So your child’s Upper respiratory dry cough has moved down the track to the Lower Respiratory system, the lungs, and has become a Full Fledged Phlegmy Wet loud Productive cough. Not good. As a mom, you need to take action now or your child may end up with a pretty serious illness. So take off your cook and chauffer hat and get your Nursing cap on.
This remedy will save you money by saving you a trip to the doctors office, potential antibiotic prescriptions, possibly a chest xray and a follow up doctor visit. This all costs tons of money and even more if you have to miss some days off work.
Phlegm is a breeding ground for bacteria & Viruses. It needs to come out! 🤤 As a mother of four and a nurse for three decades, I’ve learned a thing or two about the importance of getting junk out of the lungs. I use to suction it out by the canister fulls when I worked in the ICU. Only AIR is suppose to be in our Lungs! Not phlegm.
This technique is called Postural drainage & really works! This loosens 💦 up that Mucous / phlegm in the lungs. which makes the phlegm lighter and easier to cough out. The downward angle really helps that junk travel out towards their mouths to cough out! 🗣
I’ve used this time & time ⏰ again & it really helps. If the cough is caught early on, this may prevent a Bronchitis or Pneumonia from forming. This saves money by avoiding expensive Doctor visit, Prescription drugs & sick days from work.
I highly recommend giving your child an Expectorant like Guaifenesin with a huge glass of 💧 water 30 minutes before this treatment. Also doing the “ Vicks Works” technique right before doing this helps loosen the airways. If there’s no time for All that or you don’t have the expectorant, no worries, Just do it! Just do it! Its better than not doing it!
Before Cold, Flu and Allergy season, I stock up on Expectorants to have it handy all season long. I dread when my kid is sick and I dont have the proper medicine to treat them. Our homes turn into mini clinics many times and our cabinets into the pharmacy. These need to stay well stocked and ready at any given time.
At this point, the child is sick and doesn’t want to be dragged to the store and I’ve been tending to a sick child in my sweats with no make up on. And we really dont want to drive to the store in this condition.
Postural Drainage Position
Gravity is a huge Force! Have your child lie on their stomach on the couch 🛋 or a bed. Face Down. Skooch the top of their body off the bed or couch until their chest is hanging off, in a Downward Incline towards the floor. ↙️
Put a pillow, preferably a hypoallergenic anti dust mite pillow, on the floor for their Head to rest on. You want their Head Below their Chest. 🤸🏻♂️ Their hips & legs can stay up on the furniture.
Standing up right all day keeps the phlegm in the lower lobes of the lungs. It gets stuck there. Now In this semi Upside down position 🤸🏻♂️, the mucousy phlegm in their lungs now has a chance to drain the opposite way ( thanks to gravity) draining down ⤵️ towards their mouth & easier to expectorate by coughing.
The medical term for this position is Trendelenburg. This position is used to move bodily fluids towards the head to keep blood to the brain & thus is used to treat shock, dizzyness, extremely low blood pressure as well as moving fluid in the lungs out towards the mouth. In my Nursing training over 30 years ago we learned this technique and applied it quite frequently in the hospitals. It works.
The 10 minute 🎶 Symphony
Again, try to keep it lighthearted and fun so your child doesn]t mind doing these techniques and may actually look forward to it. Explain to your child that you guys are going to make some Music together. That you are going to Gently play the ‘ Bongos’ like 🥁 Ricky in I Love Lucy… but on their Back.
Sit next to your child & slightly cup your hands 🤲🏼. With both cupped hands, Slowly & gently pat the back of your child starting from approximately the Waist, the Starting Line & Pat downward towards the Shoulders, the Finishing Line. Once you reach the shoulders, lift up your hands, & Start at the waist again & move towards shoulders again, lift up hands & start at the starting line again & pat down towards the shoulders again. REPEAT.
Alternate the path from immediately on the sides of the spine & then switch to the area slightly outward in between the spine & their sides. Making rows. Don’t pat on the actual spine. At first, your child may feel awkward but they’ll get use to it. They may actually enjoy the one on one attention.
To make it Fun for them, they can start humming,saying the Alphabet 🔠 song or even singing Babaloo! 🎼 (Hey Luuuuucy I’m home)
They will eventually need to cough some stuff out. Let them cough this stuff out. They can sit up for a bit if they want. Then repeat the process of hanging them upside down & patting again. Do this for about 10 minutes 1-2 times a day. It is best done in the Mornings☀️ when all the gunk has set all night long. And then again later in the afternoon. Its best after a humid shower or bath has had a chance to thin out their phlegm.
I decided long ago, to stop running back & forth to the doctor & the Pharmacy, missing work & school. There had to be another way. Yeah you still may miss some school or work but with these techniques you will miss a lot less & Your kids will get better Quicker.
In the long run, you will have these techniques down to a science and your kids will expect theis treatment. They will start hanging off the couch all by themselves. Thus, Saving you time & money.
However, If your child has a high fever for more than 2 -3 days with a productive cough, go see your doctor. Once you see the doctor, this technique can help your child Recover Much Faster & Prevent a Relapse which happens all too often.
Remember to be well stocked up on medicines for your kiddos. So your not stuck in your pajamas in the middle of the night with nothing. I am a firm believer in Tylenol to decrease the inflammation of swollen mucous membranes that produce more mucous. So give a dose to your child as directed to decrease the sinus pressure in their little heads. It is very gentle and not harsh on an empty stomach.
Cheers to Healthier Kids!
