Natural Protocol for Respiratory Health
The lungs have an amazing capacity to heal themselves
and recover from respiratory stress including cigarette smoke, bronchitis, air pollution, or breathing heavy particulate such as exposure to forest fires. Whether you have short-term stress such as a cold, or long-term stress such as asthma, there is a lot you can do to naturally support your respiratory system. I find using a combination of external treatments and internal remedies to be the most effective.
External treatments:
Neti Pots:
Using a neti pot (like a little teapot for the nose) is an excellent way to clear congestion and pressure in the sinuses. Neti pots are useful for sinus infections, colds and flu, chronic congestion, particulate in the air, allergies, hay fever, sore throats, and even ear infections.
How to Use a Neti Pot:
Fill the neti pot with 1 cup warm water (filtered or boiled is best) or herbal tea.
Add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, rock salt, or kosher salt (NOT table salt) and stir until dissolved.
Add an herbal extract or aloe vera juice if desired.
Bend over the sink and tilt your head to one side, placing the spout of the neti pot in the upper nostril, letting the water run out the lower nostril.
After using half of the pot, repeat on the other side.
This process can be done 1 – 2 times a day.
Onion Pack
Onion and mustard packs are old-time remedies for congestion, pleurisy and have even been used for pneumonia.
How to Make an Onion Pack:
3 – 4 small Onions
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Cornmeal, Flaxseed meal or Flour
Cheesecloth or muslin
Onion or mustard pack
Directions:
Chop onions into small pieces and sauté them in oil until they are translucent, but not mushy. Pour enough apple cider vinegar into the pan to cover the onions. Reduce the heat and add 1 cup of cornmeal, flax seed meal or flour (these help hold the heat in and hold the mixture together). Mix well until you have a peanut butter consistency. Put the mixture on cheesecloth or muslin and fold it together. Rub vegetable oil on the chest to protect it before applying the pack. Apply the poultice to the chest. Put a plastic bag over the top of the poultice and a warm towel or a heating pad over the plastic bag. Relax and breathe deeply. You can keep the pack on as long as it is warm, but I recommend at least 20 minutes.
This is also a pack that you can apply to the feet, especially for smaller children. Note: a Mustard Pack can be made in a similar way. It is important to buy whole mustard seeds and grind them with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder before using. Use 1 part mustard seeds to 4 parts Cornmeal, Flaxseed meal or Flour. You can add more flour for a child or if the pack feels too strong. Moisten with tepid water until you have a cream cheese consistency and follow the above directions. Make sure you apply the vegetable oil on the chest to protect it before applying the pack — mustard packs can irritate the skin.
Essential Oils:
Essential oils evaporate easily and can be especially effective for treating the respiratory system. Many essential oils are antimicrobial and can help fight off a bacterial or viral infection. They are wonderful for congestion and are superb for cleaning the air. They are easily used by steam inhalation, in an aromatherapy diffuser, as a room spray, in a humidifier, as a vapor balm, in a chest poultice, or even as a gargle. You can put a few drops on a cotton ball and carry it in a plastic bag to sniff as needed.
Internal Treatments:
The accompanying essential oils should generally be used as external treatments (see the above information on essential oils for details). The herbs listed can be used internally as teas, capsules or tinctures.
Expectorants:
Expectorants help the body produce mucus more effectively. This helps protect the respiratory system from foreign particulate, as well as viruses and bacteria. Expectorants can be useful to help move foreign particles up and out of the lungs. They can also thin mucus that is too thick to help “flush” out the respiratory system.
Herbs: elecampane, grindelia, balsamroot, poplar bud, horehound and mulleinEssential oils: basil, benzoin, bergamot, cedar, eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, marjoram, peppermint, sandalwood, myrrh
Gum weed (Grindelia squarrosa)
Decongestants:
Excessive mucus can cause congestion as well as creating an environment ripe with the possibility of an opportunistic infection. They help ease nighttime breathing, allowing for a deeper sleep (so important when you are sick).
Herbs: Mormon tea, yerba santa, nettles, or horehound
Essential oils: rosemary, eucalyptus, fir, tea tree, lavender, peppermint, ravinsara
Demulcents:
Help to coat and soothe irritated or inflamed mucus membranes. This allows healing to begin.
Herbs: marshmallow, slippery elm, licorice, and mullein
Anti-tussives:
Both sneezing and coughing are protective reactions that the body has to get foreign particulate up and out of the respiratory system. Generally, they should be encouraged, not suppressed. Sometimes, however, a cough can be dry and unproductive and serves only to irritate and inflame the respiratory system. This can be particularly distressing at night when you are trying to sleep. Most herbs will not suppress a cough but soothe and reduce irritation to the lungs.
Herbs: pleurisy, horehound, wild cherry, marshmallow, elecampane
Essential oils: anise, eucalyptus, fir, sweet marjoram, myrrh, balsam of peru, frankincense, sandalwood, cypress
Elecampane flower (Inula helenium)
Anti-Virals
Did you know that viruses cause 90% of respiratory ailments? Most pharmaceutical medications are expensive and only narrowly effective, but herbs and essential oils can help!
Herbs: lomatium, osha, hyssop, and licorice
Essential oils: thyme linalool, rosemary, peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus, bergamot, black pepper, melissa, and hyssop
Anti-microbials
Once we get a virus, opportunistic microbes can often set in. In general, therefore, I think it wise to start using antimicrobial herbs at the first sign of a cold or flu.
Herbs: garlic, goldenseal, balsamroot, and poplar bud
Essential oils: Most essential oils are antimicrobial to one or more organisms. Bergamot, eucalyptus, and juniper are some good choices.
© Elaine Sheff, Clinical Herbalist, RH (AHG)