Table of contents:
- The nature of the problem
- Specificity of drugs
- 6 inexpensive but effective drugs
- Traditional methods for removing sputum
- Summarize
Video: The best expectorants for phlegm removal
2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00
Expectorants have been developed in pharmacology for the removal of a specific secretion of the respiratory mucosa. To remove sputum in adults, medications are selected by a doctor and depending on the clinical picture. Only a doctor can choose the best drugs, determine the dosage and frequency of administration. There are inexpensive and effective remedies.
The nature of the problem
In the tracheobronchial tree in the human body, a small amount of mucus is produced, provided by nature to remove microbes and foreign impurities from the respiratory system (dust, small particles and compounds that are invariably present in the air).
Being a natural antibacterial agent, transparent mucus in children and adults, in small quantities, does not irritate the receptors and does not provoke a protective cough reflex.
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The specificity of prescribing drugs for sputum elimination depends on the origin, nature of the departments, age, general condition of the body and the presence of chronic diseases, in which other medications are required:
- An excess amount of sputum begins to be produced in pathological conditions, for the elimination of a pathogenic agent or the removal of harmful components, often inhaled by a person of his own free will.
- Expectorants for the removal of pathological secretions are used only as directed by a doctor, who draws certain conclusions after undergoing tests.
- Sputum in adults can be clear, viscous, thick or watery, because it is caused by diseases of the nasopharynx, the respiratory system or the digestive system.
- Expectorants are prescribed differently, if it is serous (with pulmonary edema), mucous (with inflammatory processes in the respiratory system), mucopurulent (if the inflammation is at an acute stage) or purulent, when negative processes are severely started.
- The reasons why drugs are prescribed to remove a specific secretion can also be variable. From chronic bronchitis of smokers and bronchitis of other etiology, to neoplasms, pulmonary destruction, ARVI, mycoses or other chronic lung pathologies.
- In adults, the need to prescribe expectorants can be caused by bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, non-small cell cancer, GERD, and pulmonary forms of specific infections.
Before giving recommendations on taking expectorants, the doctor needs to carry out a whole range of diagnostic measures.
It includes examination, history taking, hardware methods - X-ray, ultrasound, CT or MRI, peripheral blood tests and microscopic examinations of sputum in adults.
Specificity of drugs
Expectorants for adults differ with dry and wet coughs, with transparent or purulent contents.
Before receiving medical advice, the patient can independently take preventive measures - these include drinking plenty of fluids, herbal expectorant preparations, breathing exercises. This is sometimes enough to alleviate the condition and to remove mucus in acute respiratory diseases, viral infections, colds when treated at home.
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Are you taking medication to remove sputum?
Yes Very rarely No, I have no sputum Vote
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But this does not mean that you can take medicines for self-prescription, on the advice of a casual acquaintance, a pharmacist in a pharmacy. This can be especially dangerous with an unspecified diagnosis, a significant amount produced, purulent or serous.
Expectorant drugs are usually classified according to their mechanism of action:
- Secretomotor are intended to increase the activity of the bronchial glands and irritate the receptors of the mucous membrane. This stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. In addition to these features, secretomotor agents have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects. These are inexpensive preparations with herbal ingredients or chemical compounds. Long-term practice has shown the effectiveness and relevance of Mukaltin, potassium and sodium iodide.
- Mucolytic expectorants do not change the amount of secretion produced in the bronchi, but change its structure. They are divided into 4 groups - enzymatic, synthetic and stimulants of active substances on the alveoli of the lungs (the well-known Bromhexine). There is also a substitute for the alveolar coating (surfactant) developed by pharmacists, which compensates for the deficiency of surfactants in the alveoli. The most famous of them is a synthetic drug Exosurf, which is recommended for removing sputum in pathologies of the bronchi and lungs, but only after an appropriate diagnosis has been made.
- The selection of combination drugs is also carried out after determining the main cause of mucus hypersecretion in adults. On the pharmacy counters there are combined drugs for excretion of phlegm with antitussive, bronchodilator, antiseptic and even antipyretic effect. The need for their presence in treatment in adults is accepted only by a doctor and only according to existing indications.
With relatively harmless, seasonal respiratory diseases caused by colds, acute respiratory infections, viruses, increased sputum secretion in adults can be observed both at the peak of the acute stage and during the period of extinction of the pathogen. In these cases, well-known mucus clearing agents can be used.
6 inexpensive but effective drugs
The most common medicines can be purchased at any pharmacy without a doctor's prescription. They are ineffective for serious pathologies, but are widely used for colds and inflammations of the respiratory system of bacterial and viral origin:
Mukaltin does not need special recommendations - it is a well-known medicine with a proven reputation and a long period of use, based on marshmallow root. It is prescribed for bronchitis, tracheitis, tracheobronchitis, laryngitis. The main action is an expectorant, with an additional enveloping and anti-inflammatory effect
Travisil is indicated for coughs, asthma, bronchitis of variable etiology, pharyngitis. It can be lollipops with different flavors or syrup in bottles. The main components are herbs, spices, seeds and plant bark. Therefore, it can be used only in complex therapy, in the absence of immunity to individual components. With a dry cough in an adult, it can be used as a mild immunostimulant with a secretomotor effect
Pertussin is prescribed to alleviate coughing attacks, it contains thyme and potassium bromide, but for diseases of the respiratory system, it is prescribed only as part of a comprehensive treatment, and as a monopreparation is ineffective
Mucolytics are represented by an extensive group of drugs, including the famous Bromhexine, Ambroxol, Ambrobene, Fluimucil. When prescribing mucolytic drugs, the nature of the disease and the diagnosis are taken into account
Acetylcysteine is prescribed for a cold cough, but is used even for bronchitis or pneumonia. A characteristic feature of the action is a decrease in the amount of sputum, an additional effect is a decrease in sore throat, due to which it relieves the patient's nighttime state, allows him to rest from the exhausting attacks caused by the cough reflex of the brain
Pectusin - its therapeutic effect is based on the presence of eucalyptus oil and menthol in the composition. In inflammatory processes in the mucous membranes of the respiratory system, it can be prescribed for a dry, irritating, unproductive cough. Taking the pills, the patient after a short time begins to feel that the sputum has become moist and is quickly separated for excretion
The above list includes the simplest, relatively safe medicines that help with colds and viral infections, in the acute or fading stage.
Medication can be started on medical advice, but without a prescription. This does not mean that in case of severe pathologies, they will have the desired effect. The presence of herbal ingredients can cause an allergic reaction.
When itching, rash, skin hyperemia, swelling appear, the medication should be stopped and the doctor should be consulted to find a safe replacement.
Traditional methods for removing sputum
In the modern treatment of colds accompanied by the separation of sputum, or difficulties with its excretion, conservative medicine often recommends turning to the achievements of unconventional ones.
Folk remedies are based on the use of components of animal, plant origin, food products.
This means that both children and adults may experience an individual insensitivity reaction:
- Honey products are common recipes to optimize the expectoration of viscous and thick phlegm. You can give the patient milk with honey and soda, butter, lingonberries, black radish (freshly squeezed juice), lemon mixed with honey.
- Licorice is used not only in folk medicine, ready-made medicines can also be purchased at the pharmacy, at home you can prepare a decoction from licorice root (dry raw materials are harvested on their own or bought in dried form in a pharmacy). The powder is mixed with honey and taken orally. You can also use breast fees, which contain a medicinal plant.
- Milk is a common remedy widely used to treat colds at home. It can be drunk with honey, soda, propolis, carrot juice to soften phlegm and release it more intensively.
- Syrups and decoctions in alternative medicine are diverse and unexpected combinations. Among the recommendations are horseradish or onion syrup with honey, a decoction of oats in milk, a decoction of elecampane, decoctions of herbs that are part of the breast collection. A long-known and invariably effective method of treating cough and stimulating expectoration is viburnum with sugar, infusion of pine buds.
Summarize
The use of expectorants for adults is best done on the recommendation of the attending physician:
- Sputum may not be the result of a cold or a viral disease, but the result of a pathological process.
- Finished medicines differ in their mechanism of action and are prescribed at different stages to provide the desired action.
- Relatively harmless drugs for sputum removal can only be used as part of a comprehensive treatment.
- Traditional methods are based on the use of natural ingredients and can cause allergies or a reaction of insensitivity to individual components.
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