Chest remedies?

Hi everyone

Sooo it seems it is that time of year again when I get the infamous bronchitis

My normal routine is Cipro 500 MG Twice a day for 10 days..  I have a dr apointment Friday morning.

I am on the hunt for a natural cure. Any ideas???

Did the doctor ever give you an Albuterol inhaler for the bronchitis? I got one last time I had it and it's great. It's nice to be able to breathe!

Cipro is an antibiotic, right? I don't see how that would help, except to prevent the bronchitis from becoming bacterial pneumonia (which is important, I admit). But it doesn't cure the bronchitis or do anything to make you feel better at all.

Anything hot will loosen the chest congestion. Breathe in steam, drink hot soup/tea, etc. Put a heating pad on your chest. If you have ANY allergies, take an antihistamine regularly (it helps the bronchitis. Really!). Generic Loratadine is super cheap. Mucinex can help, too.

But the inhaler helps the most. Not natural, sorry, but nothing else I found works as well.

Cipro (ciprofloxacin) is a very powerful antibiotic.  It is the only one that is effective against salmonella and anthrax.  I know that doctors are prescribing it for many things these days.  It seems like overkill, but if it is the only thing effective on your infection, you need to use it.

Willowy said:

Did the doctor ever give you an Albuterol inhaler for the bronchitis? I got one last time I had it and it's great. It's nice to be able to breathe!
Cipro is an antibiotic, right? I don't see how that would help, except to prevent the bronchitis from becoming bacterial pneumonia (which is important, I admit). But it doesn't cure the bronchitis or do anything to make you feel better at all.
Anything hot will loosen the chest congestion. Breathe in steam, drink hot soup/tea, etc. Put a heating pad on your chest. If you have ANY allergies, take an antihistamine regularly (it helps the bronchitis. Really!). Generic Loratadine is super cheap. Mucinex can help, too.
But the inhaler helps the most. Not natural, sorry, but nothing else I found works as well.

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I use the albuterol inhaler and albuterol breathing treatments..... they do help a bit. Our normal game plan is , if I don't take Cipro at the first sign- it becomes pneumonia always and then I will end up in the hospital.

Loratadine (Claritin is uselss lol), but I do take Zyrtec and works great. I have asthma, so hence the Singular, breathing treatments, and inhaler.

Antihistamines during an asthma attack are a no-no, but it can prevent one.

Cipro is an antibiotic, and bronchitis is an infection (The "itis" on the end indicated inflmmation") in this case, inflammation of the bronchioles aka infection. Other antibiotics have been tried and do not work on me (Amoxicillin, Augmenting (Amoxicillian and Clavulnate Potassium, Doxcillian, Zithromax. I am allergic to Sulfa drugs, so Bactrim is out.

Huh, I've never gotten antibiotics for bronchitis (which I always get every time I have a cold). But clearly you have a much much worse situation . I don't really think anything natural (or anything I can suggest!) is going to be of much help .

Bronchitis does not ALWAYS mean infection. Fever is the defining sign... absence of fever is probably absence of infection. Fever is your body's way of fighting off infection (Burning the germs out so to speak)

I did find Vick's Honey Fusion cough syrup helps the cough portion, Bronkaid helps the congestion part- but the antibiotics are for the underlying infection.

As soon as I get a cold I have to be really careful because it'll develop into bronchitis very quickly. I get it at least once a year, usually 2 or 3 times. I'm actually battling it right now, lol.

What I've found to be really helpful is musinex. I get my parents to get me some whenever they go to the states. I also find having a humidifier or taking frequent hot showers helps. Another thing is raw honey, it coats your throat to help with coughing and is naturally antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial.

I don't know if you drink at all, but the one year that I had a glass of whiskey, water and honey every night before bed I didn't have a problem with colds or bronchitis at all.

Hibiscus tea with honey is really good as well, high in vitamin c and helps to keep you hydrated, which keeps the mucous thin and easy to expel.

Nebula said:

 I am allergic to Sulfa drugs, so Bactrim is out.

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Me, too.  I am also allergic to IV Cipro, but can take the tablets. (just barely)

nerdrock said:

As soon as I get a cold I have to be really careful because it'll develop into bronchitis very quickly. I get it at least once a year, usually 2 or 3 times. I'm actually battling it right now, lol.
What I've found to be really helpful is musinex. I get my parents to get me some whenever they go to the states. I also find having a humidifier or taking frequent hot showers helps. Another thing is raw honey, it coats your throat to help with coughing and is naturally antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial.
I don't know if you drink at all, but the one year that I had a glass of whiskey, water and honey every night before bed I didn't have a problem with colds or bronchitis at all.
Hibiscus tea with honey is really good as well, high in vitamin c and helps to keep you hydrated, which keeps the mucous thin and easy to expel.

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I keep a bottle of peppermint schnapps (100 proof) for toothache and such it helps a bit too. And coats a sore throat

I have a stock of prednisone I take as needed.  I get colds turned bronchitis a few times a year starting around this time but usually no treatment needed besides pred.  I think I am starting to get sick now cause I woke up for inhaler few times last night(usually only need it during litter changes/sweeping)
 

I have asthma and am sick right now.  I use old fashioned Vick's vapor rub every night when I go to bed lately.  It stinks, though.

nurseangel said:

I have asthma and am sick right now.  I use old fashioned Vick's vapor rub every night when I go to bed lately.  It stinks, though.

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That it does- but it also works good

This is more preventative, but sinus washes have saved my life! I'm prone to bronchitis and pneumonia (have had asthma since I was two), and once my sinuses start gooing up, my asthma kicks in, and if I don't do a sinus wash or two every day, every time the infection moves into my lungs or ears!

I've never had antibiotics for bronchitis or pneumonia, either, I always get prescribed prednisone. Once I was on both prednisone and antibiotics at the same time, first one for my pneumonia and the other for a double ear infection, that was a really bad time, I was sick for 6 weeks and lost 99% of my hearing. (My hearing didn't come back for four more months ugh.)

Hope you are better soon. 

This isn't a natural cure either, but you might want to ask your doctor about taking prednisone in addition to the Cipro.  The prednisone will really help with the inflammation in your lungs.  I have the same type of problem that you do.   I have to take an antibiotic at the first sign of a cold too because it immediately turns into either  bronchitis or  pneumonia and I have been hospitalized twice because of this.  The  prednisone helps me feel better faster and avoid another hospitalization.

They only give you antibiotics for bronchitis if yours is bacterial, or if you have a viral bronchitis and they're worried about bacterial secondary infections.

I agree with the people talking about using warmth as home-treatment. It's soothing and often helps the inflammation in your airways. Also make sure to drink plenty of whatever you like to drink (though I'd avoid the wine/beer unless you want to be sick AND hung over, hehe...) I think peppermint tea is one of the best things in the world to drink when you're sick, or for that matter when you're not. It's great with a bit of honey in it if you want the energy from the sugar. If not, it's great plain or with artificial sweetener if you like that sort of thing. Chamomile is supposed to be good for stomach upset, which could just be an old wives' tale, but it's an herbal tea and tastes nice, so it sure can't hurt!

Last time I had a really bad run-in with the flu, I used to just turn on the shower and stand in the hot water for a half an hour. Horribly wasteful of water, of course, but you feel so much better when you get out. Or maybe a bubble bath? I never liked baths but I know some people love them.

Oh, and get plenty of sleep. Preferably while cuddling with a cat. A cat's purr is supposed to be healing, you know. Take two purring cats and call me in the morning!

You can by products that you add to a vaporizer for specific symptoms.  Vicks makes a bunch of different types.  I have been dealing with Sinus Infection issues and my boss told me about a Vicks product called VapoSteam.  It is sorta of like a portable personal vaporizer.  You put hot (not boiling) water into and add little pads to it.  I have been using it nightly to steam sinuses since she mentioned it to me.  I was getting dizzy at work form sinus headaches and this product got rid of the issue completely.  It is not expensive at all.  My sinus issues turned out to be bacterial so I am also on an antibiotic but I have not been taking other sinus medicines outside of for work and this product has kept me going.

I found this stuff at the store today- Supposed to be all natural and homeopathic but the ingredients seem odd. Dust Mites? http://trpcompany.com/asthma-therapy.html
The letters HPUS indicate that the components of this product are officially monographed in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.

I have also researched oxygen nasal washes, suggested by one of my instructors today- a bit iffy on it as you have to get the measurements perfect

But I found this premade bottle (seems really expensive? It is basically hydrogen peroxide and distilled water.. surely I could make my own somehow??

http://www.letstalkhealth.com/Oxygen-Nasal-Wash-p/160.htm

Well, homeopathy is considered useless by real science. Nothing more than a placebo effect.

But natural remedies don't necessarily have to be homeopathic. I do believe in natural remedies. If you can find raw honey, I agree with nerdrock. Not the kind you get in the bear bottle at walmart, that stuff is 99% corn syrup. Try to find a farmers' market, or a Whole Foods near you and get some raw, unfiltered local honey. Drink a good dose of it with some hot herbal tea. It will likely help soothe your throat and breathing tract.

nurseangel said:

I have asthma and am sick right now.  I use old fashioned Vick's vapor rub every night when I go to bed lately.  It stinks, though.

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I love the smell of Vicks!

speakhandsforme said:

Well, homeopathy is considered useless by real science. Nothing more than a placebo effect.
But natural remedies don't necessarily have to be homeopathic.

I do believe in natural remedies. If you can find raw honey, I agree with nerdrock. Not the kind you get in the bear bottle at walmart, that stuff is 99% corn syrup. Try to find a farmers' market, or a Whole Foods near you and get some raw, unfiltered local honey. Drink a good dose of it with some hot herbal tea. It will likely help soothe your throat and breathing tract.

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The problem with "real" science is that they are not able to look beyond the pills and prescriptions to see if something actually does work.