How to breathe over potatoes when coughing and runny nose

At the first sign of a cold, more and more people began to use the old grandmother's methods of treatment, since many medicines do not give the desired result. One of the effective grandmother's methods is inhalation with hot potato steam.

When inhaling potato steam, a person increases blood flow to the nasopharynx, liquefies sputum, and eliminates congestive processes in the respiratory tract. Potato inhalations help with many diseases in a short period of time.

Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to breathe properly, and this procedure brings not so much benefit as harm. To prevent this from happening, you need to carefully consider this issue and then begin to practice.

Useful properties of hot potato steam

Inhalations over potatoes help with a runny nose, sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, hoarse voice, bronchial asthma, bronchitis, cough and other diseases. In the absence of fever, this procedure easily replaces medications and speeds up the healing process. With a cold, only the sputum that appears is excreted without medication.

Potato steam contains dipropylene glycol, tetradecane, ethyl alcohol, which allows you to warm up even remote parts of the respiratory tract.

These substances also enhance metabolic processes, remove inflammation, congestion, normalize blood flow, and remove swelling from the nasopharyngeal mucosa.

Potato steam covers a large surface and has an enveloping effect. In this case, the sputum liquefies, blood flows to the mucous membranes.

Vapor particles have a larger structure than particles when breathing with stationary inhalers (nebulizers) and this guarantees protection against penetration of moisture into the bronchi, bronchioles.

Moisture, which is formed into droplets, settles on the mucous membranes of the pharynx and larynx, and this softens the cough.
With such heating, microbes and accumulated mud particles come out of the nasopharynx and bronchi with sputum.

• With bronchial asthma such inhalation helps to stop attacks and prevent their manifestation.
• For runny nose and sinusitis(outside the stage of exacerbation) steam inhalation helps to draw out mucus from the nasal passages and sinuses.
• With laryngitis, bronchitis, cough, sore throat you have to breathe through your mouth.
• For colds with cough and runny nose without fever you need to breathe through both your mouth and nose, alternating them.

When inhaled, the airways warm up, cough softens and moisturizes, hoarseness and perspiration disappear.

How to do the procedure correctly

Inhalation can be performed:

• from boiled potatoes "in uniform" with subsequent kneading;
• inhalation of steam from peeled potatoes with the addition of salt, soda, essential oils;
• inhalation of vapors from boiled peelings or small potatoes.

For inhalation, you will need 5-10 medium (equal in size) potatoes, water, a saucepan of 3-4 liters, a towel, a blanket, a chair.

The potatoes are washed, laid out in a pan. Pour in water, boil for 20 minutes.

When ready (the potatoes should not fall apart or be half-cooked), the pan is covered with a lid, a strong fire is turned on for 10 seconds and turned off. The water drains. The pot is wrapped in a towel.

For the procedure:

• Pot with potatoes should be placed on a chair.
• With long hair, they need to be pulled back into the tail.
• Then you need to sit in a chair.
• Cover your head with a blanket.
• It is necessary to breathe steam for 5 - 10 minutes.

With an excess of steam, you can lift the blanket. During cooking, the steam will cool down a bit and will not be scalding hot.

For safety, keep your head a short distance from the pan. With strong proximity, there is a possibility of burning the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

You need to breathe measuredly, calmly, without sharp sighs. Inhalation must be done through the nose, and exhalation must be through the mouth. After 10 repetitions, inhalation is done through the mouth, and exhalation through the nose, this alternation will warm up the throat, nose and sinuses.

For sinusitis or severe runny nose You can inhale through each nostril in turn 5 times in a row. After inhalation, potatoes can be used for a warm compress. At the same time, the water from the pan is drained, the potatoes are kneaded, mixed with a spoonful of alcohol and transferred to a dense cloth. The resulting bag is placed in the region of the bronchi. The compress lasts about ten minutes.

For a greater effect from inhalation, you can add two pinches of soda, and crush the potatoes with a fork.

With a dry cough, in addition to soda, two pinches of coarse salt are added. Soda and salt are added at the beginning of cooking.

To enhance the effect, eucalyptus, pine, menthol, juniper, mint essential oils can be added to the water.. It takes 2 - 3 drops. In addition to essential oils, you can use ready-made cold oil mixtures.

Accelerates the healing process of potatoes, cooked together with unpeeled oats. This mixture allows you to soften the cough, and relieve the pain in the throat.

How much do you need to breathe?

Inhalation with potato vapors is made an hour and a half before meals. If possible, this procedure is carried out in the morning and in the evening.

For an adult, the procedure can take up to 10 minutes. With good health and regular lifting of the blanket to inhale fresh air, the procedure can be extended up to 15 minutes.

A longer procedure can put a strain on the heart.

For preschool children, the procedure should last no more than 4 minutes, if necessary, the time can be reduced.

For children of school age, the procedure can be carried out no more than 7 minutes.

Inhalation is carried out only under the supervision of adults, and if a complaint appears, inhalation is stopped.

After inhalation, you need to go to bed under the covers and lie down for at least half an hour, this will consolidate the result and speed up the healing process.

At what age can children be inhaled?

For babies under three years old, potato steam is contraindicated. In young children, steam can enter the bronchioles and cause obstruction and cause serious harm, including suffocation. The sputum, when swollen, fills the bronchi, enters the bronchioles and blocks the airways.

For children of kindergarten age, this procedure can be used only after consulting a doctor.

From the age of seven, the procedure can be carried out under the supervision of adults. In any case, when carrying out such a procedure for children, the time should be reduced to 4 minutes, and the temperature of the potato steam should be less than 45 degrees.

Children, even at an older age, even at low temperatures, cannot breathe over potato vapors!

For pregnant

For pregnant women, such inhalation is quite safe if there are no other health contraindications. Such inhalation allows you to cure a cold with little or no medication, which is quite important when carrying a child.

You can breathe over a saucepan or use a simple inhaler or a paper cone placed in the spout of a teapot for this purpose.

Potato vapors have a calming, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-allergic property.

During pregnancy, inhalation over potato steam has no contraindications, but the addition of other impurities should be controlled by a doctor. Some supplements may cause adverse reactions.

The steam temperature for pregnant women should be no more than 45 degrees. The duration of warming up the respiratory tract for pregnant women lasts no more than ten minutes.

Contraindications

• It is impossible to breathe hot steam, as this can lead to a burn of the mucous membrane.
• The temperature of potato steam should not be more than 50 degrees.
• At elevated temperatures, potato inhalations are contraindicated.
• If a person has heart disease, problems with blood vessels, the circulatory system, frequent nosebleeds, high blood pressure, pneumonia is diagnosed, there are any purulent processes, such a procedure is by no means performed.
• In the presence of pus in the nasopharynx or maxillary sinuses, this procedure is not performed.

Video about the benefits of potatoes

Inhalation with potato steam helps with many diseases and allows you to reduce medication and avoid possible allergic reactions to the components of the drugs.