How to dissolve the phlegm

" Catarrh " is the name given to the mucus that accumulates in the respiratory tract when there is inflammation in the airways.

It often occurs when we have a cold, cough or other seasonal ailments such as the flu. The catarrh is therefore a viscous substance that can accumulate in the respiratory tract and lead to congestion with chest pain or general discomfort during breathing.

The phlegm, however, is "an intelligent response" of the body to incorporate waste substances and foreign elements such as viruses and bacteria and then carry them out by expectoration from the nose or throat.

In case of phlegm the best solution always remains to start to dissolve it to help expectoration from the body.

Liquify the phlegm

The first step to take when we have phlegm is to use natural remedies to make the phlegm more fluid . In fact, the best solution is to help dissolve the dense and viscous consistency of congested mucus in the airways.

The first remedy we can recommend are fumigations , ie the inhalation of water vapor mixed with essential oils . This method can be carried out with special aerosol machines or in a more homely way, just like our grandparents did, we can take a small pot of boiling water in which we add a few drops of essential oils and with a cloth on the head we breathe the steam.

This vapor breathing mixed with the essences of aromatic plants helps to free the lungs from the phlegm thanks to their ability to dissolve it by thinning it and also helping it to come out of the lung pathways.

The best essences are those of eucalyptus, thyme, pine, oregano, mint, savory and lemon balm. This natural remedy, more than once or twice a day, being careful not to exceed the recommended doses of essential oils, in fact, it only takes 4 or 5 drops at most.

Another home remedy to dissolve the congested phlegm in the bronchi is to put a warm-warm dough right on the chest and leave it for some time. Once upon a time, honey, flour, onion cream and aromatic herbs such as ginger and eucalyptus were mixed. This wrap was then placed on the chest or back in the back on the upper part of the bronchi. The heat together with the medicinal herbs helped to dissolve the phlegm and make it come out better from the nose and mouth.

Furthermore it is possible to disperse these essential oils in the environment also through an air diffuser thus obtaining a healthier environment. The phlegm in an environment where there are widespread essences is able to melt faster and this also allows for better expectoration from the airways.

For a diet dissolve phlegm

To dissolve the mucus it is excellent to eat liquid and hot food just to help fluidify and expel the phlegm. Excellent soups and vegetable broths with vegetables such as onion, leek, carrot, cauliflower, celery, fennel, green beans, garlic and turnip.

Furthermore, hot herbal teas are perfect to drink even several times a day. The best are those based on aromatic plants which, thanks to the richness of their essential oils, also help to expel the mucus from the airways . Go ahead then to thyme and eucalyptus but also to mint, pine, savory and lemon balm.

With the presence of phlegm: what to avoid doing ...

The phlegm must therefore remain as fluid as possible, therefore all those factors that thicken or increase the phlegm must be avoided.

Foods such as white flour and dairy products should be avoided. In fact these foods are mucus promoters and therefore lead to its production which at this time is not really necessary but rather aggravates the situation of congestion.

Even potatoes are another food that leads to the production of mucus and at this time it is better to suspend them from our diet. Finally, cold foods such as ice cream should be avoided because low temperatures lead to a thickening of the phlegm.

Furthermore it is important to control the ambient temperature in which we live: the temperature changes lead to such stress that the phlegm increases in quantity and can still thicken. Better to keep our home at an average temperature of 18 or 20 degrees and be careful to cover ourselves well with clothes and scarves when we go outside.

Even the car, the workplace or the shops where we go shopping are places where temperatures are often kept too extreme: in winter it seems to be in the tropics and in summer instead of air conditioning at the most.

We also try to evaluate this environmental factor because it greatly affects the formation of our phlegm.

Last essential advice in the presence of phlegm is to absolutely avoid smoking . in fact the bad habit of smoking causes enormously the formation of the phlegm and obviously worsens a situation in which the phlegm is already congested. Cigarettes are therefore among the worst enemies of catarrh precisely because they cause the vocal cords and laryngeal tract which triggers a bodily response with increased mucus to dry out to rebalance internal humidity.

This same mechanism also occurs with the breathing of other volatile chemical substances so other possible sources of chemical substances such as paints or other synthetic products should also be avoided.