Home remedies for Cough ( Whooping cough)

Nugget : the disease does carry the risk of severe complications, including pneumonia and brain damage.

Nugget 2 :patients should avoid eating mucous-forming foods like milk, milk products, and dairy including tofu or ice cream, in order to better manage the treatment.

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough -- also called pertussis -- is caused by a highly contagious bacterial infection. The disease-causing bacterium, Bordetella pertussis, travels through the air in tiny droplets released when a person coughs or sneezes. If whooping cough germs find a home in the windpipe, the bacteria start producing toxins that irritate the surrounding tissues. The body responds by producing lots of mucus that clogs the windpipe and causes a wracking cough.

If you live with someone who has whooping cough -- and if you haven’t been vaccinated (or already had the disease) -- there’s an 80 percent chance that you’ll also get sick. Even if you've been vaccinated in the past, you can still get the disease, though it may be a milder case. Without treatment, whooping cough remains contagious for about three weeks.

Annoying indeed, but also dangerous, this cough starts as part of a cold with symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing, and a general body ache. While seeming like a normal, dry cough accompanying a cold, within the first week it turns into a wheezing cough where the patient suffers attacks of coughing that last beyond breath.

Home Remedies

In order to stave off a build-up of mucous, patients should avoid eating mucous-forming foods like milk, milk products, and dairy including tofu or ice cream, in order to better manage the treatment. Meals should also be smaller and more frequent with lower fats. The patient should stay hydrated with fruit juice, popsicles to soothe the throat, hot tes, and plenty of water.read on...

Vitamin C supplements should be taken along with bioflavonoids to promote the immune system. Zinc can also help strengthen your immunity, and probiotics such as yogurt are helpful for getting the digestive tract running smoothly as an attack like this on the body can mess with digestion.

These home remedies can help soothe your insides while coping with the ongoing stress of treating whooping cough:

• Orange juice mixed with water
• Diet rich in fruit
• spending time outdoors with fresh air balanced with lots of rest and relaxation
• Five drops of garlic juice 2 to 3 times a day may help the severity of the cough
• Almond oil in tea
• Ginger juice with honey and fenugreek
• Epsom salt baths with cold compresses against the throat to soothe the body and relieve pain and agitation

Most of these remedies seem to be beneficial for children and have not been used primarily on adults because adults tend to get much milder cases of the infection, but it’s not to say they cannot work. As for my own bout of whooping cough, I will try to refrain from giggling at the phrase, stop enjoying cereal and milk products for the time being, and make some more herbal tea to ease my scratchy, wheezing throat.

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