Advantages
Steam inhalation opens the nasal passages, temporarily eliminating the symptoms of colds, flu, infectious sinusitis, and bronchitis. Warm, moist air thins mucus. Relieves the condition, but does not destroy the infection or virus.
The study does not confirm the benefits or harms of inhalers for treating colds.
Another study of the use of inhalations for the treatment of chronic sinus diseases (sinusitis, sinusitis) does not confirm their advantages over irrigation.
Despite the results of clinical studies, steam inhalation is successfully used in the following cases:
- nasal congestion;
- redness and irritation of the throat;
- difficulty breathing;
- dryness and irritation of the nasal passages;
- cough.
How to make inhalation at home without an inhaler
There are several proven methods. At home, they use improvised means and build something like an inhaler.
Kettle
You will need a teapot or a teapot with a long spout.
- Boil water, cool slightly.
- Add funds.
- Insert a sheet of paper twisted into a funnel into the spout of a homemade nebulizer. It will act as a mask.
- Inhale the vapors, covering your head with a towel.
The most commonly used solution is soda solution. It cooks very quickly. Add 1 tbsp to 1 liter of water. spoon of baking soda. Breathe for 5-10 minutes.
Pot
If you have no idea how to do inhalations without an inhaler, it is recommended to use a regular saucepan.
- Boil water and let cool slightly.
- Add the medicinal mixture. You can use essential oils. Add 10 drops of eucalyptus, fir, pine, rosemary, thyme, etc. oil to 1 liter of water.
- Place the pan on the table, open the lid slightly to allow steam to escape. Bow your head and cover it with a towel, woolen scarf or blanket.
On a note!
If the patient feels unwell or dizzy, it is recommended to leave space for fresh air to enter. Do not cover your head completely.
Boiled potatoes
In the old days, effective inhalations without an inhaler were made using potatoes. The vapor contains anti-inflammatory and antiseptic substances. Breathing procedures over potatoes help get rid of a dry, barking cough, wet with difficult sputum discharge. Boil or peel vegetables, place a pan on the table, cover your head with a towel, and inhale the healing steam.
Recipe for inhalation without an inhaler | Duration of the procedure | Number of inhalations per day | |
Dry cough | Peeled potatoes with baking soda, salt | 15 | 3 |
Wet | Boiled potatoes, peeled or peeled | 10 | 2 |
Treatment should not be carried out at high body temperature, tendency to nosebleeds.
Steam inhalation at home
How to do inhalation correctly:
- Pour hot water into the teapot (let the boiling water cool for 5-10 minutes).
- Add medicinal substance.
- Place a cardboard funnel on the spout and inhale warm steam through it.
As the water cools, add boiling water and control the temperature of the solution. Mineral or sea water is suitable.
Inhale through the nose in case of a runny nose, and through the mouth in case of diseases of the throat, bronchi, and pharynx.
Breathing is natural. Increased inhalation and exhalation does not increase the therapeutic effect and increases the risk of burns.
Upon completion, do not talk, smoke or eat for 1 hour.
Inhalation time for adults is 5-15 minutes.
How many times? Adults – 2-3 times a day, always before bedtime. The duration of treatment is from 1 to 3 days.
Steam inhalations are contraindicated for children due to the risk of burns to the upper respiratory tract. Up to a year, only wet (up to +30C) procedures are allowed. At an older age – warm-humid, up to +40C. The duration of inhalation for young children is up to 3 minutes, 2 times a day.
What medicinal plants can be used for inhalation?
1. Flowers from linden, chamomile, St. John's wort, lavender, mint, oregano.
2. Leaves of eucalyptus, sage, pine buds, juniper and cedar needles.
To prepare the medicinal composition, you need to take 3 tablespoons of the herbal mixture, add one liter of hot water, leave in a water bath for 15 minutes, keep the lid closed, cool slightly and breathe. In this way, the infection is perfectly destroyed, wounds heal, and you can get rid of sore throat and pain.
Inhalation of essential oils is an excellent remedy. It uses oils of anise, sandalwood, eucalyptus, cedar, bergamot, thyme, spruce and fir. With its help you can ease your breathing, soften your throat and fight all viruses and bacteria. To do this, you need to take two teaspoons of essential oil or a composition of oils and pour one liter of boiling water. Then inhale the steam for up to 10 minutes.
The pharmacy sells a lot of special mixtures that are intended for preparing inhalation at home. But they are intended for use in inhalers - compressor or ultrasonic.
Solution for inhalation
Select a medicinal substance taking into account possible allergies.
Potatoes are suitable - preferably small ones, maybe with sprouts, as well as potato skins.
- Wash thoroughly, boil in a small amount of water until it smells characteristic, drain the water.
Dosage of other solutions for inhalation (per 1 glass of hot water):
- eucalyptus leaves (1-2 tsp);
- sage (1-2 tsp);
- mint (1-2 tsp);
- onion juice (1 tsp);
- baking soda (1 tsp);
- chopped garlic (1-2 cloves);
- fir oil (2-3 drops).
Medicinal solutions
Soda
In a liter of boiling water you need to dilute 4 tsp. baking soda. Mix everything well and proceed to action. Soda solution has a softening effect on the mucous membrane of the throat and inflames mucus.
How to make an inhaler at home. Home inhalation
Mineral water
In this case, ordinary mineral water will not work; you need something similar to the brands “Essentuki” and “Borjomi”, which position themselves on the market as real medicinal waters. As a last resort, you can use ordinary mineral water, but the treatment effect will be much worse. Before starting the procedure, you just need to warm up the mineral water and cool it a little.
Inhalation - what you need to know, how to do it correctly? Tips for parents
!!!Important!!! The steam from mineral water inflames mucus and promotes its rapid removal from the body.
Garlic and onion
Peeled onions and garlic need to be thoroughly chopped; it is better to do this in a blender. The resulting slurry is diluted with boiling water in a ratio of 1:10, and, as in previous cases, allowed to cool slightly. The result is an excellent solution for inhalation; it will provide effective resistance to bacteria and viruses.
Herbal inhalation
Medicinal herbs
The medicinal composition from the inhaler is often made from herbal infusions. St. John's wort flowers, chamomile, linden, pine buds, cedar needles, juniper - this is not the entire list of benefits for breathing exercises. To prepare the solution, you need to dissolve 3 teaspoons of the herbal mixture in a liter of water and leave in boiling water for 15 minutes with the lid closed. After this, cool down a little and you can start breathing.
Inhalations: what is better to do them with - Doctor Komarovsky
!!!Important!!! Herbal infusions as a composition for an inhaler will destroy the infection and relieve a sore throat after just a few procedures.
Essential oils
You can safely add essential oils to the inhaler: bergamot, anise, sandalwood, fir, spruce and their combinations. They normalize breathing, relieve tension in the throat, and reduce the influence of bacteria and viruses. For one liter of boiling water, use no more than two teaspoons of essential oil or a composition of several types.
Treatment of a cold in a child
What can boiled potatoes offer?
Of course, freshly boiled potatoes can hardly be called a complete solution for inhalation, but in its medicinal properties it is not at all inferior to herbs, essential oils, or other substances listed above.
Breathing technique
If you are concerned about nasal diseases, then inhalation and exhalation should be done very carefully, without unnecessary tension and without holding your breath. If there are obvious signs of diseases of the larynx, trachea, pharynx, bronchi, then you need to inhale through your mouth while protruding your stomach to the maximum. Then hold your breath for 2-3 seconds and exhale while simultaneously retracting the diaphragm.
Correct inhalation technique. Tips for parents
The inhalation procedure should last at least 5 minutes, usually 5-15 minutes. What you should do depends on how you feel.
Advice The Russian bath is an excellent alternative to inhalation, one might even say that it is one of its varieties. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, be sure to visit this healing place.
Rules for effective inhalation
- Inhalation cannot be carried out immediately after eating; at least an hour must pass. Otherwise, nausea and heartburn may occur during the procedure.
- During inhalation, the environment around you should be calm, you need to concentrate on breathing, and not on watching TV, reading books, or talking.
- After inhalation, it is advisable to remain in the same calm environment for an hour, without talking, without smoking or alcohol, without eating.
Inhalation in medical settings
Contraindications
- Inhalation is contraindicated if the patient’s temperature is elevated; a reading of 37.5 is already a reason to refuse. This procedure will further increase body temperature and force the nervous and cardiovascular systems to work harder.
- Inhalation is contraindicated for people with heart and lung problems, emphysema, and during the recovery period from pulmonary hemorrhages. In any of the above cases, you should definitely consult a doctor.
- Inflammation of the lungs, nosebleeds, laryngeal edema are some more reasons not to inhale.
Methods and rules of inhalation
Conclusion: Today, inhalation is one of the effective methods of fighting colds. To carry it out, it is not necessary to have a special device; you can use ordinary household products, such as a saucepan or kettle. There is nothing complicated here, just two steps: preparing a medicinal solution and breathing exercises. You will definitely succeed! Be always healthy!
Hydrogen peroxide
Allergic rhinitis:
- Add 1 tbsp to a glass of hot water. 3% peroxide.
Breathe through the steam with your mouth for 2 minutes.
The case of Bill Munroe is described, who sprayed 3% hydrogen peroxide in his mouth for 13 years against melanoma and prostate cancer.
Thoroughly wash the bottle of used nasal spray along with the sprayer. Fill with 3% hydrogen peroxide.
- Open your mouth and direct the spray towards your throat.
- Press to spray and inhale sharply.
Take 5-6 inhalations. Do not spray into the nose.
The frequency of the procedure is 4-6 times a day. Against the virus - every 2-3 hours, in a day or two it will become easier.
The author of the method started with one spray 4 times a day. The course is a month. Breathing became free, effortlessly inhaling and exhaling.
Then he inhaled 2 times in the morning and at night. The result is breathing through the nose at night; before treatment, I slept with my mouth open.
The author believes that the basis of the therapeutic effect of hydrogen peroxide is the impossibility of viruses living in an environment enriched with oxygen.
Proponents of hydrogen peroxide inhalation claim relief from allergies, asthma, intestinal poisoning, bronchitis, flu, arthritis, and other diseases.
What is inhalation usually done at home?
Let's look at simple but effective recipes:
1. Soda inhalation. This is the most common option. The solution contains baking soda and hot water. This inhalation at home perfectly softens and removes phlegm when coughing. The proportions are as follows: per liter of water, a tablespoon of soda.
2. Inhalation with mineral water. If you inhale using mineral water, you do not need to add anything to it. Before use, you need to release the gases from the bottle by leaving it open for a while.
3. Pine inhalation. An excellent cough remedy - vapors based on spruce, pine, and fir needles. Before using, the pine needles need to be steeped in cold water for 8 hours, then heated and inhaled with warm steam. Instead of pine needles, you can use essential oils made from coniferous trees. The proportion is as follows: two drops of essential oil per liter of water.
4. Inhalation with potatoes. Helps well with dry cough. The potatoes need to be boiled with the peel and add soda or a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Breathe the steam.
5. Inhalation with herbs. Throw a handful of chamomile, linden, mint, sage, thyme, oregano, coltsfoot into hot boiling water. You can take these herbs separately or several at a time. Before the procedure itself, add a little baking soda and breathe in the steam.
6. Inhalation with essential oils. Oils of bergamot, eucalyptus, sandalwood, Siberian cedar, anise, fir, thyme, and spruce help ease breathing, soften the throat, and fight bacteria and viruses.
7. Inhalation with garlic and onions. You need to prepare a paste from onions and garlic, squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth and dilute with water in a ratio of 1:10.
How to do inhalation at home? How to breathe correctly?
For diseases of the nose, inhalation and exhalation should be done through the nose without holding your breath. If the pharynx, larynx, bronchi, trachea are sore, inhalation should be done through the mouth, protruding the stomach forward as much as possible. Hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale, while simultaneously drawing in your stomach.
What are steam procedures for coughing with?
Ultrasonic inhaler
For inhalation of colds with cough or bronchitis, devices that create fine aerosols are used. Nebulizers and compression inhalers are suitable for this.
Decoctions of medicinal herbs are placed in the apparatus:
- 1 tbsp. l. dried chamomile flowers are poured with a glass of boiling water and left covered in a water bath for 15 minutes, then left at room temperature for 40 minutes. After filtering, the infusion is used cooled.
- Sage and thyme are also used . It is brewed in the same way as chamomile. 20 ml of plant infusion is poured into the compartment of a compression device or nebulizer.
- 20 ml solution is poured into the nebulizer container , adding 3 drops of essential oil of pine needles, pine, mint, eucalyptus .
Traditional recipes are used to treat colds and coughs in the old way:
- boiled jacket potatoes;
- soda solution;
- essential oils.
You might be interested in - Recipes for inhalation for a runny nose.
Soda solution for inhalation is prepared at the rate of 4 tbsp. l. sodium bicarbonate per 1 liter of hot water. Essential oils of pine needles, fir, eucalyptus or chamomile in an amount of 3-4 drops are added to mineral water or saline solution.
Read about the best time to inhale before or after meals in this article.
Types of inhalations
- up to 30 oC – wet;
- up to 40 oC – warm-humid;
- up to 45 oC - steam.
The highest water temperature during inhalation should be 52 - 57 oC, otherwise you can burn your respiratory tract.
Inhalations can be powder, oil and mineral.
Dry inhalations are a sprayed medicinal solution that mixes with hot air and penetrates the lungs. Mainly used for inflammatory diseases of the nasal cavity, they can be sprayed with water or with simple powder blowers. Dry inhalations are easier to dose. It is highly not recommended to use dry inhalations if there is a lot of dry dust in the air. Once in the lungs along with the medicine, it can create dense plugs in the bronchi.
Oil inhalations are used to create an enveloping, protective film on the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx during inflammatory processes and for preventive purposes.
Mineral inhalations are essentially the ingestion of minerals through the respiratory tract and in a sprayed state. Mineral inhalations are best used in the treatment of rhinitis, asthma, and allergic diseases. Mineral waters are used to treat the nasal cavity.
With the help of an inhaler, mineral inhalations can be done anywhere, even at home. The water should be no warmer than 35 - 38 degrees Celsius. The duration should not exceed ten minutes, three or four times a day, the course is ten or 15 inhalations of inhalations.
DIY inhaler with photo
When I once again caught a cold and felt a familiar “tickling” in the bronchi, I thought about the need to have an inhaler in the house.
A factory-made inhaler is expensive and finding, choosing, and purchasing it takes time, so I decided to make this inhaler with my own hands. The options for constructing a homemade inhaler, which abound on the Internet, did not suit me very much, because if I have bronchitis, I do not need to inhale the nasal cavity, and the recommended designs involved making an inhaler mask together for the nasal and oral cavities. I had the idea to make an inhaler for oral inhalation only. This approach also eliminated the need to manufacture the valves required for a mask for the nose and mouth at the same time.
To make a steam inhaler, I prepared the following tools and components: a knife, scissors, a plastic lid for glass jars, a rubber tube with a diameter of 1 cm and a length of 15 cm, and a half-liter plastic bottle.
In the center of the plastic cap, I used a knife to cut a hole for the neck of the bottle so that the plastic cap could be tightly screwed onto the thread of the bottle neck through this hole. Closer to the edge of the polyethylene cover, I cut out another hole with a diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the rubber tube. I cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle and used scissors to cut out two wavy indentations to fit the edges of the bottle tightly around the lips.
How to do inhalation without a nebulizer
The compressor apparatus is used for diseases of the lower respiratory tract. The device sprays liquid medications using an air stream and turns them into an aerosol. Active substances penetrate into the lungs, bronchi, alveoli, partially settling on the surface of the larynx and nose.
The main indications for the use of a nebulizer are diseases with obstruction:
- complicated bronchitis with difficult sputum discharge;
- COPD;
- pneumonia;
- bronchial asthma.
If there is no special device in the house, the patient is hospitalized and the necessary procedures are performed in the hospital. If a compressor device is available, treatment is carried out at home under the strict supervision of specialists. Thus, it is impossible to make a full inhalation without a nebulizer. Drugs with a pronounced therapeutic effect are poured into the chamber.