Further, some of the symptoms of cough are related to colds e.g. bronchial catarrh, chronic colds, tonsilities, virus-type of infections, sinusitis etc.
What is cough ( in general terms)? Cough is said to be irritation of bronchial passages when air is expelled rapidly after some deep respiration. This is said to be an irritation. Cough can also be termed to be an involuntary expulsion of air after some deep respiration, or sudden noisy discharges of air from the lungs and air passages. It is a way of clearing the air passages and possible expansion of chest. Cough contracts the chest muscles and so pressure is made to build up in the lungs and the glotis is then made open suddenly to release air in a rush. Any condition or irritation which increases the secretion of mucuous will produce cough e.g. inflammation or a tumor.
Some causes of coughs are:
Irritating mucuous from the throat or nasal passages.
Secretions from the nose drawing back to the throat.
Infection of the upper air passages e.g. sinusitis.
Constipation could aggravate a cough or influence the catarrh.
Eating fried and dried foods without vegetables and fruits.
Overloading the system with food.
Neglect due to cold.
Worms.
Nervous condition.
Lack of exercise.
Improper elimination due to congested or dirty wastes in stomach or body.
Loss of sleep.
Eating wrong food that easily irritates the mucuous membrane of the throat.
Dust.
The following are to be noted in cough:
Any condition that led to cough must first be cured before a cough can be cleared.
Coughs which produces blood should receive immediate attention.
Persistent coughs must be properly cured.
Coughs generally are normally aggravated in the nights and so relaxants must be taken before going to bed.
Hot lemon juice and honey with some ginger is ideal. Avoid mucuous-forming foods during the period of coughing. Foods such as butter, meat, milk and eggs. Indeed, all diary products must be avoided. Beets are also highly mucuous-forming. All pastries, white sugar and white flour products must be avoided.
Herbal Teas for Cough:
Comfrey (Symphytum Officinale) and vervain (Verbena hastasta).
Onion juice and honey.
Lime, honey and ginger.
Garlic, lime, honey and ginger.
Chew the leaves of resurrection plant with salt.
First thing in the morning, drink a hot cup of water in which a lime juice has been added.
Other herbal teas; cayenne, comfrey, ingwort, marshmallow, nutmeg, sages, raspberry leaves, wood betony, ginger, colts-foot leaves, yarrow, plantain and ginseng.
Other types of coughs are:-
Asthma
This can be termed as a condition of extreme difficulty in breathing which congests the bronchial tubes and produces excessive mucuous. There are two basic causes of Asthma and one of them is allergic reactions to one or more items of allergen or an environmental one. The environmental one can be caused by insecticides, industrial wastes, synthetic beddings, clothings, etc.
The other cause of Asthma may be psychic factor or deep-seated emotional insecurity dating back to younger days when intense need for love and motherly case or parental love and protection were missing. Whenever emotional causes are amongst the causes of Asthma, this has to be first treated before the other causes. Lack of relaxation adds to some difficulties experienced with coughs generally. Regular daily exercises are imperative in all type of coughs.
Avoid staying in dusty environment.
Ventilate your room properly.
Avoid smoky or smoggy areas.
Do not eat fried foods or dried foods without vegetables and fruits.
Do not drink any soft drinks.
Take only fresh fruit juices and vegetables.
Do the following:-
Sip honey and giner juice with hot water first thing in the morning.
Carrot juice must be taken daily.
Drink lime and garlic with honey.
The juice of grapefruit is efficacious for Asthma.
A paste made with long pepper (Yoryba: ata sombo - capsicum maximummy), black raisins, ghee (Hausa: Maisanu, cow fat), sugar and honey. Take this daily.
Chew between 2 or 3 cloves of garlic on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
Also, at the end of each meal, swallow one clove of garlic.
Drink some lemon or lime juice frequently during the attack of Asthma.
Eat only fish as animal protein. Avoid other meats as beef, agric. Chicken, etc.
Take tumeric powder (red ginger) and sugar cane mollasses with mustard oil regularly to reduce the attacks of Asthma.
High enemas of some herbal teas like red basil or common garden basil is good for diarrhea and cough. For toxin in the whole body, high enema of vervain, basil and bitter leaves is done.
Emetic herb in the form of hot lobelia or any other herb is taken to expel unwanted food congestion in the chest. The same principle applies to what to do to avoid other types of coughs be it Asthma or whooping cough.
So, follow these advice.
Whooping cough:
Whooping cough can be described as a cough common with children and it is highly contagious. It is an infectious catarrhal inflammation of the air passages, e.g. the lungs, and it comes with violent and convulsive coughs. Other manifestations include sonorous whooping, whooping respiration. It is characterised by a long spell of affliction lasting up to 3 months, during which serious coughing manifesting in spasmodic reactions (coughing spells), occur. The eye could bulge out and sometimes there seems to be a sort of weeping and the face turns red.
Vomiting and sore throat may occur. It could result in bronchio-pneumonia.
Causes: Whooping coughs starts with rapid accumulations of mucous in the throat and the person affected feels choked and because of the sudden cut in the co-ordination with the diaphragm; it could lead to death! Other causes of cough generally should also be taken into consideration.
