Indian Home Remedies for Dry Cough
Coughing can be an annoying symptom, especially at night time. It disturbs sleep and causes difficulty in breathing. Here are some Indian Home Remedies for Dry Cough.
Indian Home Remedies for Dry Cough
There are 2 types of cough:
- Productive cough/wet cough: a cough that produces mucus
- Non-productive cough/ dry cough: a cough that doesn’t produce mucus
Cough is usually a sign of an underlying problem. It can be persistent and can affect your everyday life. Dry cough irritates the throat and it specifically worsens at night time. The causes of dry cough are:
- Influenza
- Viral illness (like COVID-19)
- Post viral coughing
- Asthma
- GERD
- Laryngitis
- Whooping cough
- Sleep apnoea
- Respiratory system diseases
- Heart failure
Factors like smoking, environmental temperature change and some irritants can also cause a dry cough. Coughing causes headache, nausea and a sleep disturbance if not treated.
Factors to avoid:
- Avoid exposure to allergens and dust
- Avoid sleeping during day time
- Avoid cold-dry food items
- Avoid oily spicy foods
- Avoid exposure to cold wind
- Do not suppress natural urges (like sneezing, yawning, etc)
- Don’t smoke and avoid irritants
Turmeric for Cough
Turmeric is known for its antimicrobial effect. It is an excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Here’s how you can use it:
- Heat milk and bring it to boil. Let it cool down a little then add about half tsp of turmeric powder till the milk turns to golden. You can add sweetener but it is more beneficial if taken without a sweetener. This can be taken in the morning or at night before bed.
- Take 1 tsp of turmeric powder. Add some honey in it, mix well and make a paste. You can take is every day early in the morning. This is a more palatable way of consumption.
- Heat 1 glass of water. Add turmeric powder and salt. You can gargle with this lukewarm water 2-3 times/day.
Ginger for Cough
This is also a strong anti-inflammatory herb. It relieves nausea, pain and it boosts the immune system.
- You can chew raw ginger roots in fresh or dried form 1-2 times/day. This might be not the best way to use ginger for you as it is a spicy herb but surely it is fast-acting. Peel the bark off the root, cut it into 1-2 cm small pieces and you can chew or suck that for few minutes.
- Ginger tea is a popular way of consumption. Add 2-4 pieces of ginger root ( 1-2 cm each) in boiling water, add a pinch of pepper, salt and 1 tsp of honey. You can also add fresh basil leaves or mint leaves if those are accessible to you. Filter the tea and you can take this every morning.
Clove
Chew on 2 clove seeds for a few minutes per day 2-3 times to get relief from throat irritation.
Basil Leaves
You can chew some basil leaves 4-5 times/day for relief from coughing. Basil leaves are also used in the preparation of herbal tea.
Black Raisins
Soak a few raisins overnight. Crush the raisins into soaked water, add a pinch of salt and black pepper. You can drink this in the morning.
If the coughing is persistent for more than 2 weeks or if it is associated with fever, weakness, chest pain and yellowish-green mucus you should see your doctor. Although these natural remedies do not have side-effects, make sure you are not allergic to the contents before consumption of any preparation.
