My wife has had a cough for many weeks. Dr. gave her an antibiotic, no success, now she is coughing and wheezing. Looking for relief from this.

A wheezing cough can be the manifestation of many different respiratory ailments. The wheezing could be caused by a generally allergy, asthma, bronchitis and even pneumonia. You should take a wheezing cough seriously, and seek immediate medical advice for your wife. Wheezing is normally characterised by a prolonged exhalation thru the lower airway, bronchi, and bronchioles. Inform your doctor or primary health care centre about the wheezing. Your wife may need a chest X-ray to diagnose her problem.

There are some over the counter medicines and home remedies that you can take, but remember to take them carefully. Do not take anything that you are allergic to, and remember to consult your doctor before taking any medicine.

Some treatments for the wheezing include:

Many over the counter natural medicines are available. Some of them contain wild cherry bark, vitamin C, quercetin, and nettles. These are all effective against wheezing.

Try to identify in any particular food or substance causes the cough to become worse. The commonest foods that bring this on are milk products, animal foods, mucous producing food like bananas, curd, black gram and sugar. These should be avoided.

Drink a lot of water, more than the usual 8-9 glasses every day, to try and keep the secretions loose.

Try to stay away from smoke, strong perfumes, paint and other chemical substances.

• Keep the house clean by vacuuming it often, and if possible, install a dehumidifier in the room. Also, try to keep your air conditioner's filters clean.
• If it's cold, wear a scarf around your neck and mouth.
• If the wheezing gets too bad, keep a hot towel on your chest and shoulder. Do this every half hour to calm the nerves and relax the cough.
• You can make a poultice with turmeric paste. Turmeric has got strong antiseptic and healing qualities, and has been used in eastern medicine for hundreds of years as a cure to many illnesses.
• To relieve a bad bout of coughing or wheezing, you can try sipping on a glass of hot water with a few cloves in it.
• Take a spoon of jaggery mixed with mustard oil once a day. This will give you some relief from the wheezing.
• Steam inhalation can be very helpful for spasms.
• Drink a healing tea made from ginger, chamomile or geranium to provide a healing and soothing effect.

answered by G M

Here are some home remedies for helping control wheezing:

Garlic'Two or three cloves of this vegetable should be chewed daily until symptoms are controlled. A small amount of garlic juice can also be added to vegetable juices.

Lemon or lime is another valuable home remedy,'a teaspoon of fresh juice of either of the two fruits should be taken several times a day before or between meals.

Here are some remedies for controlling the cough:

Extracted juice of ginger with honey take three or four times a day is an excellent remedy for coughs and cold.

Mix 3 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 cup honey, and 1/4 cup warm water and take two teaspoons daily. In cases of dry cough,peel a small piece of fresh ginger. Sprinkle some salt on it and chew.

Also you can make an herbal tea consisting of Peppermint and Lavender.

A combination of 2 drops Peppermint Oil, 2 drops Lavender Oil and 2 drops Eucalyptus Oil mixed with a light oil like jojoba oil can be rubbed on the chest.

answered by C