Repeat 2-3 times a day for relief.

6. Ginger Tea

Ginger has natural anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that can help reduce mucus and soothe an irritated throat. Drinking ginger tea can provide relief from cough symptoms.

How to Use:

Boil fresh ginger slices in water for 10 minutes.
Strain the liquid and add honey or lemon for added benefits.
Drink 2-3 cups of ginger tea a day to alleviate a wet cough.

7. Elevate Your Head

Keeping your head elevated, especially while sleeping, can prevent mucus from pooling in your throat and airways. This helps reduce the coughing reflex and makes breathing easier.

When to See a Doctor

While home remedies can help manage a wet cough, certain situations may require medical attention. You should see a doctor if:

Your cough lasts longer than 3 weeks.
You have a high fever, shortness of breath, or chest pain.
The mucus you cough up is green, yellow, or bloody.
You experience wheezing or a rattling sound when breathing.
You have a history of chronic lung disease or immune system issues.

Diagnosis of a Wet Cough

When you visit a doctor for a persistent wet cough, they will begin with a physical examination and ask about your symptoms and medical history. Based on this, your doctor may recommend further tests to diagnose the underlying cause of your wet cough. Some common diagnostic methods include:

1. Chest X-Ray

A chest X-ray can help your doctor visualize the lungs and detect signs of pneumonia, bronchitis, or other respiratory infections that may be causing the wet cough.

2. Sputum Test

A sputum test involves collecting a sample of the mucus you cough up. This sample is analyzed in a lab to identify any bacterial or viral infections.

3. Pulmonary Function Tests

These tests measure how well your lungs are functioning and can help diagnose conditions like COPD or asthma that may be contributing to your cough.

4. Allergy Testing

If your wet cough is suspected to be allergy-related, your doctor may recommend allergy testing to identify specific allergens that are triggering your symptoms.

Prevention of Wet Cough

While it’s not always possible to avoid a wet cough, especially during cold and flu season, there are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing one:

1. Practice Good Hygiene

Wash your hands frequently to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria that can cause respiratory infections.

2. Avoid Smoking and Secondhand Smoke

Smoking irritates the lungs and increases your risk of respiratory infections. Avoid smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke to protect your lung health.

3. Stay Up-to-Date on Vaccinations

Get vaccinated against the flu and other respiratory infections to reduce your risk of illness.

4. Manage Allergies

If you have allergies, take steps to avoid triggers and manage symptoms with antihistamines or allergy medications.

Conclusion

A wet cough is often a sign that your body is trying to clear mucus from your respiratory system, usually due to infections, allergies, or irritation. While it can be uncomfortable, many home remedies like staying hydrated, using a humidifier, or trying honey and ginger can provide relief. However, it’s essential to see a doctor if your symptoms persist or worsen.

By understanding the causes and remedies for a wet cough, you can take steps to manage the discomfort and recover more quickly.

Generally coughing is the best way to avoid irritants like dust, smoke and pollution that stuck in your respiratory system which can easily sicken you or make it hard for you to breathe. Coughing can also help you to move mucus and other secretions out of your body to clear airways, breathe easier and heal faster when you are ill.

But, Coughing is much harder during nights, because the mucus is collected at the backside of your throat and triggers your cough reflex.

There are different types of cough that can easily last more than a week such as dry, wet, whooping etc. You must immediately consult your doctor if it exceeds more than a week with severe symptoms like unable to eat and breathe etc. Wet cough is generally caused by production of excessive mucus in your body.

In this article we are going to see, how to treat wet cough easily without running to doctor. You can follow all these natural remedies to fight against wet cough and heal faster without any side effects.

Causes Of Wet Cough

There are many causes for wet cough, one of the major reason is excess production of mucus in our body as we have seen above. Even infections caused by bacteria and viruses also lead to formation of more mucus that lead us to experience coughs.

The following are some more health issues that lead to excess production of mucus in our body that causes wet cough.

Bronchitis
Cystic fibrosis
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Asthma

However, a cough often begins with dry hacking cough that causes heaviness in the chest and that ultimately leads to coughing up phlegm as the illness progress.

Symptoms Of Cough

The following symptoms will associated with any type of coughing:

Whistling sound when breathing
Breathlessness
Chest pain or tightness in chest
Fever

A simple cough can affect your work, sleep and make it harder to do your daily little things. So, try the following natural remedies to prevent cough completely.

Home Remedies For Wet Cough

1. Honey

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Honey is well known ingredient for many people that is capable of treating many types of skin and health issues. The antibacterial and anti viral properties in honey help to fight against infections and prevent them completely that causes wet cough.

It also helps to reduce thickness of mucus and promotes its easy removal from the respiratory track.

What You Need To Do

Heat a pan on low flame and add half cup of sliced onion, 1 teaspoon of thyme, ceramic and 2 cups of organic honey.
Cook it until onions becomes juicy and soft, turn off the heat and pour this mixture in to a glass jar with a lid.
Consume one table spoon of this mixture everyday to prevent cough and cold completely.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar

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Apple cider vinegar is another effective remedy to get rid of cold and cough. It can easily reduce the thickness of mucus in the chest and reduce coughing, it also helps in boosting your immunity.

What You Need To Do

Mix 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of luke warm water and add one table spoon of honey in it.
Mix them well and drink this mixture 2 times in a day to prevent cough.

3. Ginger

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Ginger acts as good remedy in treating wet cough. It even reduces the intensity of coughing bouts characterized by airway hyper responsiveness and inflammation.

What You Need To Do

Mix one teaspoon of fresh ginger juice with one table spoon of honey and consume this mixture twice in a day.
Alternatively, take a pan and add one glass of water and few pieces of ginger in it and bring it to boil.
Let it simmer on low heat for another five minutes and strain the solution. Drink this mixture by adding a teaspoon of honey 2 times a day.

4. Garlic

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Garlic is also wonderful to treat any type of cough and provides quick relief. The anti bacterial and anti viral properties in garlic make it effective remedy to clear up infections that causes coughs.

What You Need To Do

You can directly consume one clove of crushed garlic mixed with table spoon of honey twice in a day.
Alternatively, add few cloves of crushed garlic to a pot of boiling water and inhale the vapor by covering your head with a towel for some time.

5. Salt Water Gargle

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The mixture of salt and warm water helps in reducing the mucus formed in respiratory system and reduces the irritation caused by it. Gargling with salt water several times a day provides you complete relief from cough.

What You Need To Do

Mix one teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and mix them well until the salt dissolves completely in the water.
Use this water to gargle for 2-3 times in a day to get relief from cough and cold.

Tips To Follow

Here are some more tips you can follow to prevent cough and protect your health.

Keep the common areas in your home neat and clean.
Avoid getting in contact with others who are sick.
Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing
Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water
Don’t forget to wash your hands, especially after coughing, eating or looking after someone sick.