The Hindu Business Line : Coughing fit?

I have a chronic sore throat that reacts adversely to ice or change of weather. My cough is so dry and violent, it scares my wife. It wakes us at night and hinders me during my presentations. I’ve stopped drinking chilled water or adding ice to my drinks, but I can’t do anything about the weather. Is there any way I can prevent or at least reduce the intensity of my throat’s soreness? The doctor prescribes an antibiotic, but I’m not keen on that kind of treatment as a long-term measure.

Srinivas G. Row

I gather that your throat dries up and sends you into a violent coughing fit. This happens when the mucosa that covers your vocal cords dries up. It’s a skin-like substance and when dry, sticks on to your vocal cords and results in coughing.

Quite often, weather changes cause dryness in the air, and when you breathe in the dry air, your mucosa dries up and results in sore-throat .

Hence, keeping your mucosa moist is vital. Here’s what you should do:

Keep a flask of hot water handy and drink as often as you can. This becomes essential if you work in an air-conditioned office. Remember, to your mucosa, just the temperature difference between your office and the sunny outdoors is ‘weather change’.

Take care while flying. The air inside an airplane is dry. Chew gum to increase saliva production if you find getting or carrying hot water inconvenient.

Inhale steam through the mouth for 10 minutes. This restores moisture too.

Check with your doctor if your medications for blood pressure, thyroid, allergies, etc are drying your throat. If so, ask him to prescribe alternatives.

Avoid mint lozenges or any ayurvedic throat soothers. Go for honey-flavoured ones.

Consciously breathe deeply through your nose throughout the day. Breathing through your nose helps moisten the throat. It’s worth taking breathing lessons as you could be breathing through your mouth while asleep and drying your throat. This is the reason you wake up coughing and disturbing your wife!

Add honey instead of sugar in your tea or coffee. Honey soothes.

Before presentations, gargle with warm salt water. Use a microphone to put less strain on your vocal cords. Keep warm water handy to take an occasional sip.

For dessert, have a bowl of papaya cubes laced liberally with honey. It stops cough instantly and helps you sleep.

I’ve started getting an unexplained pain on my right forearm near my wrist. My friends are urging me to test for osteoporosis. I’m 38 years old and don’t have a family history of osteoporosis. Could you guide me on the right kinds of food to prevent osteoporosis?

Manjula Kulkarni

Most likely you’ve hurt your forearm against a chair or doorknob and not registered it mentally at that time due to some preoccupation. However, eating healing foods and following healing practices in your 30s lays an excellent foundation for future good health. Certain foods help circulate and deposit minerals in the bones. They are ginger, cinnamon, alfalfa sprouts, aniseed and yam. Include these in your meals often and in substantial quantities. To up your calcium level, follow these tips:

Eat two teaspoons of sesame seeds every morning.

Drink a glass of low-fat milk every day pre-breakfast and pre-bedtime. You could add 10 crushed almonds to your milk. However, be aware that sesame seeds and almonds could put on weight.

Add raagi to wheat flour for your rotis.

Soak up the sun for 30-45 minutes to get a dose of Vitamin D. If you prefer supplements, check with your doctor if you can have Supracal 1000 (it has Vitamin D3 too). When in pain, consider taking a Neurobion under your doctor’s guidance.

Get into a regular exercise routine. Walk briskly in the sun for 45 minutes daily. Do weight-training three-four times a week but after your pain subsides. The pressure put on bones strengthens them and increases their density. Follow up with stretches to keep your joints flexible. Meanwhile, wrap a bandage or tie a handkerchief snugly around your wrist to lighten any strain on it.

When exercising if I feel pain, should I stop or continue weight-training? My gym-instructor tells me I should pause, wait until the pain goes, then continue.

Bobby Chowdhury

The moment you feel pain, it means a muscle or tendon is tearing or has torn. So, you must stop and not continue to weight train even after a pause. Muscle/tendon injuries take a minimum 48 hours to heal. If you continue to exercise, your body will hurt all day long. This continuous throbbing discomfort distracts and makes you feel out-of-sorts. The idea of exercise is to raise your stamina, strengthen your muscles, enhance your mood and increase your productivity. Meanwhile, drink plenty of water to keep your muscles hydrated and flexible.

The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life’

Queries may be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

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