JANET WINTER

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Five ways that chronic cough can damage your health; and how better breathing helps

March 30, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 13 Comments

chronic cough bad for health Buteyko breathing helps

chronic cough can bad for health

Do you have a persistent cough or an irritating tickle causing you to continually clear your throat?  Coughing is  one of the body’s  important natural protection mechanisms so you may not think it is much of a problem.

Well it can be – the coughing itself can be exhausting; using all your primary breathing muscles and accessory muscles in your neck and shoulders to lift your rib cage is a lot of effort in itself. Moreover, chronic cough can damage your health by depriving systems throughout the body of their vital oxygen. Fortunately, once you understand the problem, better breathing can help.

What causes chronic cough?

A cough may start with a respiratory infection, but how does it become chronic? Actually coughing irritates the airways and makes another cough more likely. So coughing can cause cough, and can persist well after the initial infection has cleared up! So focus on the type of virus/infection may not be important. Trying to isolate the infectious agent may be as useful as knowing the make of car in a road traffic accident to the recovery of the pedestrian in hospital! (a version of this article was first published in NTFA)

So why is chronic cough a problem?

1) Coughing can irritate the airways.
Well when you cough, you will likely take in frequent, large volume breaths of air  than is normal and healthy. This is over breathing or hyperventilation. When you cough through the mouth you are taking in cold, dry, unfiltered air (normally filtered through the nose). The airways can become dry and irritated, and increased forceful airflow can cause damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) where the gas exchange takes place in the lungs.

2) Coughing can agitate the nervous system.
Continued coughing can cause too much of the gas carbon dioxide to be lost from the body. Carbon dioxide is not just a waste gas; is a natural tranquilizer and normally calms the nervous system, but if levels drop too low following coughing, the airways become further irritated and oversensitive.

3) Coughing can cause bronchoconstriction/asthma
Carbon dioxide is also a natural bronchodilator. In someone with asthma, coughing will lower the levels of carbon dioxide, which may cause spasm or constriction of the airways and an asthma attack may follow.

4) Coughing can lead to more histamine release.
Immune cells called mast cells release histamine, which sensitizes and irritates the airways further. Again, carbon dioxide calms the immune system and mast cells release more histamine in low carbon dioxide environments.

5) The body tissues may get less oxygen.
The rest of the body will suffer too as a result of coughing excessively, as the low carbon dioxide stops oxygen getting out of the bloodstream and getting into all the other parts of the body effectively. You may get increasingly fatigued and get more and more symptoms of hyperventilation as time goes by. These can include difficulty concentrating, anxiety, poor sleep, IBS, cold hands and many other seemingly unrelated symptoms. (See a fuller list here).

How to reduce cough

The respiratory centre in the brain can adjust to this big volume breathing and now accept it as normal, making the problem long-term. There are no particularly good medications for chronic cough; the ones that have some effect may work by slowing the breathing. Inhaling steam and oils such as pine and eucalyptus may help temporarily.
Luckily, the Buteyko breathing method retrains breathing, reducing it back towards normal levels, therefore getting at the underlying cause. As the carbon dioxide is able to build up again, the airways open naturally, become less sensitive, and the coughing reduces, naturally.
Hopefully the coughing season is drawing to a close and spring is round the corner (hayfever season!), but below are tips on:spring How to stop a coughing fit. (From Buteyko Scotland)
Excess coughing can be unpleasant, tiring and embarassing, but it can also alter your breathing pattern for the worse and bring on an asthma attack.
Coughing Tip 1.
Breathe through your nose all the time, this will keep your lungs and mucus from drying up.
Coughing Tip 2.
a. Sit on a dining room chair
b. When you have a small gap in your Coughing Fit, breathe out through your nose and as you are breathing out through your nose, lean forward and let your head gently fall to your knees
c. This will help empty your lungs of air
d. Once you have very little air left in your lungs hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds
e. Then start to breathe in through your nose very very slowly (slower the better) while breathing in very very slowly start to raise your head at the same rate as you are breathing in very very slowly.
f. When you have finished breathing in and you are sitting very up right, relax your shoulders and breathe continuously through your nose, let your posture regulate your breathing pattern (posture, sitting very up right on a dining room chair).
g. Be aware of how you are feeling, if you are feeling anything abnormal DO NOT REPEAT the exercise
Coughing Tip 3.
Stop drinking cow’s milk and reduce your intake of dairy products until your coughing is under control.

(This exercise is just a small part of the course training where you change your breathing pattern for the better 24/7. Better health is likely to follow).

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Filed Under: Better breathing and better health, hyperventilation, ME/CFS, Nose breathing is important Tagged With: chronic cough, cough

Comments

  1. Karen J says

    April 17, 2014 at 17:34

    Greetings from Chicago, Janet!
    I had no idea of the positive effects of carbon dioxide – that’s information that is just Never Talked About! Thank you for that.

    ~ I just found you at Corrina’s (http://youinspireme.co.uk/2014/never-say-its-too-expensive/#comment-31274), because your headline grabbed my attention.

    Reply
    • info@breathingremedies.co.uk says

      April 17, 2014 at 18:39

      Thanks Karen, yes, carbon dioxide is not just a waste gas! If levels drop too low, you can massively reduce blood and oxygen supply to the brain for example. See the startling image here: http://www.normalbreathing.com/

      Reply
      • Pushpa says

        April 17, 2017 at 04:51

        Now i know why people breathe in paper bag when they panic.

        Reply
  2. Lynne Shaw says

    January 11, 2016 at 09:20

    Thanks for the above information. I am currently in “coughing hell” but I am going to practise this breathing method immediately.
    Lynne

    Reply
  3. Akila says

    August 6, 2016 at 05:33

    fantastic imformation
    i have written down lods of it
    n will chat with my consultants
    more guides to my cough
    i have 8 kids n 5 grandchildren
    the cough has taken me over n it hurts n i am 53 years old n thank yu once more ??❤️

    Reply
  4. Les Rechtman says

    August 23, 2017 at 19:32

    I owe you a giant hug
    Once you mentioned being tired, neck & back hurting, I could stop reading.
    I had allergies all my life and pets to.
    I went to a ENT and he said get rid of your 2 dogs. Yes,I know I’m allergic to
    Pet dander but getting rid of them will never ever happen. I went to a pulmonary Dr who sent me for a Peet test and everything came back negative. I was in a car accident 4 yrs. ago. I was completely run over by a car
    Damaged spine (metal rod there),4 broken ribs & of course the usual neck pains. I was on a respirator for 1 month, got the picture. Now I’m being told it could be scar tissue. The coughing has just about quarented me from society. I’m at wits end. With all the doctors I went to, reading your page is more helpful then there’s. I’m still coughing a lot but I could some what control it. Can you possibly give me any more additional suggestions.

    Reply
    • info@breathingremedies.co.uk says

      August 23, 2017 at 23:06

      Dear Les,

      Sorry to hear of your troubles and challenges. Would you like to book a comprehensive breathing assessment with me? I will get a better idea if breathing retraining could help with your cough. (Being on a respirator can change your breathing).
      Where are you? I am in the South Manchester area (UK) but I do skype/facetime too.
      I could have a quick look at your posture too.

      You can sign up to my email newsletter here:
      http://breathingremedies.us1.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=d1e7c20f30c6cb6e58d14d837&id=ed1ccd82bc

      This was the last one:
      http://mailchi.mp/2e0f8a1104d6/barefoot-shoes-and-harmful-yoga-breathing

      Currently I could assess you next week, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday morning at 10am. Please let me know ASAP so I can reserve a slot for you (I am busy the first 2 weeks in September.

      Glad you kept your dogs! NB Allergies tend to fade as breathing improves.

      Best wishes,

      Janet

      Reply
  5. Lourdes says

    October 2, 2017 at 23:16

    Enjoyed reading this informative and educational article. I’ve suffered with coughing for 20 years and now it’s a consistent & persistent coughing. Most urgent issue is I’m passing out which really scares me. I’ve been told that I stop breathing, however, I’m not aware of deciding not to breathe. Initially, medications were switched back and forth due to allergy & sinus drip, then it was due to asthma, then blood pressure meds have coughing side effects and finally GERD was added. Drs cannot figure out why the persistent cough. Between the allergy and asthma episodes an ENT identified some scaring on my voice cord due to inhalers. I feel that I’ve changed my breathing to compensated for my cough (mostly to make those around me comfortable). I’ve just been through a series of medical test again and to no avail.
    I’m open to any suggestions.

    Reply
    • info@breathingremedies.co.uk says

      December 20, 2017 at 20:01

      Perhaps a breathing assessment would help to see if breathing re-education could help you with your cough.

      Reply
  6. Shirley Stokes says

    October 26, 2017 at 01:49

    I have pulmonary fibrosis and an coughing so much lately I can’t take much more. Rx fir cough doesn’t help. Eucalyptus oil at night is used but should I do that nighly? Laying down seems to help but I work full time. Exhausted. Don’t know how much longer I can do this. No energy.

    Reply
  7. Lou Lingstrom says

    August 6, 2018 at 16:14

    unfortunately this is not helpful if you are producing too much mucous and it gets trapped in the lungs and you are trying to get it out. I have tried every supplement that is supposed to help with allergies and even resorted to pharmaceuticals and nothing helps. May be mast cell activation syndrome thanks to cipro. Have to cough to get the stuff out. It is exhausting. And now I am just more worried about the damage to my lungs.

    Reply
    • info@breathingremedies.co.uk says

      August 9, 2018 at 17:13

      Better breathing can be very effective at reducing the amount of mucus that you produce. The more you cough, the more you breathe, the more mucus you can produce.

      Reply
      • Lou Lingstrom says

        August 9, 2018 at 18:57

        um. yeah, been coughing like crazy for a month now. No difference.

        Reply

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You can sign up to Breathing Remedies newsletter here. Information on posture and breathing and how they affect health.

Or phone me 01663 743055 (Dr Janet Winter)

 

Hello, I am Janet,  a  Breathing educator, (Buteyko Breathing Method) and I help people recover from asthma, allergies, sinusitis, anxiety, sleep problems, headaches, IBS chronic fatigue (ME/CFS) and more, by improving their dysfunctional breathing. Both myself and my teenage son have recovered from ME/CFS, and I want to help more people with these devastating illnesses.

You can contact me here (please leave phone number, landline preferably: 

What I do

Louise Bibby - CFS Coach, Blogger, Author

Louise Bibby – CFS Coach, Blogger, Author

Here is a very brief (3.5 mins) audio introduction to the Buteyko method and DEEP BREATHING; part of an hour-long interview with CFS coach Louise Bibby in Australia – the full interview will be available on her “Get up and go Guru”
site
soon.

Breathing education gently retrains a disordered breathing pattern and helps people naturally recover from breathing-related health problems.

I trained to be a Breathing Educator with Jennifer Stark and Savio D’Souza. Jennifer has been teaching Buteyko for almost 20 years and conducted several of the successful asthma clinical trials of the Buteyko method in the West. (The Buteyko Method relieves asthma symptoms, and has been listed in the UK Asthma Guideline since 2008).
I am a member of the Buteyko Breathing Educators Association and am fully insured.

I am also a qualified postural alignment specialist (PAS) trained by Nicole Lourens of the Egoscue University. Good posture is essential for good breathing and proper function in general.

egoscue023You can find a great summary of Egoscue here.

My background

I had been involved in healthcare/biomedical research for 30 years although previously in a very different role: before training as a Breathing educator, I spent 20 years in drug discovery looking for new painkillers for a major pharmaceutical company based in a London Institute.
I worked as a neuroscientist and cell biologist, directing a team of bench scientists. (So I am not a medical doctor but I have a PhD in Neuroscience) I authored or co-authored more than 50 journal articles and reviews on my research. I have also worked as a medical writer, so have a firm grounding in evidence-based medicine. My professional profile can be seen here on LINKEDIN.

Why I became a breathing educator

If you are reading this because you have CFS/ME, I know what you are going through. I know what it is like to hold onto a job by my fingernails, worried about how we would feed the family if I lost my job, come home and eat and sleep and spend my weekend recovering.
I had no social life. I was lucky to quickly get to a consultant who diagnosed me with candidiasis, and anti-fungals and a yeast and sugar-free diet helped a lot, but not enough.
I felt I had been “written off” and had nothing to offer. I was a mum, partner and employee with massively reduced physical and mental output compared with previously. I suspected my symptoms were “stress related” but they did not ease when I left my stressful job and moved out of London to the countryside.
For me (after trying many different avenues, cranial osteopathy, chiropractic, mercury amalgam filling removal and more – I became a “fat-folder patient”), breathing education worked, it was a big missing piece of my health puzzle, and one I had frankly never considered.

Changing my breathing back to a more normal pattern really helped me. One definition of stress is “anything that makes you breathe more”. And I know now that breathing too much can actually deplete the body of oxygen. And stress can be emotional or physical. Looking back on my history I can clearly see my own physical and emotional stresses accumulating, from a very traumatic bereavement, on-going work and family stresses, then a really bad summer respiratory infection and cough that was not shifted by two different antibiotics (but they probably contributed to unbalancing my gut flora, hence the fungal overgrowth/candidiasis).

A cough seems to be one of the best ways to mess up your breathing pattern, and many of my clients tell me “I was fine until I had that cough/chest infection, and I never really got my health back!!” The breathing centre in the brain gets to think that big volume breathing is normal and unless you know about it, it is sometimes hard to recover. Luckily you CAN retrain your breathing by doing a series of gentle exercises and making some life style changes, and you CAN have hope of better health.
So that is why I do what I do and why I am passionate about it; I found a way to improve my chronic fatigue by better breathing and I trained as a breathing educator so I could help others with this devastating disease. There is so little help out there for them (you?).

Then chronic backache made good breathing impossible, and I discovered postural alignment therapy (Egoscue) to help with that. And I am still amazed at the progress I am making -it’s wonderful to have decreased pain and increased function when I had accepted decline at my age was inevitable. It’s not!



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