10 Tips to Get Rid of Excessive Mucus
People who suffer from excessive mucus should know that there are many natural health tips to not only relieve this condition but to eliminate it for good. This is because they combat the cause of the mucus.
Although it’s true that the first thing a person who suffers from excessive mucus should do is visit their doctor, according to popular wisdom, 10 tips can greatly contribute to relief when you include them in a healthy lifestyle.
What’s the cause of excessive mucus?
We all experience mucus on any occasion. It’s usually related to a cold, the flu, or seasonal allergy. Generally, this discomfort can appear in young people and adults at any time.
Children also tend to accumulate mucus very easily. Furthermore, with children, it’s even more important to prevent this condition naturally to avoid unnecessary risks to their health.
The causes may be related to diet and a lack of hydration, so these should be our main focus when treating this condition.
However, those who are chronically suffering from this condition should investigate the possible cause to put an end to it. Doctors are in charge of making an effective diagnosis that can be complemented with these natural and easy-to-follow remedies.
One of the possible causes behind excessive mucus can be sinusitis.
10 tips to get rid of excessive mucus naturally
According to popular wisdom, in addition to following the doctor’s instructions, you can resort to these tips to eliminate excessive mucus naturally:
1. Eliminate dairy products
Dairy products are the first type of foods that you should cut out from your diet. This is because it’s believed that the protein present in milk, known as casein, could cause more mucus in the respiratory tract.
For this reason, traditionally, it’s recommended to avoid dairy products in general until you get relief. However, don’t take things too far, unless your doctor tells you to. You can simply reduce the amount of dairy products you consumed daily for a few days until you notice an improvement.
Note: Mayo Clinic experts indicate that drinking milk doesn’t increase the amount of mucus but rather its density.
2. Reduce your consumption of flours
Although this cause-effect relationship isn’t as well known, refined starches can also cause mucus to accumulate in our body, causing excess moisture.
You should reduce your consumption of these refined starches and substitute them with whole grains from other cereal, such as oats, rice, spelt, rye or buckwheat.
3. Drink more water
To get rid of excessive mucus naturally and prevent it from accumulating, we recommend drinking two liters of water a day on an empty stomach and outside of meals. In fact, water plays an important role in the elimination of mucus, since it makes it more liquid and, therefore, easier to expel.
However, if it’s difficult for you to drink water, then you can drink lemonade without sugar or you could drink medicinal teas.
4. Season your food with spicy condiments
It’s said that spices such as cayenne pepper and ginger are excellent naturally expectorants. Thus, you can include them in your diet in moderation to reap their benefits.
5. Expectorant essential oils
Some essential oils are said to help relieve excessive mucus and congestion. For this reason, traditionally, some people dilute them in water and massage them onto their chest and back.
Also, others pour a few drops of essential oil into a diffuser to place it in the room and. thus. create an air freshener-humidifier-expectorant effect to promote relief.
You can apply essential oils to the skin mixed with a vegetable base oil (olive, almond, coconut, or sesame, among other). Some of the most recommended are:
- Pine tree.
- Fir tree.
- Lemon.
- Niaouli.
- Eucalyptus.
- Clove nutmeg.
Discover: The 10 Best Natural Decongestants
6. Mustard and flaxseed plaster
According to popular belief, to relieve the congestion caused by excessive mucus in the respiratory tract, you can apply a red mustard and flaxseed plaster to your chest.
Ingredients
- 2 parts mustard seeds.
- 1 part flax seed.
- Hot water (as much as you need).
Method
- Mix the seeds (always 2 parts of mustard per 1 of flax) with hot water to make a paste.
- Then, apply it to your chest and cover it, first with a linen cloth and then later with two woolen fabrics.
- Leave the paste on for a minute at most and then wash it off.
7. Apply ginger
Just as you can make infusions to drink and, thus, relieve excessive mucus, people popularly also apply them as tonics.
- Prepare a concentrated ginger infusion.
- Put a dry towel on your back and then place a wet towel soaked the infusion on top.
- Cover it with another dry towel and leave it on your back for 5 minutes.
8. Onion on your bedside table
The trick of putting onion on your bedside table is very popular. It simply consists of taking a fresh onion, cutting it into several pieces, and placing it on a plate on the bedside table.
While onion is generally said to help fight the infection that has caused excessive mucus, what onion actually does is keep the room moist. This, in turn, will help relieve discomfort.
9. Tapping
According to beliefs, this technique helps to get rid of excessive mucus. Specifically, it’s said to help “loosen” mucus from the bronchial tubes and airways in general.
Place your hand in the shape of a “u” and hit your chest and upper back with soft, fast, and dry strokes for a few minutes.
10. Expectorant infusions
According to grandmothers, several expectorant infusions could contribute to relieving congestion and other discomforts. Some of the most recommended are:
- Green anise seeds.
- Ginger.
- Fennel.
- White eucalyptus (not recommended for children).
- Cinnamon.
- Garlic.
Note: We don’t recommended consuming any herbal remedies with medicinal plants without your doctor’s authorization, as they could cause interactions and other discomforts.
Ready to get rid of excessive mucus?
As you can see, you can resort to several options to get rid of excessive mucus naturally. You can apply them along with medical treatment, if your doctor authorizes it.
Remember that, in addition to applying these tricks and taking your medications, you must follow a balanced diet and stay hydrated to be able to notice a real improvement.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- Ben-Arye E, et al. (2010). Treatment of upper respiratory tract infections in primary care: A randomized study using aromatic herbs.
- Gibson P, et al. (2016). Treatment of unexplained chronic cough: CHEST guideline and expert panel report.
- Kurmukov, A. G. (2013). Phytochemistry of medicinal plants. In Medicinal Plants of Central Asia: Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (pp. 13–14). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3912-7_4
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- Voynow, J. A., & Mengr, B. K. R. (2009). Mucins, mucus, and sputum. Chest, 135(2), 505–512.
