With the onset of autumn, the number of colds sharply increases. At risk are children, the elderly and pregnant women. Treatment is further complicated by the fact that many drugs are banned. We have to pay attention to traditional medicine. And it should be noted that many of them help no worse than pharmacy medicines. If you know how to breathe over potatoes when coughing, then you can definitely resist any seasonal ailment.
Familiar problem
Infectious or colds are almost always accompanied by severe coughing. It is possible to get rid of itching and irritation in the throat by using alternative treatment methods. If, when choosing pharmacy drugs, parents are afraid of side effects and contraindications, then when choosing popular methods, the list of undesirable processes is extremely small. Therefore, with most diseases of the throat, more and more parents are interested in how to properly breathe over potatoes when coughing, and then this method is widely used.
Simple and affordable
Pharmacy drugs today are not cheap. And if the drug causes an allergic reaction, then you will have to change it and pick another one. Inhaling steam from potatoes is the easiest and most affordable treatment. Its effect is proven, so parents use it without fear for the baby’s health. Inhalation of potatoes allows you to quickly get rid of a cold and significantly improves the well-being of the patient. The main advantage is a quick therapeutic effect. But for this it is important to know how to breathe over potatoes when coughing.
Effects on the body
The treatment by inhaling a pair of potatoes has been known for several centuries. This method allows you to get rid of colds and infections at the beginning of the development of the disease and helps to improve the patient's condition during the acute stage.
Hot steam, which is extracted from boiled potatoes, contains a large number of biologically active substances - volatile. They have a devastating effect on inflammation and inhibit the growth and development of pathogenic microorganisms. When inhaled potato vapors, these substances enter the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and affect the affected area not only throughout the procedure, but also for some time after its completion.
Volatile substances have a pronounced antibacterial effect and moisturize the patient's respiratory system. In addition, this method warms the mucous membranes and has an antiseptic effect. If there are children in the family, it is especially important to know how to breathe over potatoes when coughing.
Main effects
Potato inhalations have the following effect:
- They allow to suspend the development of the inflammatory process.
- They have an expanding effect on the blood vessels of the mucous membrane.
- Lead to normal blood flow.
- Reduces swelling in the throat.
- Allow to thin the mucus and facilitate its excretion.
- They clean the respiratory system from dust, dirt and other unwanted objects.
When you can apply inhalation
Breathing over potatoes with a runny nose and a cough is not only possible, but also necessary. There are situations when this is simply a necessary tool. Doctors recommend resorting to the procedure in the following cases:
- Prolonged rhinitis of an infectious nature.
- With an allergic cough.
- Itching and sore throat.
- In case of an infectious or viral cough.
- With bronchitis.
- With inflammation of the mucous membranes.
- Pharyngitis.
- In the case of the initial stage of development of sinusitis.
- Tonsillitis.
Keep in mind that you should exercise caution, despite the obvious benefits. Breathe over potatoes should only be recommended by a doctor. In some diseases, such measures can aggravate the situation and worsen the health of the child. But if the pediatrician is sure that there are no wheezing in the lungs and the baby’s condition is not severe, then inhalation can be the main treatment method.
Contraindications
Not only relatives, but also doctors often offer the child to breathe over potatoes when coughing. Despite the fact that inhalation is considered a universal method, but even it has some contraindications.
The main limitations are as follows:
- Treatment should not be given if the patient suffers from pneumonia.
- In the event of a malfunction of the cardiovascular system, inhalation is strictly prohibited, since the vapor dilates the blood vessels.
- You can not perform the procedure if the child has an accumulation of pus in the maxillary sinuses. That is, without consulting a pediatrician in any case, you can not do.
Steam inhalation is prohibited in the treatment of children under three years of age. This is due to the anatomical features of the child, as their airways are not fully developed. In addition, inhalation of potatoes during coughing can cause burns and damage the mucous membranes if safety rules are violated. It’s more difficult for a child to explain how close he can lean to the pan, so an adult must control the whole process.
How to perform the procedure
Assessing the possible risks and consequences for the patient, it is important to clarify how to properly perform the procedure. Potatoes for inhalation can be taken any, there is no fundamental difference. But there are several important points:
- Firstly, do not inhale immediately after eating. It is best to wait about two hours.
- Secondly, steam procedures are best done in the evening, when the child is preparing for bed.
- If parents have such an opportunity, inhalation is best done twice a day.
In the morning hours of the procedure should be carried out on an empty stomach. Immediately after treatment, the patient should lie under the covers and not talk for forty minutes. Remember that immediately after treatment, your child should not go outside or stand in a draft.
The duration of one session depends on the severity of the inflammation and current symptoms. As a rule, treatment of children lasts about seven minutes. If during the procedure the child has dizziness or discomfort, the procedure should be discontinued.
Your actions
Preparation for inhalation takes some time. Consider the main points:
- Rinse five medium-sized potatoes. Make sure that there are no dirt, dirt, rot, or other signs on the surface of the vegetables.
- For treatment, green potatoes will not work. This will have to be rejected immediately.
- The next question: how much to cook potatoes? Selected tubers should be boiled in one liter of water until tender. That means about thirty minutes over medium heat. It is advisable to take a deep pan for this. In general, most of the questions arise just about how much to cook potatoes. Someone believes that it is necessary to boil it to a state of mashed potatoes. This is not true.
- When the potatoes are ready, transfer the pan to the table. Make sure your child is comfortable sitting with your hands on your knees. The most dangerous thing in this procedure is a thermal burn, so the child should be monitored throughout the treatment.
- Before starting the procedure, make sure that the potatoes are not hot. Allowable temperature is fifty degrees Celsius. Inhalation of hotter steam is dangerous for the mucous membranes of the child.
- Cover your baby’s head with a large towel or thick cloth. Now his task is to breathe deeply. How much to breathe over potatoes depends on the age of the child and the severity of the disease. But on average, five to seven minutes is enough. You can increase this time by another 3-4 minutes.
- If the child is weak, the head does not need to be completely covered. Leave a small passage for airflow.
- After the procedure, the child should be wiped with a clean towel and change clothes to dry.
If the child has a runny nose, then before the procedure, you need to clean the aisles as much as possible with the help of such sprays as "Dolphin", "Phrase", "Aqua Maris".
Additional recommendations
During the procedure, the child needs to slowly inhale the warm steam. To achieve the best effect, it is important to periodically clean the sinuses. It is best to regularly take a cold, for which the child needs to be provided with fresh wipes. It should be noted that with a cough caused by bronchitis or laryngitis, one should inhale the vapors through the mouth and exhale through the nose.
For best results, some experts recommend adding oatmeal, a tablespoon of baking soda or salt to the water with potatoes. This combination allows you to destroy pathogens in the respiratory system and eliminate inflammation.
- Potatoes with baking soda can remove microbes from the respiratory system, which is useful for inflammation of the bronchial mucosa.
- It is also useful to combine inhalation with essential oils. When treating children, oils of eucalyptus, pine, clove, peppermint, sea buckthorn are chosen.
After inhalation, you can perform a physiotherapy. The remaining warm potatoes are useful for this. It needs to be kneaded, put on a gauze napkin, transferred to the baby's chest and insulated with a bandage on top. It turns out an analogue of mustard.
Conclusion
The described method, when used correctly, will have a beneficial effect immediately after the procedure. There will be less bouts of severe cough, and the child’s health will improve significantly. For a complete therapeutic result, inhalation is carried out twice a day, daily, for five days.
It is important to remember that high temperature is a signal to stop inhalation immediately and consult a doctor. If there is no improvement in the first two days, then you should also take a break and seek medical advice. Coughing is only a symptom, and it can have quite a few reasons. Therefore, it is important to conduct a full diagnosis. In some cases, inhalation is all you need. In another case, you will need to undergo antibiotic treatment, which can be supplemented with physiotherapy. For some patients, they will be completely contraindicated.