10 Natural Dry Cough Medication Choices You Can Find at Home

Dry and itchy cough in the throat is very annoying. Then, how to treat it if it does not heal? Do not worry! You can try some traditional dry cough medicines below. Maybe you already have the ingredients at home.

The choice of traditional dry cough medicine

A dry cough that keeps popping up not only irritates you, but can also make your body weak. The reason is, dry cough can make the chest feel sore and sore throat.

Well, here is a selection of traditional medicines that you can try to relieve dry cough.

1.Honey

You can use honey as a traditional dry cough medicine at home.

According to several studies, honey is effective for relieving cough. In fact, this property is even similar to cough medicines containing dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine (antihistamines). In addition, honey can also increase endurance, so your condition gets better faster.

To use honey as a dry cough medicine, you can simply mix 2 tablespoons of honey into warm fresh tea. At the end of the concoction, give a little lemon juice. Drink this mixture once or twice a day until your condition improves somewhat.

Even though it has many health benefits, make sure you don't give honey to children under 1 year. Honey contains the bacterium Spostridium botulinum spores which can cause disease if the baby swallows them.

2. Mint leaves

The content of menthol mint leaves is believed to help relieve sore throats due to irritation. So that the dry cough that you experience quickly subsides, you can breathe warm steam from a mixture of 4 drops of mint leaf essential oil in a cup of hot water.

However, choose quality leaves so that the benefits are maximized. Mint leaves are good and suitable for consumption usually the surface is bright green and not stained.

3.Ginger

From the myriad benefits that ginger offers, this one spice was also effective for relieving dry cough and even asthma. Ginger contains anti-inflammatory compounds that can help relax the membranes in the airways, so that the intensity of your cough is reduced.

Although useful, make sure you use ginger for traditional dry cough medicines in moderation. Because, eating too much ginger can cause stomach pain and heartburn. You can make ginger or chew it raw.

However, instead of buying ginger anywhere, you better make it yourself at home. Besides being more economical, you can also ensure that the ingredients used to make ginger are guaranteed of its quality.

The following guidelines make healthy and healthy ginger drink:

Prepare 1 segment of medium-sized fresh ginger.
Peel the ginger thoroughly then grate or grow smooth.
Boil the ginger that has been refined before in 4 cups of water.
Wait until it boils, strain and serve.
This ginger water can be drunk both hot and cold. If the taste of ginger is too strong, you may add palm sugar or lemon juice.

4.Pineapple

You might never have thought that pineapple is one of the traditional dry cough medicines. This benefit is obtained from bromelanin, an enzyme contained in pineapple.

Bromelanin acts as an effective anti-inflammatory agent to relieve inflammation in the airways, thereby reducing the frequency of coughing and soothing the throat. Not only that, bromelanin is also mucolytic so that it can help thin the excess phlegm and eliminate it from your body.

As a traditional dry cough medicine, you can eat fresh pineapple or process it into juice. You can eat this fruit at least 2-3 times a day to relieve dry cough.

However, before trying to use pineapple for a natural dry cough medicine, make sure that you don't have an allergy to this fruit. For people who have a history of allergies and remain determined to consume pineapple, they may be at high risk of experiencing dangerous side effects.

5. Garlic

For some people, chewing raw garlic is staying digadang as a powerful traditional dry cough medicine. However, did you know that this assumption is actually mistaken?

Yes, garlic actually does not have special benefits for coughing. Even so, this herbal one can prevent you from getting further infections that can cause coughing, such as penumonia or bronchitis. This is because garlic has antiviral, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties which are considered effective in killing various disease causing organisms.

A study in the journal Advances in Therapy also found something similar. In the study, the researchers found that garlic consumed regularly can help increase endurance while preventing and / or alleviating flu symptoms, one of which can cause coughing.

So, it should be emphasized that consuming garlic regularly only as an effort to prevent various types of diseases, not cure it.

6. Thyme

Thyme is an herbal plant from Egypt which is included in the mint family. Thyme leaves have many health benefits, one of which is a traditional dry cough medicine.

Thyme leaves contain antioxidant compounds called flavonoids that can relax the throat muscles and reduce inflammation.

You can brew 2 teaspoons of dried thyme leaves in 1 cup of hot water. Then, stir well and wait a few minutes before filtering. Drink thyme tea while it's warm.

7. Salt water

Gargling salt water can make the discomfort in the throat subside, even if only for a while. Because the salt water from herbs is based on the principle of osmosis and homestasis, which is to overcome problems in inflamed tissue by absorbing all the water content and helping to relieve pain.

You can mix half a teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water. Then, gargle to the right, to the left, and while looking up (but not swallowed). Then poop. Do this several times or until your condition starts to improve.

However, avoid giving this traditional dry cough medicine to infants and children because they may not be able to rinse their mouth properly. Ideally, this traditional dry cough medicine is used for children over the age of 6 years and adults.

8. Warm broth soup

If your dry, itchy cough doesn't heal, try warm chicken soup mix with a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, and a little turmeric.

The active compound allicin in garlic has antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal functions that effectively kill various organisms that cause coughing. Meanwhile, turmeric works against inflammation that makes the cough incomplete and itchy throat.

Do not forget to also fill your soup with vegetables and meat that are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals to increase endurance. A strong immune system accelerates the healing process of your illness.

9. Black pepper tea

Black pepper tea ingredients are famous as traditional cough medicines from China. Black pepper contains substances that are able to hold air circulation and mucous flow in the postnasal drip so that it does not enter the throat.

How to make black pepper tea concoction as a traditional dry cough medicine is quite easy. Provide 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 2 tablespoons of honey in a cup. Then pour with hot water and cover the glass for 15 minutes. Strain tea and drink this mixture while warm.

You can also mix honey into the black pepper stew as a mild antibiotic as well as a flavor enhancer.

10. Lime

Indonesian people may be familiar with traditional lime juice mixed with sweet soy sauce to deal with dry cough. However, is that assumption correct?

Reporting from Kompas, Prof. pharmaceutical expert Dr. Sumali Wiryowidagdo, M.Sc, Apt. emphasized that the lime and soy sauce solution actually doesn't cure the cough itself - whether it's due to viruses or bacteria. This solution is only useful to relieve the accompanying symptoms of cough.

Lime is widely used as one of the herbal medicinal ingredients because this fruit contains essential oils and various substances that can relax muscles in the respiratory tract. This fruit also has properties to reduce heat and overcome hoarseness due to itchy throat, which may be another symptom that follows coughing.

While soy sauce actually does not have certain benefits for cough and other respiratory disorders. The addition of soy sauce itself aims to reduce the sour taste of lime. In addition to soy sauce, you can reduce the sour taste of lime with honey.

James Steckelberg M.D, a doctor from Mayo Medical School stated that lime juice can be mixed with honey to relieve cough symptoms, while reducing the sour taste of the lime itself. Some studies say that the sweet taste in honey can trigger the production of saliva and mucus to moisturize the throat.

This traditional dry cough medicine is not recommended for children under 1 year. As mentioned above, honey can cause dangerous side effects if given to infants or children under 1 year of age.