Congestion

Try putting VICK'S on the bottom of the person's feet, chest back and bundle up real tight. Green tea is also real good. So hope they or you feel much better!!!

Hi T.

I have a 3 month who has a cough and stuffy nose. Try putting vicks on the bottom of his feet. Use a warm mist humidifier instead of cold mist. And prop his head up when he goes to sleep. Also, use Saline Drops, one drop in each nostril then suck it out with the syringe.

I use a natural chest rub from Gaia Herbs brand from Artesian Health Foods. I rub in on their chest, back, and the bottoms of their feet and put socks on them. It seems to help especially through the night.

Yes, I would get some of the vicks vapor tablets for the shower. Sit in the bathroom for a good 10-20 minutes. I would repeat this once a day until clear. I also notice that the dust in the home sparks up some allergy, maybe use sprays like lisol until cleared as well. Drinks lots of tea, and stay away from milk products. Good Luck!

I was told by my doctor and I have personally tried using a nasal rinse. You can purchase this at any local pharmacy. It is over the counter and the clerk in the pharmacy can assist you. It really works well and helps get rid of all the flem and helps you breath. This procedure was also shown on Oprah. Good luck...

You need to get a humidifier... there are hot and cold I suggest the cold one... it can be used any time of the year..... I love the ones with animal forms @ TARGET, good price too!!! homeopathy is also great!!! Love, G.. :0)
P.S. Go with the more natural stuff, do not overwhelme the body with too much meds!!!

What works for me is to drink plenty of clear fluids (water, juice, ginger tea) and avoid dairy products, which increase mucus production. Also, having someone pat you on your back and sides (around where the lungs and ribs are) to help physically break up the mucus in the lungs will assist in moving it out. I agree that steam from a shower/bath is good, and taking deep breaths is very helpful.
~Jen W.

Ask your doctor, but try mucinex. It breaks the flem up and brings it up. If you want to try a more natural way, boil some thyme and oregano in water. Drain it, hold your nose and drink some. It tastes horrible, but works. Also, a table spoon of honey helps as well.

Sitting in the steam in the bathroom is good to get rid of congestion for a short period of time (as long as the air remains warm) - running a cool air humidifier at night in the room of the person who is congested keeps the nose clear all night long.

NEVER use a warm air humidifier as there is a huge risk of abstaining a burn: the hot air running continuously in a room with make it hot, not only a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and viruses to thrive, but will overheat a child with a cold leaving them feeling sicker. A cool air humidifier is reccommended by nearly all pediatricians as a medication free way of clearing a congested nose. Bulb syringe (we call it a snot sucker in our house!) also works well - saline nose spray or drops is safe for the smallest of infants to the largest adults for non medicated clearing of congestion too.

How old is your child. My baby had terrible congestion at about 7 months. I took him in the shower with me until we'd steamed up the whole bathroom. He loved it and definitely felt much better.

You can run a hot shower and you and your child can sit in the bathroom (not in the shower) with the door closed. Really let the room steam up. The warm moist air does help some. There are also warm mist humidifiers, but if used in your childs room overnight it will have water rolling down the walls. I normally will only do it 1-2 night max. If you can you could raise your child's head while they sleep. I have a wedge I put under the mattress for when she is sick. Hope this helps.

yah steam works really well, my 5 month old had a lot of congestion recently and I hate giving medicine to my kids unless I've tried every natural remedy I know, anyway, my doctor said to try it. It really works, just turn your shower on full blast and let the hot water run with the door closed, wait a few minutes for it to steam up,then enter afterwards. That's how I did it. Anyway, sit in there for about 15-20 minutes. If I were you I'd put something cool on like a robe or something, because you and your child will be almost soaked when you're done.

A friend of mine has a Cecilian grandmother that swears by Vicks Vapor rub! For children, she rubs it on the bottom of their feet, then puts socks on them,(for sleeping). Another way (for an adult), is to boil a pot of water,remove from stove, then add a TBSP or 2 of Vicks, stick your head over the pot with a towel, and inhail. That's supposed to clear everything rightup. Good luck!!
From: A.G., Davis, ca.

My children are just getting over that terrible flew.
My 15 yr old son was diagnosed with brongitis. The doctor put him on an antibiotic and claritan D and mucinex DM.
I started taking the claritan D and mucinex DM and I started feeling bettter that day.
Good luck

In addition to what you've already heard (mucinex, humidifier, hot shower) I always find it helps to tackle any post-nasal drip that's keeping the congestion going. Rarely do we have chest congestion without sinus congestion, even if sometimes we don't notice it because it's all post-nasal (meaning, drips down the internal passage from your sinus to your throat) that happens while we're sleeping.

So an anti-histimine, such as benedryl, taken a little before bedtime can help dry that up and make it so you don't wake up with more congestion in your chest than you went to bed with.

Be sure to visit your doctor of course if you think you have serious chest congestion. It's always possible you need anti-biotics, or even a presctiption strength medicine to clear up your lungs. Don't let it progress into pneumonia.

Is this for an adult or child? Either way, eucalyptus oil can help. Run the shower and plug the tub. Add oil to the water puddling in the bottom. The steam grabs the oil, so breath deep and it will help clear the congestion. "Vick's Vaporrub" sells their own version of this home remedy.
-OR-
Go to the health food store and ask for Black Elderberry (there is alcohol-free for kids). Try the brand "Herb Pharm". This is a great tasting extract that clears congestion.

Good Luck
Good Health!

Steam is great. Also try patting the chest many times a day, this will help break up the mucus so that it can be coughed up.
I get a medicine from my accupuncturist that works great as well.....it is made from snake gall bladder(sounds gross!!), but it has worked incredible for myself and kids. My daughter had RSV at 6 months old and I used this instead of steroids and she was better within a couple of days.

~C.

Steam is great for chest congestion. Go into the bathroom with the door closed and turn the bath/shower on hot. Let the steam fill the room. Breathe in deeply.

T. This sounds ridiculous but it works! Not long ago I had bronchitis I was getting well but I couldn't sleep because of horrible congestion & cough. My friend e mailed this remedy to me. When you go to bed rub mentolatum or vicks vapo-rub on feet and put socks on. I slept all night without one cough or wheez!!

My doctor recommended propping our son up at night-we put a big pillow underneath his mattress so that his head rested above the rest of his body, that seemed to work well for us until he started moving around too much and flipping upside down. That didn't pose a danger or anything, just caused us to take the pillow out and wait out the congestion after that...

Having raised 4 children [13 thru 27]I can honestly say Vicks vopor rub is alwasy my fail safe. You can get it in several forms. I use the rub on neck, back and chest, especially at bed time. I also use the liquid form in a pan of hot water with a towel over your head. You can even get tablets that disolve in the shower which I used just last week for myself and they worked pretty well.
Funny how some of grandmas remedies still work!!

A humidifier us supposed to work, I always use this but never sure really if it works...