Chest Cold Treatment

Chest cold or acute bronchitis is caused due to viral infection. This is a disease of lower respiratory tract in which the bronchioles get inflamed and produce thick mucus. Oftentimes, environmental pollutions or excessive smoking also contribute to chest cold. Common symptoms include wet coughing, fever, breathing difficulty, etc. This condition is more prevalent in babies, young children and elderly. Although, it is pretty common and harmless, certain complications such as pneumonia which result out of it, can be life-threatening.

Treatment for Babies

As mentioned above, chest cold is very common in babies and infants. However, infant chest cold treatment differs from the treatment for adults in various ways. You cannot use the same medications for babies as you do for adults. There are some simple ways in which you can relieve chest congestion in infants. Firstly, make sure you clean your baby's nose frequently, so that the mucus does not drip at the back of her throat. For cleaning your baby's nose, you can use saline solution and a syringe bulb. Drip a few drops of saline solution in your baby's nose and then clean it with a bulb syringe. Do this every couple of hours to prevent mucus build up in your baby's nose. Apply baby strength menthol vapor rub on your baby's chest to relieve chest congestion. If you have a humidifier, run it for 30 minutes in your baby's room. However, place it away from the crib. The vapor from the humidifier helps in relieving the chest congestion. Same effect can be obtained by running a hot shower for sometime. Sit with your baby in a bathroom and close the door tightly. The vapors from the shower act like a decongestant. Before using any cold medications for your baby, it is best to take the opinion of a doctor.

Treatment for Adults

Drink Lots of Fluids
Fluids help to decongest the chest by breaking down mucus. Make it a point to drink hot fluids such as chicken broth, soups, etc. Drinking herbal tea such as mint or thyme, chamomile, etc. also helps in relieving the symptoms of chest congestion. However, avoid caffeine drinks and alcoholic beverages as they may worsen the symptoms.

Eat Spicy Foods
Spices such as cayenne pepper, garlic, onion have immune boosting properties, hence they are used in many chest congestion treatments. These foods help you fight the viral infection by strengthening your immune system. Hence, make it a point to include hot, spicy foods in your diet.

Steam Therapy
Inhaling steam is therapeutic when you have chest cold. You can use a humidifier for this purpose, as the moist vapor from the humidifier provides relief from chest congestion. You may try adding a few drops of eucalyptus in the humidifier for additional effect. Taking a hot shower also has the same effect on your chest cold. You may also simply put a few drops of eucalyptus or chamomile in a pot of boiling water and inhale the steam erupting from it.

Take Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an immune system booster, and helps to fight all sorts of infections. You may take vitamin C supplements to boost your immune response. However, the better way to get the goodness of vitamin C is by consuming fresh citrus fruits like lemon, lime, oranges, etc.

OTC Medications
When all the home remedies for chest cold fail, you may resort to OTC medications. Decongestants that are available over the counter help you minimize the symptoms to a great extent. Menthol vapor rubs, inhalers, etc. can relieve you of chest congestion. However, it must be noted that antibiotics do not help against chest congestion as they are targeted towards bacterial infections and not viral infections.

The best chest cold treatment, however is taking plenty of rest and exerting your body to a minimum level. Resting helps your body to fight the infection as all the energy is directed towards increasing immune response. Stressing yourself too much during sickness can worsen the symptoms.