(KIKOHOZI)

About the condition

Coughing is the body’s way of cleaning the breathing system and removing phlegm and germs in the throat or lungs. Coughing is not a sickness in itself but can be a symptom of many different sicknesses that affect the throat, Lungs, or bronchi. If you have a cough, you should find out what is causing it and treat the cause and relieve the symptoms.

Common Symptoms

Dry cough with little or no phlegm

Cold or flu, measles, worms (when they pass through the lungs)

Cough with much or little phlegm

Asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia

Cough with wheezing or whoop and trouble breathing

Asthma, whooping cough, something struck in the throat

Chronic or persistent cough

Asthma, chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis

Coughing up blood

Pneumonia (yellow, green, or blood-streaked phlegm), tuberculosis, severe worm infection

Important information

You should seek professional help immediately if:

• Your cough gets worse despite treatment, especially if it lasts more than 14 days.
• You are coughing blood.
• Your cough is accompanied by high temperature and shivers.
• Your cough is accompanied by breathing difficulties.
• Your cough is accompanied by tiredness and loss of appetite as you may have TB.
• Drink lots of warm water and liquids. This loosens mucus better than any medicine.

Food & Nutrition Advice

• Avoid all mucus-forming foods (dairy products, eggs, and wheat).
• Avoid Omena, maize, and sugary food as they make your cough worse.
• Eat foods that loosen mucus (spinach, horseradish, and red pepper).

Body Work & General Advice

Try these techniques to help relieve a coughing fit

• Sit up straight fold/ cross your arms, holding your elbows with the opposite hand; hold your arms out in front of you at breast height; hold your breath, and then start breathing again. This will stop shallow breathing and help you breathe deeply instead.
• Coughing irritates the throat and can lead to more coughing. By not giving in to the urge to cough early on as often as possible, you can prevent a recurrent cough.

Herbal Therapy

Loosen the mucus by drinking one of the following hot teas as often as you like throughout the day.

• Lemon Leaf Tea boil a few leaves in water and drink.
• Lemon and Ginger Tea cut a whole lemon and a piece of ginger root into pieces. Bring to a boil. Cool to lukewarm, add 2 tbsp, honey.
• Spiced Tea Take ginger, black peppercorn, cloves, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Add tea leaves honey and a small amount of milk to taste.
• Ginger, Garlic, Lemon, and Cinnamon Infusion add crushed ginger and garlic, cinnamon, honey, and whole lemon cut into pieces to boiling water. Allow sitting for a minute or so before drinking.
•  Neem Herbal Infusion, bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add 1 tea bag, and steep for 5 minutes, stir then remove the teabag, add 1 tbsp of lemon, and drink a glass daily to help you boost your immunity.

Relieve coughing with one of the following remedies.

1. Maize Cob Ash Filtrate take 1 tbsp filtrate three times daily (10-16yrs: 1 tbsp three times daily: up to 10yrs:1 tsp three times daily) Add lemon juice if you wish.
2. Onion syrup Peel and slice onion. Layer the onion with sugar in a jar with a closed lid and leave for 8 hours. Squeeze the mixture and filter the liquid. Use the liquid as a cough syrup. Make fresh every 2 days. Babies take 1tsp three times daily.
3. Onion Infusion Mix ½ cup of chopped onions with ½ cup of water. Stir and drink in portions throughout the day.
4. Nettle herbal Infusion, bring 1 cup of water to boil, add 1 tea bag, and steep for 5 minutes, stir then remove the teabag, and drink a glass daily. It has anti-histaminic properties, which help to fight many allergies. It is effective for the treatment of dry cough.
5. Eucalyptus globulus Tincture adults takes 30 drops three times daily.
6. Eucalyptus globulus Cough Syrup Pour 250 ml of boiling water over 20g dried leaves. Cover and leave to steep for 1 hour then filter. Add 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of this tea and bring briefly to boil. Filter again (7-11yrs: 1tsp three times daily; smaller children take less according to body weight: under 2y years do not take)
7. Carica papaya root tea Boil 1 handful of roots in 1 litre of water for 15 minutes. Filter and drink 1 cup three times daily. (Children drink smaller amounts based on body weight)
8. Abrus precatorius Leaf Powder Dry leaves and grind them to a powder. Lick the powder as required to soothe a cough.
9. Maize Cob Ash lick the powder or make or make a cough syrup.

Relieve the strain from coughing by taking steam inhalations twice a day.

• Eucalyptus globulus Inhalation Places a handful of fresh leaves in a saucepan of boiling water. Inhale the steam OR use eucalyptus oil extract in boiling water and inhale the steam.
• Clematis hirsuta inhalation prepare and use as above
• Zanthoxylum chalybeum Inhalation prepare and use as above

TICAH – Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health. 2020.www.ticahealth.org.