How to relieve nasal congestion at home

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 a reaction of the body to many negative environmental factors. With the help of this mucus, the body tries to get rid of allergens, viruses and bacteria that enter the nasal passages. However, often a runny nose is not only an endless flow from the nose, but also swelling of the mucosa, which interferes with normal breathing. Before we consider effective ways to get rid of nasal congestion, we will try to understand why a runny nose occurs and a symptom of what diseases it is.

Causes of the common cold

1. The most common cause of the common cold is ARVI. The virus enters the body through the nose - the smallest particles remain on the mucosa and penetrate the blood. To get rid of the virus as soon as possible, the mucous membrane begins to produce a lot of mucus in order to wash off the unwanted guest.
2. Another common cause of a runny nose and nasal congestion is an allergen. The body works the same way as with a cold, only in this case it tries to get rid not of the virus, but of particles of allergens that have fallen on the mucous membrane.
3. Nasal congestion and mucus can occur in smokers.
4. The ingestion of a foreign body into the nose clogs a narrow passage, while a lot of mucus begins to be produced. In this case, after a while, an unpleasant characteristic odor from the nose appears.
5. Injuries, bruises, damage to the nasal septum, other physiological changes lead to a delay in air flow and nasal congestion.
6. Some serious illnesses can also go amid a runny nose and nasal congestion. These are tuberculosis, syphilis, autoimmune diseases, thyroid diseases. Some infectious diseases may have a co-occurring factor such as an increase in adenoids, for example, infectious mononucleosis.
7. Prolonged inflammation of the adenoids leads to the fact that they are constantly in an increased state. Sometimes this situation can only be solved by surgical removal of adenoids.
8. Dry indoor air has a very bad effect on the nasal mucosa. It dries up, crusts appear, and an ideal environment is created for the development and reproduction of bacteria. In winter, when 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 wet towels on the batteries. It’s good to have an aquarium or other large containers of water indoors.

Nasal congestion is an unpleasant occurrence. The easiest way to get rid of this is to use vasoconstrictor drops and sprays, which are in a huge assortment presented in any pharmacy. However, often such drugs cause increased sensitivity of the mucosa, it dries out, and addiction to such drugs often occurs. To avoid such consequences, you can get rid of nasal congestion in other, more gentle ways.

Rinse nose

To help the body wash the bacteria, virus and allergen from the mucous membrane, you need to do a nose 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, a solution of furatsilina. In 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 teapot and inserted into the nostril that breathes better.Slowly tilt your head and find a tilt angle at which the infused water will exit the second nostril. After that, rinse the second nostril in the same way. Then you need to blow your nose thoroughly. After washing the nose, you can not go out into the cold air for about an hour. The frequency of nose washing depends on the severity of the patient’s condition, but usually two procedures per day are enough to feel significant relief in a couple of days.

Inhalation

This is another great way to quickly and safely clear your nose of mucus, open nasal breathing. Inhalations are done as follows. Pour boiling water into a wide basin or pan and let it cool slightly. Namely, lightly so that the steam continues to go, but could not scald your skin. If you are inhaling a child, be very careful - first try the temperature of the steam on yourself. In boiling water, you can add a drop of medicinal balm "Asterisk". It contains many essential oils that 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 composition with a full chest, inhale through the nose, and exhale through the mouth.

Massage and gymnastics

You can get rid of nasal congestion using physiological procedures. Massage and breathing exercises no worse than many drugs can cleanse the nose of mucus. Acupuncture massage is an independent effect on points located on the temples, nose wings, nose bridge. Slowly massage the indicated areas with your fingertips for at least 10 minutes per day. This will significantly speed up recovery.

Do not forget about breathing exercises. It is not difficult to do it, the main thing is the regularity of classes.

1. The first exercise is very simple - a slow and deep breath and a quick exhale.
2. The second exercise is taking a deep breath and exhaling as slowly as possible when closing one of the nostrils. Repeat the exercise with both nostrils.
3. The third exercise - inhale and exhale air as slowly as possible with just one nostril.
4. Another effective exercise is a slow long breath and intermittent exhalation from one nostril. That is, we breathe in with the whole chest, close one nostril and exhale all the air with five to six portions with sharp shocks.

Do not forget to perform these exercises, and you will not only get rid of a cold, but improve your well-being.

How to relieve nasal congestion in a child

The problem of nasal congestion is most acute in infants, since at the same time they can not eat and sleep normally. When sucking the baby’s mouth is busy, the nose is the only possible way of breathing. With nasal congestion, the child cannot eat normally, is often interrupted, does not sleep, cries a lot. In this situation, the baby urgently needs help.

To get started, provide your child with cool, moist air. If the room is cool, you do not need to turn on the heater, it is better to dress the baby warmer. Washing the baby’s nose consists of instilling saline in his nose. You can buy it in a pharmacy in the form of an ampoule or make it yourself - add a pinch of sea salt to a cup of water. Pipette the prepared solution into a pipette and drop one drop into each nostril of the baby. After that, let the mucus soak a little. After 10 minutes, you need to remove the mucus from the baby’s nose. Since the kids still do not know how to blow their nose, this must be done with an aspirator. The pharmacy offers a wide selection of these devices - from electric ones to ordinary ones in the form of a rubber bulb. The principle of their work is simple - with the help of vacuum all the mucus is pulled out. After such washing, the child will be much easier to breathe.

Do not drip breast milk into your nose! It has long been scientifically proven that this method of controlling the common 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 alternative medicine, which can greatly facilitate breathing with a runny nose.

1. Aloe and Kalanchoe have powerful healing potential. The juice of these plants perfectly cleanses the nose. Put a leaf of the plant in the freezer. Frozen leaf is very easy to grate, after which you will get fresh juice. Drop one drop into each nostril, after which you will begin to sneeze a lot. Thus, Kalanchoe, irritating the mucosa, helps to get rid of stagnant snot.
2. Beetroot copes well with a runny nose, people of the older generation know this. Root juice should be squeezed and be sure to dilute in half with warm water. If this is not done, the juice may burn the mucous membrane.
3. Onions and butter. Onion has a huge amount of volatile, which are able to fight colds and a runny nose. Onion juice should be mixed in equal proportions with vegetable oil. Drop the resulting solution into each nostril, after which you need to lie down for 10 minutes.
4. Garlic and honey. Finely chop the garlic, pour it with a little honey. Heat the composition in a water bath and let it brew 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 the nose at the beginning of the disease. This can be done with boiled eggs or animal fat - lamb, badger or goose. Grease the nose and wings of the nose with fat. Such fat is able to warm for a long time, therefore, such therapy is very effective.

When getting rid of a cold, follow the general rules for treating diseases. For allergic rhinitis, do not forget to take an antihistamine and get rid of the allergen. When acute respiratory viral infections, observe a plentiful drinking regime, often ventilate the room, increase air humidity. Usually a runny nose lasts about two weeks, and our tips will help you to halve this period.

Video: how to relieve nasal congestion without drops