Bronchitis Recovery The Natural Way

As my story goes...when I was a young child I developed croup.  Over the years it would come and go, usually in the Spring or Fall.  Eventually croup became bronchitis.

As time passed the bronchitis disappeared as well, until a few years ago when I was attending cosmetology school where it returned with a vengeance.

Now whenever I catch a virus, cold or any type of flu, it invariably goes to my lungs where it develops into full blown bronchitis.  I've had it verified more than once by medical doctors.  The symptoms are the same and I've learned to fight it with natural remedies.

So many people have asked me how I deal with my bronchitis.  I don't always deal with it well because it literally takes me out for a period of 2-4 weeks depending on how severe it is.  Part of my issue is that I don't like to slow down and rest.  Duh.  Big problem, right?

Ultimately I make a decision to rest and get plenty of sleep which does make a difference.  Other things which definitely help me deal with bronchitis on a consistent basis include:

1.  Acupuncture treatments - The sooner I get to the office of Dr. Bai the faster I start to heal.  He identifies the blocked energy paths in my body, inserts tiny acupunture needles and lets me process for up to an hour on the table in a quiet room.  I am a huge believer in acupunture and it has always helped me recover from my various bronchitis bouts.

2.  Herbal teas - Yogi Teas are USDA Organic certified.  Since bronchitis tends to cause breathing problems I have found the Breathe Deep and the Cold Season formulations work the very best for me.  Breathe Deep tastes yummy but it also clear my lungs nicely within 30 minutes of sipping a cup.

I also use filtered water just to achieve the purest concoction.  The Ginger Tea also helps although for me Breathe Deep is the most effective.

If you haven't tried Yogi Teas they're really wonderful and there's a herbal formulation for a wide range of physical challenges.

[amazon-product text="Yogi Teas Breathe Deep Supports Clear Breathing" type="text"]B00159Y22M [/amazon-product]

3.  Chinese herbs - Yin Qiao Jie Du which is designed to help with sore throat, congestion, feverish feelings, and aching in the muscles as well as for bronchitis.

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Ke Chuan Wan which is designed to correct the adverse flow of qi(energy) and eliminating ohlegm, relieving cough, bronchitis and asthma.

It is used for the damp-heat of the lung and stomach, cough with profuse sputum, dyspnea with rapid and short breath, and qi rising in damp-heat of the lung and stomach, cough with profuse sputum, dyspnea with rapid and short breath, and qi rising in reserse order, fullness and oppression over the chest, pain all over the chest pain all over the body and lasitude.

4.  Gaia Herbs Rapid Relief - Bronchial Wellness Herbal Syrup - This soothing cough formulation includes honey, organic plantain, hydroalocholic extract, organic helichrysum, flowering tops freeze-dried extract, Eucalyptus, essential oil, Star Anise, essentail oil, Lemon, fruit essential oil, water and lemon juice.

The formula is ecologically harvested.

Believe it or not the formula actually tastes good.  I don't know if it's the honey but my worst fears were allayed when I took the first spoonful.

It also helped to soothe my deep cough.

[amazon-product text="Rapid Relief Bronchial Wellness Herbal Syrup" type="text"]B001QN7HY2 [/amazon-product]

5.  Gaia Herbs Liquid Phyto-Caps Echinacea Goldenseal - I am a huge fan of Gaia Herbs because for me they really work.  Although they make a liquid Echinacea Goldenseal formula, the Liquid Caps actually seem to work best for me.

The key with Echinacea Goldenseal, at least for me, is to only take it when you are ill.  I find that if I take it all year long when I need it the most it seems less effective.

6.  Hot showers - While the steam initially feels wonderful, if I take the showers too close to bedtime it seems to make my coughing much worse.  If I take a hot shower in the morning and allow the steam to fill the room with the hot water on my back, it really does help me eliminate the dreaded mucous that comes with bronchitis.

I can also take a shower four or five hours before bedtime and it works great.  Right before bed and it takes me 1-2 hours of coughing to settle down.

7.  Cold water vaporizer - There are pros and cons to this option.  Sometimes it helps me and other times it seems to do nothing.  The issue with vaporizers is making sure that they are kept pristine clean to avoid build-up of fungus which can make the situation much worse.

[amazon-product text="Cool Air Mist Humidifier" type="text"]B000GWJD0A [/amazon-product]

8.  Sleeping propped up - In the early days of bronchitis sleeping with lots of pillows so that I'm at a 45 degree angle is best.

9.  Reiki and related energy work - I have found that receiving Reiki, Pranic or similar forms of healing does help me.  I always use these types of energy treatments to supplement the work I receive from Dr. Bai as well as the herbs.

Of course drinking hot tea helps as does avoiding foods like cheese and dairy which produce mucous.  Sleeping 8-10 hours and drinking lots of water is always helpful in speeding the bronchial infection through my system.

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I pounded back some Emergen-C (sugar free version) on a dailys basis along with my normal vitamins, herbs, Vitamin D supplement and a calcium/magnesium combo.  I found that sitting in the sunshine for 30 minutes a day actually seemed to dry out the phlegm in my chest.

Things That Don't Really Work

Everyone is different in how their body processes bronchitis, croup, asthma or similar.  While I prefer to work with a Chinese physician others may prefer to work with the traditional medical community.  If I had a major crisis with my bronchitis I would always fall back on that option.

However, over the years I have learned to work with as many alternative healing methods as possible.  They just happen to work for me.  They might not work for everyone nor do I recommend that you try one from of physician assistance versus the other.  Ultimately everyone has to find their own most efficient way of achieving health.

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Although the following options were recommended to me, they did not work for me.  They might work for you but be sure to research your options.

1.  Chest rubs - Although a pharmacist recommended Vicks Vapor Rub it actually seemed to make my situation worse.

2.  Commercial cough drops - While the Halls intially helped my cough, after the drop was completely evaporated the cough would seem to immediately return.  I found that the Gaia Rapid Relief Bronchial Wellness worked the best for soothing my sore throat and minimizing my cough.

3.  Collodial Silver - These drops from Soverign Silver help me during other health challenges, but didn't seem to have either a positive or negative impact on my bronchitis.

[amazon-product text="Vicks Vapor Rub Chest Rub" type="text"]B001G7QUU0 [/amazon-product]

Final Thoughts

Typically my bronchitis would get progressively worse after sundown.  During the height of the infection I had difficulty breathing without wheezing and would experience the onset of panic due to the breathing problems.  Drinking a warm cup of water with powdered magnesium would calm my breathing so that it was much less labored.

Cold liquids seemed to make everything from my cough to my throat feel worse.  As a result I gave up drinking cold iced teas and switching only to hot which was very soothing.

Diet is extremely important and I already addressed avoiding eating foods with high mucous content.  Chicken soup and vegetable broths definitely seemed to help compared to big heavy meals. Eat light but eat nutritiously.

Hot lemon squeezed into a cup of hot water will also help to break up stubborn congestion in the chest.

Although I tend to get impatient when I am in the clutches of bronchitis if I try to get back to my normal routine too quickly I always suffer a relapse which puts me right back in the clutches of the problem.  Resting until your energy completely returns and trying to take it easy really are important.

Of course one other important note is to keep a positive attitude.  Laughter really is the best medicine.  While you're hanging around resting and recovering it definitely is a good idea to watch some comedies to give your spirits a lift and help your immune system fight off your infection.

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