When a person’s nose ceases to function normally, this not only prevents the patient from living, but also annoys others. We offer you to get acquainted with the possible causes of the common cold and the means of its treatment.
Where does the common cold come from?
Pathogens (scientifically called rhinitis) provoke pathogenic bacteria and viruses that arise during the transition period for the weather (when the sun is shining on the street, then a strong wind and cold rain suddenly start), they are also transmitted by airborne droplets.
Runny nose is of the following types:
- Infectious: acute (caused by bacteria and viruses) and chronic (is a form of prolonged acute rhinitis).
- Non-infectious: vasomotor and allergic. Both are caused by external stimuli.
Causes of Rhinitis
The following reasons can provoke a runny nose:
- hypothermia of the body;
- dustiness and gas contamination of air;
- sharp jumps in temperature;
- the tendency of the body to allergic reactions;
- weakened immunity;
- colds and viral diseases.
And further consequences can be very diverse: from the occurrence of a mild form of the common cold to the onset of serious diseases (for example, sinusitis (sinusitis), severe otitis media, meningitis and other diseases).
To treat or not to treat?
As doctors convince us, rhinitis must be treated. After all, when a person’s nose does not blow his nose, his sense of smell, appetite disappears , his working capacity and self-esteem decrease, and his sleep becomes restless. And a runny nose can develop into a chronic form of sinusitis, otitis media and even meningitis.
It is worth approaching the treatment of rhinitis responsibly, and not buying the first available remedy for the common cold, as many do. The wrong approach can also cause complications. And while the doctor has not written you a prescription, it is better to limit yourself to proven folk remedies.
Home remedies for nose
As long as the symptom does not flow into the chronic stage, it can be cured at home with simple methods:
- Soar legs. The most famous and widespread “grandmother's” method of fighting colds, including colds. Its effectiveness is explained by the fact that the nasal mucosa is interconnected with the feet. It is scientifically proven. Therefore, a basin with high-temperature water (but control this moment: the water should be hot enough, but not boiling water, so as not to get burns) with mustard powder or sea salt added to it - the first thing to use if your nose does not blow out ( can not be laid). After you feel that your legs are warm enough and you feel hot, wipe your feet dry, put on your woolen socks and go straight to bed.
- Gray feet. You can warm your feet without the help of baths. To do this, just pour mustard powder into cotton socks and put them on overnight. But you can’t do this if you already have a high fever.
- We make inhalations. In a special inhaler or just a bowl of hot water, add a few drops of eucalyptus oil and actively inhale the vapors. This will help get rid of nasal congestion and speed up the healing process. The procedure should be carried out for three to four days before bedtime.
- Warm up the nose. Take a freshly boiled and still hot egg or a bag of salt, preheated in the oven, and apply to the bridge of the nose when a runny nose.
- We use garlic. It’s not news to anyone that several lobules during a cold help kill germs and viruses in the body. Garlic also helps to cope with a runny nose. To do this, knead or finely chop a slice and inhale the vapors.
- We drip the juice of Kalanchoe (another name - "home doctor"). Break off a small piece of the leaf of the plant and squeeze the juice. Drop three times a day in a pair of drops in each nostril. It's okay if at the same time you started sneezing or tears flowed. The treatment process has begun.
- We drink more hot liquid. It can be herbal or regular tea using ginger, citrus fruits, honey and other healthy products. You can also drink plain warm water with lemon.
There is no runny nose, but the nose does not blow out
If the nose does not blow out, is not blocked at the same time, this also causes many problems, like the common cold. Something serious is not necessarily hidden behind this. For example, it happens that people wake up with a stuffy nose.
But it can also be that a non-breathing nose is a latent disease or an organism's response to external stimuli.
Causes of malaise
The main reasons that the nose does not blow out (not stuffy) are almost the same as when rhinitis occurs:
- Ahead of a cold (symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and so on) are added.
- An allergic reaction to foods, pollen, animal hair, and so on.
- Failure in the hormonal work of the body.
- High humidity.
- Heavily polluted environment.
- Curved nasal septum (either congenital or acquired).
- Polyps (abnormal growth of tissues over the nasal mucosa).
How to clean your nose if there is no runny nose?
Consider medication options for treating malaise.
When the nose does not blow out (not stuffy), you can resort to some medications:
- special vasodilator drops (for example, Otrifin, Xylen, Rinorus and other analogues);
- ointments for piercing the sinuses (for example, “Asterisk”, “Evamenol” and the like);
- colds (can also have a therapeutic effect);
- inhalation using saline.
But keep in mind that pharmacy medicines cannot be used often and for a long time: they are addictive. Moreover, people often neglect instructions and recipes (for example, use a spray and drops more often than the prescribed number of times). And therefore, even doctors recommend various folk remedies (for example, washing the nose).
Folk options for washing the nose
Saline nasal washings are the most valid. Sea salt is best suited for these purposes, which helps relieve swelling. Dilute a drop of iodine and an incomplete teaspoon of salt in a glass of water. Put the resulting solution in the nose. Repeat the procedure for several days. If there is no sea salt, then table salt will do. The proportions are the same as when using marine.
In order to rinse your nose, you can use herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties. Such as medicinal chamomile. Make a decoction of it and cool to room temperature. Rinse your nose with the liquid several times a day. First, draw the solution into one nostril, then into another, and so on several times.
It is possible to make nose washing using a special vessel - neti teapot. How to use it, you can learn from the instructions that came with it. As a rule, each teapot has its own characteristics.
But the general principle of work is as follows:
- pour the solution for washing into a vessel;
- tilt your head about 45 degrees;
- insert the spout of the teapot into the nostril, which is on top;
- the solution will flow from the lower nostril, before clearing the nasal cavity;
- blow your nose;
- repeat the process with the other nostril.
Rinsing with the Neti Kettle can be done both for prevention and during the treatment of serious diseases.
How to treat a nose for allergies
In the spring, difficult times come for allergy sufferers. Around, everything begins to bloom and smell, and therefore seasonal allergic reactions to plant pollen are aggravated. Remember: in the season of allergies, it is useless to treat an ailment. To meet the time of flowering fully armed and not to suffer from a stuffy nose, you need to prepare for it in advance!
- Strengthen the immune system. The stronger it is, the lower the risk of earning an allergy.
- Avoid contact with allergens. If you have a runny nose every year with the beginning of flowering, now give up medicinal decoctions and herbal preparations.
- Stop smoking. Otherwise, allergic reactions will intensify many times.
- Consult an allergist and start taking antihistamines. They will prepare the body to fight the disease.
It is also worth considering that with an allergic rhinitis, you need scarves from natural fabrics, and preferably disposable.
Remember that if a runny nose (both allergic and normal) does not go away in three to four days, you should consult your doctor so that the disease does not go into a chronic stage. This should be done when the nose does not breathe in the morning. Even if you think that this condition is normal for you.
A general practitioner, general practitioner or ENT doctor can help you with this unpleasant disease.