I've had a sinus infection and am left with a nasty cough. I'm on my third day of antibiotics and feel ok otherwise. But at night when I lay down I can hear the mucus in my chest. I have asthma and continue to take my medications for that in addition to the antibiotic and mucinex my doctor prescribed. I have been consuming hot tea by the gallons and eating tons of fruit and that has helped some. I just have so much mucus! I know that its good that I can cough it up, but its so gross if I have to go anywhere. Has anybody tried anything else that they can recommend for excess mucus? I guess I just need to dry up!!
Cindy
Yes - avoid all dairy. And, look for IVY CALM (br. name, english ivy extract), a natural cough suppressant and expectorant, at your local health food store. Works wonders for me (chronic asthmatic w/frequent bronchitis, sinus infections), and tastes good. SAW PALMETTO has natural expectorant properties - you can find it as a supplement or a tea, and MARSHMALLOW (supplement, not the candy!) may help express mucous. Also, try LARIX (br. name, larch tree berry extract), an immune booster (I find it way better than echinacea). Hope this helps!
It can take weeks for it to totally clear out of your lungs. Increase fluids, make sure you get enough rest when you're tired, don't take DM unless you cannot sleep because of the coughing, steam yourself, stay somewhat active and just realise the body takes a while to heal.
Let us know how you're doing.
quincy
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It's all a matter of perspective!
Quincy's advice is very good advice. As for others, I don't personally advocate cutting out milk in the case of lots of mucus production as this has been shown study-wise to be an "Old wives' tale", that milk coats the throat and provides the sensation of having to clear your throat, but no actually increased milk production.
Milk is also soporific (sp?) in that it has certain amino acids in it, (I think it's tryptophan but it might be something else) that promote sleep, which is helpful for fighting off any kind of infection.
Drinking lots of water and remember to bring it up! I know it feels and sounds gross but it'll be a lot grosser if you get pneumonia because you were stifling the coughing and ended up not clearing out your secretions.
I think water is the main thing. I like to drink hot tea also. And have you ever noticed that when you eat spicy hot foods (Mexican, etc) it loosens up the gunk? Or is it just me? It works every time. Eat a hot pepper! My sister always says, "I can never cough it out". Well, I can. I can really hock it up and out. It does sound gross, but feels so good to get my lungs cleared.
Spicy hot foods tends to make your nose run, I think it's a reaction to the 'heat', kind of like how your nose runs when you're exercising outside in the winter.
