Why is it easy to cough at this time?

Climate issues

Recently, another cold air invasion has further reduced water in the air, lowered humidity, and made the climate extremely dry, causing various cough problems.

Physical issues

After a summer of consumption, the body becomes weak. As the lungs govern qi and directly connect with the external atmosphere, the dry-heat evil of autumn and winter mostly enters the lungs through the mouth and nose, consuming body fluids. When lung yin is injured and loses its moisture, it affects the lung's function of dispersion and purification, thus bringing cough.

What are the types of cough?

Wind-cold cough: Cough with phlegm, white or very thin/watery phlegm, or foamy, large amount, itchy throat, feeling of aversion to wind and cold.

Wind-heat cough: Cough with sticky phlegm, difficult to expectorate, yellowish phlegm, sore throat when coughing, dry mouth, red face and lips.

Dry-heat cough: Cough caused by "autumn dryness" without being sick, no phlegm, dry throat sensation.

Internal injury cough: Long-lasting cough, heavy turbid cough sound, sticky grayish-white phlegm in large amount, accompanied by chest tightness, poor appetite, fatigue, loose stool, etc., common in weak elderly.

How to treat different coughs?

Cold cough

1. Choose Chinese patent medicines that disperse lung cold, resolve phlegm, and relieve cough, such as Juhong Phlegm-Cough Syrup or Shedan Chenpi Oral Liquid. Usually, you can also eat more pears. It's currently the season for pears. Eating 1-2 daily can nourish lungs, moisten dryness, lubricate intestines, relieve constipation, and prevent coughs. Also eat more radish, white fungus, black fungus, etc.

2. Avoid greasy food in diet. Sweet food and raw cold items also need to be avoided to prevent obstructing spleen and stomach transportation function, promoting phlegm-dampness, and worsening cough.

Wind-heat cough

1. Choose Chinese patent medicines that clear lung heat, resolve phlegm, relieve cough, and calm asthma, like Jizhi Syrup.

2. Sichuan贝母 stewed with snow pear. Take 1 snow pear, wash, cut horizontally, remove core, put in 6g Sichuan贝母 powder, then combine the two halves, fix with toothpick, put in bowl with 20g rock sugar, add some water, steam for 30 minutes. Eat pear and drink soup, once daily for 3-5 days.

Note: For acute coughs caused by wind-cold or wind-heat, do not take honey-prepared Sichuan贝母 Loquat Syrup or Yangyin Qingfei Pills等 nourishing yin, astringing lung, and收敛 herbs early. Because for external acute coughs, coughing itself is a process of expelling external evil. If收敛 herbs are used early to stop cough, although cough may relieve quickly, the external evil remains in the body, prolonging cold course or potentially developing into other chronic diseases.

Dry-heat cough

1. Choose medicines like Sichuan贝母 Loquat Syrup that clear heat, resolve phlegm, and moisten lung to relieve cough. Also eat more pears. Additionally, drink more water, preferably warm plain water, principle is small amounts multiple times, about 200ml each time; avoid fried, barbecued, biscuit, etc. foods, as these lack moisture, eating more will cause body's yin fluid to deplete further, worsening上火 dryness symptoms.

2. Do more chest expansion exercises, increase physical exercise, improve immunity.

3. Keep air circulating, avoid places with heavy smog. If air is dry, use humidifier to increase indoor humidity, generally keep humidity at 40%~50%, not too high to avoid mold growth.

Internal injury cough

Not recommended to simply use cough suppressants to solve the problem. Should first go to hospital to identify cause, adopt long-term symptomatic treatment.

Persistent cough can easily injure lungs, even cause pneumonia. Eat the following 8 foods to relieve cough, resolve phlegm, and moisten lungs.

▲ Suggested eating method: Fresh pomegranate juice. Has function of promoting fluid production, relieving vexation and thirst. For those with insufficient body fluids, dry mouth and throat, pomegranate can be mashed for juice or decocted for soup,能 clear heat, detoxify, moisten lungs, relieve cough.

Tofu clears heat and moistens dryness

▲ Suggested eating method: Tomato sauce tofu. Has function of clearing heat and moistening dryness. Especially suitable for coughs属于 wind-heat or lung-heat type.

White radish resolves phlegm and relieves cough

▲ Suggested eating method: Sea shrimp braised radish. Radish is a十字花科 herbaceous plant,性平微寒, has functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, strengthening stomach, promoting digestion, resolving phlegm, relieving cough, smoothing qi, facilitating bowel movement, promoting fluid production, quenching thirst, supplementing middle, calming organs, etc.

Wax gourd eliminates phlegm and clears heat

▲ Suggested eating method: Clam and wax gourd soup. Wax gourd性凉, can eliminate phlegm, clear heat. For those with wind-heat cough or lung-heat cough, it is suitable to choose wax gourd for stewing soup.

Pear relieves cough and resolves phlegm

▲ Suggested eating method: Wolfberry snow pear sugar water. Has functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, moistening lungs, promoting fluid production, relieving cough, resolving phlegm, etc. Eating raw, juicing, stewing, or making paste has good therapeutic effects on lung-heat cough, measles, elderly cough, bronchitis, etc. If juiced with water chestnut, honey, sugarcane, etc., effect is better.

Almond moistens lungs and relieves cough

▲ Suggested eating method: Almond with celery leaves. Autumn is prone to consume body fluids by autumn dryness, causing dry mouth and throat, sore throat. Almond can moisten lungs, relieve cough, has certain缓解 effect on dry cough without phlegm, chronic lung deficiency cough.

Lily bulb supplements heart and lungs

▲ Suggested eating method: Wood ear stir-fried with lily. Lily can supplement heart and lungs. For those with lung deficiency cough, dry cough without phlegm, or catching cold cough due to autumn-winter dryness, eating lily is suitable. Many ways to eat lily, can be as dish, like shepherd's purse stir-fried with lily. First chop shepherd's purse, stir-fry with lily petals, can be called delicious dish, especially suitable for lung disease patients.

Luffa clears heat and resolves phlegm

▲ Suggested eating method: Licorice luffa soup. Luffa is good at clearing heat and resolving phlegm, especially suitable for heat cough with much phlegm, sticky yellow phlegm. This is because luffa's plant mucus contains a saponin, has function of eliminating and resolving phlegm. For those with lung heat or wind-heat invading lung cough, often expectorating purulent phlegm, suitable to use luffa decocted for soup.

For office workers who often sit and teachers, salespersons who talk a lot every day,小编 recommends 6 super effective throat-moistening teas. NO.1:罗汉果花茶 (Luo Han Guo flower tea)

罗汉果花 (Luo Han Guo flower), brewed as tea, can clear lungs, moisten dryness, improve throat pain, cough, hoarse voice, even constipation caused by上火.

Note:罗汉果花 is somewhat cold in nature, do not drink continuously after symptoms relieve.

NO.2: Honeysuckle tea

Honeysuckle tea is also commonly used for clearing heat and detoxifying. It not only soothes those with上火 well, but also has certain effect on dry throat, dry mouth and tongue, external wind-heat.

Note: Its nature is cold, not suitable for weak constitution or cold constitution people, not suitable for long-term drinking.

NO.3: Jade Butterfly tea

Jade Butterfly is mainly produced in Yunnan, Guizhou, etc. Also called white jade paper, can clear lung heat, benefit throat, has good therapeutic effect on acute or chronic bronchitis, cough, sore throat, tonsillitis. Jade Butterfly tea mainly uses its seeds to brew tea. One teaspoon jade butterfly, with boiling water, brew for 10 minutes即可饮用.

NO.4: Mint

Mint is not only garnish on dining table, mint brewed tea can eliminate throat swelling and pain, also relieve headache or fever caused by cold, enhance blood circulation.

Note: Mint is not suitable for postpartum women and infants.

NO.5: Violet

Violet brewed as tea has great benefits for respiratory tract. Not only moisturizes throat, but also relieves cough, sore throat, etc. caused by cold; also has certain辅助治疗 effect on respiratory organ diseases, protects upper respiratory tract, regulates bronchitis.

NO.6: Jasmine

Jasmine's elegant appearance and charming aroma are loved by many. As Chinese medicine, it has many efficacies. Jasmine brewed as tea can inhibit bacteria. Taken internally and applied externally, it can relieve pain, reduce inflammation, clear heat, etc. for throat. Especially suitable for patients with chronic bronchitis.