Ever been in public and started coughing uncontrollably and people look at you as if you have the bubonic plague? Even if their reaction isn’t quite so extreme, it can still be an embarrassing situation. Fortunately, this is one of those problems that is easy to solve. Here is how to get rid of a cough quickly.

Unless you have some serious congestion that your body is trying to clear out, a cough is usually caused by throat irritation. Ingesting something to soothe your throat will usually take care of the cough. That is why a cough drop can often help. The sugar coats your throat and the medication numbs it. The problem is some people don’t like the taste of cough drops and some don’t like the medicine aspects of them.

Tickly Cough

If you would rather know how to get rid of a cough without medicine, the easiest solution when you’re on the go is actually a simple drink of water. If you don’t have anything to drink, try to find something that will make you salivate like sucking on a peppermint or chewing a piece of gum.

Photo by Scientific deliriums

Chesty Cough

Water and gum chewing can especially help with a tickly or dry cough. However, those don’t work long term if you have a chesty cough. That condition generally indicates the presence of an infection. Fortunately, there are foods that can help to fight an infection. Garlic is a natural antibiotic and is easy to integrate into almost any food. You can also find garlic supplements to get it in a more concentrated form. Cinnamon has been shown to help with cold and flu symptoms. Basil and oregano have anti bacterial properties.

Cough Treatments from Around the World

According to Chinese beliefs, ingestion of a banana can help a person to put an end to a series of coughs. Chinese feel that the smooth nature of that fruit eases any irritation to the throat. The Chinese also view citrus fruits as a possible source of such irritation. In contrast to that view, Persians urge a coughing person to eat a tangerine, or to drink some orange juice.

Both cultures have uncovered useful advice if you are having trouble sleeping because of a cough. The Chinese believe in the calming effects of ginger. A bulb of ginger can be shred into a small sauce pan full of milk. This mixture can be heated and consumed at bedtime. It will then coat and the throat allowing you to get a few hours of sleep.
The Persians also have a way to use warm milk as a cough-fighting tool. Persians put honey in milk and warm it at bedtime. Like shredded ginger, the honey coats the throat.

As tea drinkers, the citizens of ancient Persia found that certain other substances could also help to end a round of coughing. They would put honey and lemon juice in their tea to get rid of the unpleasant noise that is associated with an irritation of the airway. Sometimes the effectiveness of the lemon and honey can be increased by adding a tiny bit of hard liquor. (Whisky works well for this. Obviously, don’t go around giving whisky shots to anyone underage or pregnant.)

Now, you can see that there are a lot of options here. The reason is, there really isn’t a way to cure a cough, you can only treat the problem that is causing the cough. Once you have figured out what is causing you to cough, there are a plethora of treatments to get rid of a cough naturally.

A yeast infection, also called candidiasis, is a fungal infection that can affect certain vulnerable areas of the body. Yeast appears naturally, however excess fungal growth can cause irritation and a burning, itching sensation. The infection most often occurs in moist locations, such as the mouth, vagina, and in folds of skin where perspiration is present.

If left untreated, yeast infections are believed to lead to more serious conditions, including severe rashes, muscular pain, memory loss and digestive problems. They are also highly contagious. Fortunately, yeast infection treatment is a fairly simple matter. There are many over the counter anti-fungal medications available, yet natural remedies are gaining popularity due to their relative safety, low cost, preventative qualities and their ability to provide effective results. Many natural remedies can not only treat an existing infection, but can protect against further outbreaks.

Garlic is among some of the more popular natural treatments for yeast infection. It contains natural anti-fungal properties that can stabilize the body’s yeast growth. Garlic can be regularly eaten as an herb or applied directly to the affected areas as a poultice, where it can provide relief from the associated pain, itch and inflammation. Another highly recommended preventative treatment is yogurt. Yogurt contains lactobacillus acidophilus, which encourages the body’s formation of beneficial bacteria that can discourage the onset of yeast infections. Used externally, plain yogurt works well as a topical preventative, and when used for short periods of time, can act to soothe symptoms.

As it is necessary to to keep infected areas clean, therapeutic baths can be quite helpful. Other natural products such as tea-tree oil and cider vinegar can also be used for treatment. Used as additives to bath water are a great start to a body cleanse, they provide soothing relief from burning and itching. Assuring that the body is completely dry after bathing and kept free of excess moisture during the day will aid in the natural process of treating and preventing yeast infections.

What is an herbalist? According Merriam-Webster online dictionary an herbalist is “a person who practices healing by the use of herbs” pretty simple. My nutrition group this month featured a very nice young woman who is an expert in herbal remedies. She gave a very informative talk on the properties of herbs as an aid in healing the human body. A very important point not to be over looked is, no outside substance or procedure can heal the body. The body heals itself. All we can do is provided material it can use in the process. And the material it uses comes from nature. Our body is made from the earth and uses the earth to repair itself when damaged. We were not made in a factory as most pharmaceuticals are, most pharmaceuticals don’t help the body in the healing process, they usually only relieves symptoms.

This young woman was from a South American country where she had learned how to use the earth to aid the body in the healing process. This wisdom was handed down to her from the older women in her life; mom, grandma and aunts. She also experienced the healing properties herself as a young child. Sadly, she told us about how these arts are being lost, even in remote villages due to adopting the of Western lifestyle of convenience around the world. But it was good to see the young woman have such passion about the earth, and the desire to educate and help people learn for themselves.

Herbal remedies come in many different shapes and sizes and can aid anywhere from a skinned knee to respiratory infections. And many of the things you need can be found in your refrigerator and your backyard garden.

Onions can be used for cough, eye infections, earaches and is one of the herbal remedies for arthritis. The juice of the white cabbage can be used to remove warts and the leaves can help relive chest congestion. Ginger can be used to soothe the stomach. And, garlic well there are too many uses to mention in this small article. Plants from the backyard such as comfrey can be used on wounds or rashes and plantain is very good at taking the sting out of a bee sting. And this is just a scrap of the surface.

You are what you eat. I am not referring to the diet program aired in United Kingdom in 2004 to 2007 or even the 1968 American documentary film. I am merely referring to the fact that one who eats horrendously, is not astoundingly sick compared to one who eats healthily. The food that gets into the mouth and down the stomach for food processing becomes the body’s medical supply like water reserve in a camel’s humps. Feed your body with the wrong stuff and the insides go chaotic. Feed it with better food and you experience body wellness. This, however, is just the beginning.

Healthy diet is favored but regardless of whether good or bad food lands on your internal grinding machine, it is recommended that at least once a day, you get to move your bowels. Less than this leads you to becoming a “sick man (or woman) walking”. A lot of waste will be derived from three meals’ worth in a day. Missing one day will stack up with another batch of meals the following day. The colon is our body’s sewer system so the longer the waste matter stays on our bowels, the more we expose ourselves to a variety of diseases. Decaying matter becomes the source of bacterial growth and may cause the transfer of harmless flora to other parts of the body. Upon transfer, these harmless floras may become dangerous and disease-causing. To cut the story short, everything that goes into our bowels are converted to toxins, thus, the need to flush them out.

A very good way to restore the normal flow of bowel movement is through cleansing of the intestines. It is often the very first step recommended in the body detoxification process. Laxatives are the drugs of choice in constipated cases but there are also natural means to purge your colon out of destructive particles. It involves the incorporation of medical herbs that may either contain good bacteria or enzymes that instigates the colon to move bowels. To name a few, peeled and dried roots of rhubarb contain glycosides that function as a mild laxative in high doses of one to two grams. It may function as a standalone drug or in combination with other medical herbs. The motility of the colon is done through the inactivation of certain enzymes responsible for the slow movement. The “transit time” becomes faster as a result. It is not recommended for more than two weeks of usage as it may lead to the swelling and discoloration of the colon.

Another laxative that exhibits the same effect is the Cascara Sagrada. Not only does it relieve constipation but it also invigorates the muscles in the intestines. Coriander leaves, garlic, mint and onions may be eaten in trace amounts for the purpose of colon cleansing. Each herb has its own independent therapeutic effect apart from its ability to rid the colon of toxins. Fennel seeds, ginger and lemon may be mixed with lukewarm water and triphala, an herbal powder, to formulate black tea.