Hayfever cough and sore throat occur when the airways swell, narrow, and produce extra mucus, making breathing difficult. In hay fever, the narrowing, swelling of airways and the accumulation of mucus trigger coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat and wheezing (a whistling sound). An effective home remedies to soothe Hay fever coughing and hay fever sore throat is given later in this blog. You will also learn about the foods that help in giving relief from hay fever symptoms. So, it is mainly about how to treat Hay Fever naturally.
Hay fever cough
From Ayurveda perspective, excess phlegm or mucus in the lungs can cause irritation and coughing. During hayfever, this coughing can get worse. The body tries to throw the excess phlegm out or mucus out of the lungs. At times this phlegm is dry or runny. When phlegm is dry the coughing is more painful because the lungs find it hard to push out the dry phlegm and that’s why the coughing becomes unbearable or painful.
When excess phlegm is runny it is much easier for the lungs to throw out that bulgum or mucus out of lungs. During hay fever, the phlegm and mucus is already very high in the lungs, so the coughing feels never-ending. Mucus whether dry or runny causes the throat to feel scratchy and itchy. There are many ways to control hay fever cough. The most powerful way is to reduce the excess phlegm generation in the lungs by controlling the food that you eat until you have cough. You can learn about it more through our Hay fever relief program.
There are other quick and temporary fixes for hay fever coughing and hay fever symptoms given in this blog: You can try breathing steam, such as from a hot water bowl. The steam from the hot bowl of water helps open up your nasal passages and keeps them from drying out. Inhaling the steam from a hot water bowl help clear congested sinuses. Saline nose sprays can help wash out extra mucus, reducing your cough symptoms.
Hay fever sore throat
Sore throat also brings pain with it. At times when our throat gets spasms of pain, or while we eat hard food, our inflammed throat starts to pain. This is when you can apply a heating pad or a hot towel around your neck to relieve the delicate aching area.
While sore throat may be a very common issue for many with the change in season, we tend to stick to our everyday habits even at such times and do not change with the environment around us. Avoid smoking, drinking, caffeinated drinks, cold drinks, consuming oily and fried foods and exercising. This is because while exercising will exert your body and will not let it heal faster, consumption of foods and liquids with an excess of processed items will end up harming your throat more than you think. This is because it will lead to dehydrating, drying and irritating your throat when it should be healing itself.
Soup / broth – traditional soups might be hard on a sore throat, but a warm (not hot) broth can soothe the throat and go down easy.
Saltwater gargle – mix one teaspoon of table salt with 8 ounces of warm water. Gargle the mixture for 15 to 30 seconds, then spit it out. Add one half-teaspoon baking soda with the saltwater to kill bacteria as well. Drink one glass of clean, quality water every two hours during the day.
Drink plenty of herbal teas, vegetable juices, and broths. Increasing the amount of liquid will help loosen mucus. Avoid oily and fried food.
Can hay fever affect your sinuses?
Yes, hay fever affects your sinuses because pollen or dust is not a cause but a trigger of inflammation in the body caused by our eating and lifestyle habits.
Individuals with severe hay fever issues often find that it can disrupt their productivity at school or work. Inflammation of the sinuses (sinusitis) is a common complication of hay fever.
You might see a lot of advice for natural antihistamines such as butterbur, quercetin, or acupuncture, and all these are for allergies. However, we are approaching it from a hot and cold food perspective based on the system of healing (Ayurveda).
In diabetes, the sugar intake needs to be in control and the time and quantity of food. In the case of hay fever, we need to keep the balance between the hot and cold foods that we consume.
From the perspective of Ayurveda, a healthy body has a balance of hot and cold, and lung health problems are related to excess coldness in the body. Phlegm is characteristically cold. So, excess mucus is the indicator of the imbalance which affects sinuses.
Below are the symptoms of excess phlegm in the lungs, which also happen to be the symptoms of hay fever:
Excess phlegm/hay fever symptoms:
• Runny nose
• Stuff or clogged nose • Sneezing
• Heavy head
• Coughing out phlegm
• Itchy or tingling nose
• Reduced sense of smell
Old excess phlegm/hay fever symptoms:
• All the above
• Dry coughing
• Watery eyes
• Phlegm coming in the throat
• Earache
• Chest congestion or tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling tired
• Wheeze
• Yellow, green colour phlegm
• Bad Breath
• Loss of sense of smell
All these symptoms and the intensity, along with the duration of their triggers, depends on how old the excess phlegm in your lungs is. And if the excess phlegm generation problem is chronic.
From the perspective of Ayurveda, a healthy body has a balance of hot and cold, and lung health problems are related to excess coldness in the body. Phlegm has cold properties. So, excess mucus is the indicator of the imbalance. The symptoms of excess phlegm in the lungs and hay fever have uncanny similarities.
Based on the Ayurveda perspective, our body’s hot and cold body balance can be restored and maintained through daily food. As simple as it may sound, the cold and heat imbalance can be addressed through some specific but easy-to-make daily food preparations. Avoiding food that creates coldness in the body and consuming food that makes heat in the body can work magic in getting long term relief from hayfever cough, hayfever sore throat and other phlegm related problems.
Lemon, Ginger and Honey Syrup for Hay Fever Cough & Sore Throat
Lemon, Ginger and Honey relieve the pain in the throat. It can be used as a syrup or turn into a warm, soothing drink. Take a spoon of syrup every time you feel your throat is scratchy. The drink can be relished by anyone, with cold water as a summer refresher or in winter, with warm water to comfort.
Ingredients:
1⁄2 lime or lemon
1 cm long Ginger piece,
2 tsp honey or more
1⁄4 tsp Cinnamon powder
4/5 black peppercorns
Process:
Syrup: Wash the lime and ginger well and keep it in saltwater for 10/15 minutes if it is not organic. Chop the lime with its peel, remove seeds. If you use a big yellow lemon, remove the white pectin (thick spongy layer) from the middle and the bottom because it makes the syrup bitter. Clean the ginger, chop it into small pieces. Grind the lemon pieces with peel and ginger in a grinder. Add honey, make a smooth paste as you want. Ground peppercorn and add that and cinnamon powder into the mix. Run it in a grinder to mix well. Make it sweet as per your taste by adjusting honey. Store it in a jar. Take one teaspoon of this syrup.
You can store it in the freeze. Take it out of the freeze an hour before you want to have it, just to make sure it has room temperature.
Note: Lemon size and ginger size cannot be accurately measured, so make sure you are not adding too much ginger; otherwise, it will become spicy. You can adjust the quantity of lemon and ginger in such a way that lemon is prominent.
What foods help hay fever?
Here are some warm foods ( see hot and cold body balance blog to understand the role of warm foods in getting relief from hay fever) you can incorporate in your diet to get relief from the symptoms of hay fever, such as hayfever cough and hayfever sore throat, blocked nose, headaches, itchy eyes:
• Ginger
• Black pepper
• Cloves
• Cinnamon
• Cardomom
• Turmeric
• Carom seeds
• Cumin
• Nutmeg
• Chillies
• Thyme
• Honey
• Hibiscus
• Coconut
Turmeric water
Ingredients:
1 pinch of turmeric
1 glass of water
Process: Add one pinch of turmeric to a glass of warm water, stir it well, and drink it on an empty stomach in the morning. It makes your skin glow and reduces acne.
Saltwater gargle A saltwater gargle can help soothe a scratchy hayfever throat that causes you to cough. Adding 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt with 8 ounces of warm water can help to relieve irritation.
Consume warm drinks
Drinking warm beverages such as caffeine-free tea with lemon juice and honey, warm water with lemon and honey, or warm soup broth can soothe a sore throat.
According to the American Osteopathic Association, hot fluids also help thin sinus mucus, which allows for better drainage and decreased stuffiness.
Warm beverages helps you be hydrated, which is essential when you are feeling sick.
How to treat hay fever naturally?
Even though there is no permanent cure for hay fever, you can permanently control the symptoms of hay fever based on your food intake.
• For 3-5 days, drink plenty of hot water with grated fresh ginger or honey; this will help digest toxins and regulate digestion.
• Favour foods that are warm and nourishing but easy to digest, such as soups, grains and leafy green vegetables.
• Minimise the time you spend outside on a cold day or night.
• Keep windows closed at night when you sleep and keep the room warm.
• Avoid substances that are mucus-producing such as dairy products, apple, banana, lychee and rice.
• Wash your face and hands with warm water.
• Change the sheets every day.
• Use essential oils mixed with coconut oil in bath water (careful with the proportions) to rinse your clogged ears and release stress at least twice a day.
Herbal teas for hay fever
Certain herbs have a natural antihistamine effect. Opt for green tea, chamomile, elderflower, ginger, peppermint and anise to limit the impact of hay fever and sip these herbal teas throughout the day. They will also help to keep you hydrated, so it’s a win-win.
Biotin for hayfever
Biotin is a B vitamin that helps maintain the healthy function of mucous membranes, which can be found in your nose, sinuses, throat and even the tear ducts.
Chillies and hot peppers
Adding chillies and hot red peppers to your diet will naturally open up the nasal passage and decongest a blocked-up nose. Chillies contain the hot chemical capsaicin, so when eaten, any uncomfortable nasal blockages caused by hay fever will be cleansed away naturally.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is a remedy that has been used for an extended period to treat a variety of health conditions, and allergy relief is one of them. Apple Cider Vinegar can reduce mucus production and cleanse the lymphatic system, which makes it an excellent natural remedy for seasonal allergies. Apple Cider Vinegar also works to support our immune system!
For allergy relief, mix 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 Tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon and drink 3x per day for the best results.
Ditch the booze
Certain alcoholic beverages can make hay fever worse.
Some Alcoholic drinks are characteristically cold or enjoyed chilled, which can make hay fever worse.
Certain beverages could trigger asthma symptoms or make hay fever worse. Sulphites, which are found in drinks such as white wine, can also exacerbate hay fever symptoms.
Steam
Inhaling hot water steam is a way of treating hayfever cough and hayfever sore throat. Take hot water in a large bowl and bend over the steam released by it. Cover your head with a towel to inhale the steam properly. Taking hot steam can clear the nasal passage and also treat the runny nose. It is also an effective remedy for cold and flu. Studies suggest that taking steam can reduce illness recovery time by about one week.
Sleep
There is really no underestimating how important it is to get a good night of sleep, especially if you are suffering from hayfever.
Sleep can help the body repair itself and allow your mind to work through any issues or challenges you might have come across throughout your day. When you cannot sleep, it can have highly negative consequences for the rest of your body, particularly your stress levels.
This then forms a vicious cycle when you feel anxious or apprehensive; it can affect your sleep pattern, with one symptom enabling the other and exhausting your immune system at this crucial time.
Rest and relax
It might be challenging to achieve if your hayfever symptoms are stressing you out, but getting plenty of rest and relaxation during this time is crucial to helping your body recover. If you are constantly busy, anxious or finding it difficult to switch off, your body will try to produce adrenalin. This chemical can trigger histamine release, worsening your symptoms and placing additional stress on your immune system.
If you run a busy household, ‘me time’ might seem like a pipe-dream, but in fact, it is crucial. Take some time out from your hectic lifestyle to sleep, indulge in a hot bath or watch a funny film to destress yourself.
We Can Help
We have Hay Fever Relief Program to hold yours has in this whole process of using food as a natural way of getting relief from your hay fever symptoms. Click here
