Cough Treatment: A Balanced Approach
When Not to Treat a Wet Cough:
Wet Cough: Helps clear mucus from the airways.
When to Soften Cough:
Minimal secretion.
Thick secretion.
Irritation-caused cough that cannot be cleared by coughing (e.g., mucosal swelling, pressure from glands or tumors).
When to Stimulate a Cough:
Mucus accumulation in the airways.
Mucus congestion in the lungs due to decreased reflex excitability from general weakness or toxic effects.
Balancing the stimulation of a cough can significantly impact respiratory health.
Types of Cough and Suitable Homeopathic Remedies
1. Dry Cough:
Aconitum: Cough start in first 24 hours. For dry cough after exposure to cold, dry wind, worse in the evening and night.
Belladonna: For sudden, severe cough with fever, worsens with touch and noise.
Bryonia: For dry, painful cough that worsens with movement and deep breathing.
2. Wet Cough:
Antimonium Tartaricum: For thick, sticky mucus difficult to expel.
Hepar Sulphuris: For cough with thick, purulent mucus, worsens in cold air.
Pulsatilla: For wet cough with yellowish or greenish mucus, worsens in warm rooms.
3. Spasmodic Cough:
Cuprum Metallicum: For convulsive cough with wheezing.
Drosera: For spasmodic, exhausting cough, worsens at night.
4. Bronchitis Cough:
Phosphorus: For cough with burning sensations in the chest, worsens in the evening.
Kali Bichromicum: For cough with thick, sticky mucus, especially in the morning.
5. Whooping Cough:
Pertussinum: For cough resembling whooping cough with convulsive episodes.
Coccus Cacti: For spasmodic cough with a tickling sensation in the throat.