The content of the article
It is difficult to meet a person who does not know what a runny nose is. And this is not surprising, because the mucus coming from the nose is the body's response to many negative environmental factors. With this mucus, the body tries to get rid of allergens, viruses and bacteria that have entered the nasal passages. However, a runny nose is often not only an endless flow from the nose, but also swelling of the mucous membrane, which interferes with normal breathing. Before we consider effective ways to get rid of nasal congestion, let's try to figure out why a runny nose occurs and what kind of diseases it is a symptom of.
Causes of rhinitis
- The most common cause of a cold is ARVI. The virus enters the body through the nose - the smallest particles remain on the mucous membrane and enter the blood.To get rid of the virus as soon as possible, the mucous begins to produce a lot of mucus to wash away the unwanted guest.
- Another common cause of the common cold and nasal congestion is the allergen. The body works in the same way as with a cold, only in this case, it tries not to get rid of the virus, but from the particles of allergens on the mucous membrane.
- Nasal congestion and mucus flow can be observed in smokers.
- If a foreign body gets into the nose, it clogs the narrow passage, and a lot of mucus starts to be produced. In this case, after some time, there is an unpleasant characteristic odor from the nose.
- Injuries, bruises, damage to the nasal septum, other physiological changes lead to a delay in the flow of air and nasal congestion.
- Some serious illnesses can also occur on the background of a runny nose and nasal congestion. These are tuberculosis, syphilis, autoimmune diseases, thyroid diseases. Some infectious diseases may have a concomitant factor such as an increase in adenoids, for example, infectious mononucleosis.
- Prolonged inflammation of the adenoids leads to the fact that they are constantly in an enlarged state.Sometimes this situation is solved only by surgical removal of the adenoids.
- Dry indoor air is very bad for the nasal mucosa. It dries out, crusts appear, an ideal environment for the development and reproduction of bacteria is created. In winter, when the batteries mercilessly dry the air, you need to use humidifiers to correct the situation. If there is no such humidifier, you can at least hang out wet towels on the batteries. It is good to have an aquarium in the room or other large water tanks.
Nasal congestion is an unpleasant phenomenon. The easiest way to get rid of this is to use vasoconstrictor drops and sprays, which are in a huge range in any pharmacy. However, often these drugs cause increased sensitivity of the mucous membranes, it is overdried, often addictive to such drugs. To avoid such consequences, you can get rid of nasal congestion in other, more benign ways.
Nasal wash
To help the body wash bacteria, virus and allergen from the mucous, you need to do a nasal wash.To do this, you need a small kettle and a solution for washing. It can be a simple salty water, a decoction of medicinal plants, furatsilina solution. At the pharmacy, you can also buy ready-made solutions for washing.
Washing is carried out as follows. Warm liquid should be poured into a small kettle and inserted into the nostril that breathes better. Slowly tilt your head and find an angle of inclination at which the poured water will come out of the second nostril. After this, rinse the second nostril in the same way. Then you need to blow your nose well. After washing the nose can not go out into the cold air for about an hour. The frequency of nasal washing depends on the severity of the patient’s condition, but usually two procedures a day is enough to feel significant relief in a couple of days.
Inhalation
This is another great way to quickly and safely clear the nose of mucus, open nasal breathing. Inhalations are made as follows. In a wide bowl or pot, pour boiling water and let it cool slightly. That is, lightly, so that the steam continues to go, but could not scald your skin.If you inhale the baby, be very careful - first try the temperature of the steam on yourself. In boiling water, you can add a drop of medicinal balm "Star". It has a lot of essential oils that will instantly cope with congestion. Also, for inhalation, you can use a decoction of calendula, boiled potatoes, tincture of echinacea. Inhale the vapors of the treatment compound with a full breast, inhale through the nose, and exhale with the mouth.
Massage and gymnastics
You can get rid of nasal congestion with the help of physiological procedures. Massage and breathing exercises are not worse than many medicines can clear the nose of mucus. Acupuncture massage is an independent impact on the points located on the temples, wings of the nose, nose. Slowly massage the indicated areas for at least 10 minutes a day with fingertips. This will greatly speed recovery.
Do not forget about breathing exercises. It is easy to do it, most importantly, the regularity of classes.
- The first exercise is very simple - a slow and deep breath and a quick exhalation.
- The second exercise is a deep breath and the slowest possible breath when closing one of the nostrils. Repeat the exercise with both nostrils.
- The third exercise is to inhale and exhale the air as slowly as possible with only one nostril.
- Another effective exercise is a slow long breath and intermittent exhalation from one nostril. That is, we inhale the whole breast, close one nostril and exhale all the air in five or six portions with sharp jolts.
Do not forget to perform these exercises, and you will not only get rid of a cold, but improve your well-being.
How to remove nasal congestion in a child
The problem of nasal congestion is most acute in infants, as they cannot eat or sleep normally. When sucking the baby’s mouth is busy, the nose is the only possible way of breathing. With a stuffy nose, the child cannot eat normally, is often interrupted, does not sleep, cries a lot. In this situation, the baby needs urgent help.
To begin with, provide the child with cool, moist air. If the room is cool, you do not need to turn on the heater, it is better to wear a crumb warmer. Irrigation of the child’s nose is the instillation of saline into his nose.You can buy it in a pharmacy in the form of an ampoule or prepare it yourself - add a pinch of sea salt to a cup of water. Pipette the prepared solution into a pipette and put one drop in each nostril of the baby. After that, give the mucus a little soak up. After 10 minutes you need to remove the mucus from the nose of the child. Since babies do not know how to show off, this should be done with an aspirator. The pharmacy presents a wide selection of these devices - from electrical to ordinary ones in the form of a rubber pear. The principle of their work is simple - with the help of a vacuum, all the mucus is drawn out. After such a wash, it will be much easier for the baby to breathe.
Do not bury breast milk in your nose! It has long been scientifically proven that this method of dealing with a cold is not only ineffective, but also dangerous. The fact is that milk is an ideal environment for the development of bacteria, therefore such actions only aggravate the course of the disease.
Folk remedies against nasal congestion
There are many recipes of traditional medicine that can greatly facilitate breathing in the common cold.
- Aloe and Kalanchoe have powerful healing potential. The juice of these plants perfectly cleans the nose. Put a leaf of the plant in the freezer. Frozen leaf is very easy to grate on a fine grater, after which you get fresh juice. Put one drop in each nostril, after which you will begin to sneeze a lot. Thus Kalanchoe, irritating the mucous, helps get rid of stagnant snot.
- Beetroot copes well with the common cold, people of the older generation know about it. Juice root need to squeeze and be sure to dilute in half with warm water. If this is not done, the juice can burn the mucous.
- Onions and butter. In the bow a huge number of volatile production, which are able to deal with colds and runny nose. Onion juice should be mixed in equal proportions with vegetable oil. Put the resulting solution into each nostril, after which you need to lie down for 10 minutes.
- Garlic and honey. Finely chop the garlic, cover it with a small amount of honey. Heat the composition in a water bath and leave to infuse for a while. After a couple of hours, strain the composition and drip into each nostril in a warm form.
In addition, it is very useful to warm up the nose at the beginning of the disease.This can be done with boiled eggs or animal fat - lamb, badger or goose. Grease lubricate the nose and nose wings. Such fat can warm for a long time, so this therapy is very effective.
When getting rid of a cold, follow the general rules of treatment of diseases. For allergic rhinitis, do not forget to take an antihistamine drug and get rid of the allergen. In case of SARS, keep abundant drinking mode, ventilate the room more often, increase the humidity of the air. Usually runny nose lasts about two weeks, and our tips will help you to shorten this period by half.
Video: how to remove nasal congestion without drops
To send