Coughing up white mucus

A closer look at coughing up white mucus

If having a productive cough during which certain amounts of the mucus, which is also called phlegm is expelled, it is not so rare health condition. That is, the cough is one of the best indicators of certain underlying disease, especially if the mucus is coughed up, so, for example, the productive cough is often the sign of the nasal congestion and sore throat.

Additionally, the phlegm can be of different colors, and, fortunately the white phlegm is the indicator of the less severe disease, which is usually some infection. That infection is, in the most cases, provoked by virus, but it could be as well the consequence of the entrance and the accumulation of bacteria.

More serious are the cases of the expelled white mucus with blood (which is the sign of a rupture of some lesion, for example), and the green phlegm (which is the sign of the advanced stage in some infectious process). In that cases, it is not recommendable to treat the condition at home, unlike in the case of the white phlegm, but the medical care should be provided as soon as possible.

So, when it comes to the white phlegm which is expelled in the moments of coughing, besides the mentioned nasal congestion and sore throat, it is usually the consequence and the following sign of certain allergic reactions, common cold, influenza, the inflammatory process of pharynx and larynx and the other problems of the respiratory system (such as the inflammation of bronchial tubes or sinuses, and pneumonia, for instance).

The natural treatmentSince this condition is a very frequent problem, there are a lot of products for dealing with the excessive expelled phlegm on the market. Apart from the synthetic medications, it is more recommendable to try some homemade remedies because they won’t involve the negative side-effects, which are the part of the treatment with the medications. So, here are some most popular solutions on how to get rid of the excessive white phlegm which have the function of the expectorants. It actually means that they, besides irrigating and decomposing the phlegm, create the urge for expelling the content through the act of coughing.

The most popular way of cleansing of the throat is by gargling the 8 tsp. of salt diluted in 6 dl of the boiled water.

The other mixtures are intended for drinking, and the most effective are the juice of ginger and carrot, the tea from licorice and peppermint, the tea based on the herb myrrh and the mixture of the heated honey and the lemon juice. Those have the same effect as the popular cough syrups, which are available in pharmacies, but the side-effect of such syrups is the sleepy feeling.

Garlic is also recommendable for dealing with this problem, because it kills bacteria.