How To Prevent Cough Naturally From Spreading – 21 Ways Revealed

I. Overview

A cough is a sudden occurring; it aims at clearing the large breathing passages from irritants, foreign particles, and microbes. However, a frequent cough can be a signal of a serious disease. Almost cough is caused by a respiratory tract infection, choking, smoking, air pollution, lung tumors or even heart failure. Therefore, its prevention and treatment should start from treating these above ones. Let have a look at our article on Effective Remedies to know how to prevent cough naturally from spreading. However, firstly, we should understand its causes and symptoms.

• Natural home remedies for cough relief in adults
• Popular home remedies for sore throat pain revealed

II. Things You Need To Know

1. Classification Of Cough

There are many ways to classify coughs depending on its character, duration, and quality. According to duration, there are three types. If it lasts less than 3 weeks, it is considered acute; if it lasts from 3 to 8 weeks, it is considered subacute. When a cough presents in longer duration, it is chronic. A cough can also be divided into a cough at night, a cough during both day and night, or a cough during the day.

2. What Are Causes Of Cough?

• A respiratory tract infection, such as a cold, and pneumonia is a common cause of a cough. In most cases, this infection will cause an acute cough. However, after this progress, you will appear to have a post infectious cough. It is dry and non-productive.
• Asthma is a cause of a chronic cough in adults and children. A cough may be the reason for asthma and vice verse. In this case, a treatment for asthma is also helpful to cough.
• Air pollution, including tobacco smoke, irritant gases, and dampness, leads to a cough ^[1]. Tobacco smoke can cause inflammation and difficulties in clearing mucus out of the airways. Furthermore, poor air quality seriously affects the human health, especially the respiratory and cardiovascular system. For instance, if you do exercise outdoors on a hot and smoggy day, you can increase the level of pollutant exposure. The reaction of each body against these pollutants is based on the degree of exposure and individual health status.
• The appearance of the foreign body is also a potential cause of a cough. This disease can happen in people who have dryness from mouth breathing or who swallow strange things.
• You can also suffer from a cough when the lung tissues are affected.

3. What Are Symptoms Of Cough?

A cough has three phases. Firstly, you inhale or breathe in. When you do this, your vocal cords close, the pressure in your throat and lung increase and then you produce an explosive release of air at the end of the third stage. It is how a cough sounds like.

The symptoms of a cough are often:

• Cold and fever
• Chest pain and headache
• Blocked nose
• Sleep disorders
• Difficult breath

How To Prevent Cough Naturally From Spreading – 21 Useful Ways Revealed

III. How-to Tips & Tricks To Prevent Cough

1. Drink Enough Water

As we said above, a dry throat can lead to a cough. Therefore, it is necessary to drink enough amount of water. This is always a wonderful method on how to prevent cough naturally. However, you should be careful with the beverage because it might irritate your throat more.

The water you drink should be warm as it can be more effective in preventing cough than the cold one. The American Lung Association pointed out that warm water can help break up mucus and bring you gentle and smooth airways. And as a result, it is helpful for cough prevention.

2. How To Prevent Cough – Be Careful With Dairy

Milk, especially whole milk may coat your throat and make you feel like more phlegm is existing in your throat. However, cold dairy products can help to soothe your dry and irritated throat and be helpful on how to prevent cough naturally in some cases. But if you wonder what to choose, water or dairy to soothe your throat, always choose water.

3. Keep The Surrounding Air Fresh And Clean

It is necessary to stay out of the dirty air, including smoke. When the air where you live is polluted, you may get a cough if you have not or your cough will be worsened if you have this one. You should also consider the moving air from ceiling fans, heaters or air conditioners because it can further dry the air and produce additional tickling sensations to create a cough.

4. How To Prevent Cough – Wash Your Hands Frequently

It is really helpful on how to prevent cough from spreading if you wash your hands regularly, especially in the cold and flu season. Washing your hands will help you to protect yourself from the spread of cold or influenza virus.

5. How To Prevent Cough – Get Rid Of Smoking

Avoiding smoke and any types of tobacco are important on how to prevent cough naturally ^[2]. When you smoke, your throat and even your lung are irritated, and this irritation will lead to a serious cough after that. It is also dangerous if you are the second patient to smoking. If you do not smoke, but your relatives or colleagues do, you have the higher risk of getting cough rather than the ones who live in the fresh environment.

6. How To Prevent Cough – Avoid Cold Or Influenza Patients

If it is possible, you should keep away from the people who have a cold or influenza. Because when you talk to them, the virus can spread from their bodies to yours and cause a cough.

7. How To Prevent Cough – Consume More Vitamin C

Vitamin C is rich in immune-boosting vitamins and minerals. It can encourage the functions of your immune system. It will release the risk factors for pneumonia and cough. Therefore, it is good to take Vitamin C into account to help on how to prevent cough naturally.

Read more: Minerals & vitamin for dry skin on face & body in winter

8. Use Salt Water For Gargling Every Morning

If you use salt water, you are working effectively on how to prevent cough from spreading. Saltwater can give humidity to your throat, soothe the throat pain and act as an antibacterial agent. You should try to do this once a day to prevent the throat infection and keep yourself away from cough disease.

IV. Foods That Can Prevent Cough

1. How To Prevent Cough – Garlic

Garlic has many health benefits, including the function of assisting the immune system. Consume more garlic can reduce the risk factor for cold and influenza as well as a cough. You can use garlic in your cooking or add it to the salad after cutting them into small and thin slices. Garlic – honey tea is also a good choice for people on how to prevent cough naturally.

2. How To Prevent Cough – Kiwi

Kiwi is rich in vitamin C so it can help your immune system. The journal Thorax pointed out that 44% of people consuming the most citrus and kiwi fruit were less likely to experience wheezing, 28% of them have lower risk of a runny nose, and 25% people seem to have less trouble with a chronic cough in comparison with those who consume a controlled amount of kiwi and citrus.

3. How To Prevent Cough – Honey

Honey is gentle and effective on how to prevent cough as it can help to soothe your throat. Therefore, you can choose to drink a cup of honey tea every morning to relax your throat and keep it away from a cough.

Study more: Beauty and health benefits of honey – Its uses & side effects

4. How To Prevent Cough – Ginger

Ginger is rich in antibiotic properties which can release a cough at any time of the day. When being combined with peppermint, it will treat the infection to soothe your throat as it comforts the itching sensation. Therefore, consider ginger in your diet to help yourself on how to prevent cough from spreading.

5. How To Prevent Cough – Turmeric Milk

Warm turmeric milk is really useful for cough prevention, especially for a dry cough. Turmeric is helpful in reducing chest congestion and fighting harmful bacteria. If you drink this turmeric milk as your habit, you have completed a part of cough prevention works.

6. How To Prevent Cough – Guava

Like ginger, guava has many antibiotic properties and vitamin C. It is good if you drink tea made with guava leaves or guava juice. Both of them can help kill the microbes, boost the immune system and be effective on how to prevent cough naturally.

7. How To Prevent Cough – Almonds

It is said to be perfect for cough prevention if you add some crushed almonds to orange juice that you often drink. Almonds have natural immune-boosting properties so it can refresh and soothe your throat effectively.

8. How To Prevent Cough – Carrot

The strong antioxidants and phytochemicals in carrot are useful on how to prevent cough from spreading. You can consider drinking carrot juice to naturally treat the throat infections and prevent a cough. Even if you have a cough and it is quite serious, you can also use this easy to make recipe.

9. How To Prevent Cough – Foods To Avoid

You really should avoid these following foods to work effectively on how to prevent cough naturally:

• Spicy and fried food
• Coffee
• Shellfish, yeast, nuts, and soy
• Processed food such as snack
• White bread and pasta

V. How To Prevent Cough From Spreading

1. How To Prevent Cough From Spreading With Honey

As we said above, honey is especially good for your throat and cough in children ^[3]. So the application of honey in treating the cough is a must. Here are the directions for you to make a cup of delicious honey tea.

Remedy 1: Honey And Lemon

Directions:

• Add 2 tablespoons of honey to a cup of hot water and mix them well
• Add to this mixture 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice and then stir them
• Enjoy this tea

Note: In order to have the best result, you should apply this remedy twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Remedy 2: Honey And Cinnamon

• Heat 1 tablespoon of honey
• When it runs slightly, add a pinch of cinnamon powder and mix them well
• Cool the above mixture and enjoy it

Note: If your cough is serious, you can drink this 2 or 3 times per day to release its pain.

Get more: Beauty & health benefits of cinnamon – uses & side effects

Remedy 3: Honey And Ginger

• Pour 4 cups of water into a pan, add to this water 3 tablespoons of chopped ginger and 1 tablespoon of dried peppermint
• Boil this mixture carefully and then cool it
• When this water is cool enough, add 1 cup of honey to it and mix them well
• Consume 1 tablespoon of this mixture once every 3 or 4 hours to get rid of a cough
• The rest amount can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can make once only and use in 3 weeks.

2. How To Prevent Cough From Spreading With Fenugreek

Fenugreek is rich in anti-microbial, analgesic properties and anti-inflammatory so it can help to release the pain caused by a cough and soothe your throat. You can follow our directions below to prevent cough from spreading.

Directions:

• Prepare fenugreek seeds and grind them into powder
• Add 2 tablespoons of the above-grinded fenugreek to 2 cups of warm water
• Add to this cup of water 3 teaspoons of dried thyme, 3 cloves and 3 teaspoons of dried oregano
• Let them dip for about 15 minutes to create the herbal tea
• While you are waiting, prepare a cup of honey, add to this 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix them well on a low heat
• Add the herbal tea to the above mixture of honey and olive oil and continue to cook
• Combine with stirring until they are well mixed
• Take the juice of one lemon and add it to the above mixture
• Take the above mixture from the heat and let it cool
• Consume this herbal tea 2 or 3 times per day, and for each time, you should drink 1 tablespoon of this only
• The rest should be stored in a mason jar in the refrigerator for continuing use for up to 2 months.

3. How To Prevent Cough From Spreading With Garlic

Even sometimes, it tastes and sounds terrible; garlic is a wonderful medicine for your cough treatment. It can help you to remove the worst cough very quickly thanks to the appearance of strong antibacterial and pain-relieving qualities. Here are the directions on how to use garlic for cough prevention that you can easily apply at home.

Directions:

• Prepare 1 – 2 garlic cloves and a glass of milk
• Add the garlic cloves to the milk and boil them
• Let them cool and enjoy
• For the best result, you should continue to drink this milk in 2 or 3 nights.

See more: How to use garlic for sinus infection

4. How To Prevent Cough From Spreading With Almonds

It sounds very strange, but almonds are good for cough treatment. It has natural immune-boosting properties so it can soothe your throat and be an effective medicine for a dry cough.

Directions:

• Prepare 7 – 8 almonds and grind them into powder
• Add to the almonds powder a cup of orange juice
• Mix them well so that the almonds powder can deeply dissolve into the orange juice
• Drink this juice when you feel pain from cough.

VI. When To See Doctors?

If your cough lasts for more than 3 weeks, it is necessary for you to see the doctor. This is because, in some cases, long-term cough is a signal of a serious disease such as lung cancer or heart failure. If you see the following symptoms, you have to go to the doctor as soon as possible.

• Your cough gets worse and worse
• You lose weight
• You have difficulty swallowing
• You cough up blood and have pain chest
• You see the changes in your voice.

Above are 21 simple but useful ways on how to prevent cough naturally that you can easily apply at home. If you have any comment, please leave it under this article. For other home remedies, you can visit our Prevention to get more information.