Cough: Natural Cough Remedies

What is Cough

The cough is a reflex mechanism in defense of our body, able to guarantee the compensation of the respiratory system and the airway patency: the cough frees the airways from an excess of secretions (phlegm) and prevents entry into the trachea and bronchi of foreign substances, causing them to be expelled if you accidentally inhale.

Cough is a complex reflex that involves both the central and peripheral nervous system, but also the bronchial smooth muscle.

Causes

A hypothesis on the aetiology of cough is the following: the irritation of the bronchial mucosa causes broncho-constriction, which in turn stimulates the cough receptors (a specialized type of tensoceptors) located at the level of the tracheobronchial tracts; from these "sensors" start the signals along the pathways afferent to the vagus nerve, which reach the bulbar center of the cough (near the floor of the fourth ventricle) where integration pathways connect cortical and subcortical neurons to the bulbar center; hence the efferent pathways, thus leaving the CNS, follow the inferior laryngeal nerve, the phrenic nerve and some spinal nerves and go to stimulate the larynx, the tracheobronchial tree, the diaphragm and the accessory respiratory muscles, triggering the cough.

When the cough loses this character and becomes chronic and persistent, it causes an intense malaise that significantly reduces the quality of life: if it assumes connotations of particular gravity and duration, and is associated with other specific clinical signs, the cough can be defined pathological .

For the cough, different stimuli can be identified:

Thermal: cold air, too hot and dry air;
Mechanics: intraluminal foreign material;
Chemicals: acids, gases, fumes, perfumes, ammonia;
allergic;
Parasites;
Neoplasms;
Stress.

The cough mechanism can be divided into 3 main mechanical phases:

INSPIRATORY PHASE: during this phase there is a contraction of the abductor muscles of the arytenoid cartilages and it is commonly reached, in the voluntary cough, 50% of the vital capacity; therefore, the effectiveness of the cough is greater the higher the inspired volume.
COMPRESSIVE PHASE: after the inspiratory phase there is the closure of the glottis and the contraction of the thoraco-abdominal muscles, which together lead to an increase in thoracic pressure.
EXPULSIVE PHASE: following the increase in thoracic pressure the glottis is opened after about 0.2-0.3 seconds and the air comes out in an explosive manner at high speed; it is precisely this mechanism that generates the characteristic noise of cough.

Cough medications

Traditional Pharmacological Therapy

The cough, based on its characteristics, can be divided into dry cough and fat cough; the choice of the most suitable therapy to be implemented is based precisely on this differentiation.

The dry cough is a non-productive cough, therefore the choice of the drug must fall on a cough suppressant, since it is the cause of the symptomatology that must first be treated.

The fatty cough is a productive cough, with the presence of phlegm: if the mucus stagnates in the bronchi, in addition to making breathing difficult, it is an excellent breeding ground for microbes, which will then cause respiratory infections; in cases where there is production of phlegm it is therefore advisable to encourage its expulsion by making it more fluid: then it is used for mucolytic and expectorant drugs.

Cough treatment drugs can be divided into several categories:

Antitussive drugs

These drugs are used when it is necessary to suppress the symptom without interference with the pathological pattern that generated it (dry cough). We can distinguish antitussive drugs with central action, which act on the bulbar center of the cough (opioid analgesics, dextromethorphan, codeine, levopropoxyphene, noscapine, which are among the most effective), or peripheral action; the latter inhibit the cough reflex in its afferent portion (local and demulcent anesthetics form a protective layer that coats the irritated mucosa: examples are syrups and tablets based on acacia, licorice, glycerin and honey).

Homemade cough licorice syrup

Liquorice Syrup against Cough

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Expectorant drugs

They are medicines that increase the mucus volume of bronchial secretions, facilitating their elimination: they stimulate the activity of the bronchial glands and increase the aqueous component of the secretion (guaifenesine, guaiacolsulfonate). In addition to the use of these active ingredients, proper hydration is the single most important feature that can be adopted to promote expectoration.

Mucolytic drugs

The drugs belonging to this category contain active ingredients with free sulfhydryl groups, capable of breaking the disulfide bridges of the mucoproteins and thereby reducing the viscosity of the mucus.

Simple mucolytics (ambroxol and carbocysteine) or mucolytics with antioxidant properties (acetylcysteine) can be distinguished.

Cough and Medicinal Plants

In the treatment of cough, herbal medicine plays a very important role: it is common to use medicinal plants to relieve pain caused by the pharynx and larynx, but also to help expel mucus and thus free the airways.

For cough and phlegm expectorant, emollient and fluidifying drugs are useful, because they are able to modify bronchial secretions.

Medicinal plants with an emollient action act on inflamed mucous membranes, thus attenuating irritation: these plants are rich in mucilaginous substances which, thanks to their physical properties, are stratified on the mucous membranes, covering them with a layer that protects them from irritative stimuli. The mucilages are nothing but polysaccharides, amorphous substances that swell on contact with water, creating colloidal and viscous solutions with local anti-inflammatory action on the tissues they come into contact with.

The main functions of medicinal plants and emollient teas are those of lubricating the respiratory mucosa, mitigating the burning sensation and the congestion present due to inflammation, attenuating bronchial secretions and reducing the cough stimulus.

PLANTS WITH EMOLLIENT ACTION:

Altea Althaea officinalis ;
Iceland Lichen Cetraria islandica ;
Malva Malva sylvestris ;
Plantago lanceolata plantain;
Farfarago Farfara butterfly.

In addition to plants with an emollient action, expectorant drugs also play an important role in therapeutic cough teas: they are plants rich in saponins that have the function of thinning secretions and facilitating their expulsion.