Stuffy nose remedies to help you breathe better

Do you have a stuffy nose? Or are your nose blocked due to the bad flu?

Flu season is around the corner, and many people around you are getting sick. You hear people sneezing in the office, at home, and even outside. And unlucky enough, you end up contaminating the flu bug and find yourself sneezing like a banshee.

That is not all.

Right after the sneeze, guess what is coming next? The runny tap water under your nose which makes you feel like you have a living waterfall right at the bottom of your nostrils. Normally, you would blow your nose to get rid of the annoying drip on your nose. And then in next inevitable thing happens, a blocked nose.

Apart from the itchy and watery eyes, a blocked nose is the next most annoying symptom of the flu. You can not breathe properly; it feels like you are suffocating, and also feels like something is stuck inside your nose.

Yes, it can get pretty irritating. Here are some stuffy nose remedies that can help you to clear your nose.

1. Take a hot shower

Photo: Popsugar

What should you do when you have a blocked nose? Take a hot shower! There must be a reason why people tell you to take a hot shower when you have a blocked nose. The reason behind it is that the steam in the hot showers helps to ‘melt’ the mucus in your nose which is causing the blockage in your nose.

It will not help cure a blocked nose, but it will make it better for a while. It is better than having one side of your nose that is unbreathable right?

2. Make use of Chinese medicated oil

Photo: HealthCulture

For those who do not know this, Chinese medicated oil actually helps to alleviate a blocked nose. What you can do is take a clean hanky, one that you do not mind getting medicated oil on, and put a couple of drops of the medicated oil on the handkerchief.

3. Smell onions

Yes, onions make you cry.

But if you have not noticed, whenever your nose come in contact with onions, it waters? That is because the strong smell of onions makes your nose run which helps in unblocking your stuffy nose.

All you have to do is take some of the onion’s juice and apply it on the side of your nose.

Or… you can just smell the onions raw.

4. Exercise

I understand that when you have a congested nose, the last thing you would want to do would be to lose your breath. I mean, you are already having difficulties breathing. So why would you do something that will make you gasp for air?

Apparently, exercising is a natural decongestant. That is probably because exercising generates heat in your body which helps to thin the mucus. Of course, I am not asking you to run a  marathon. You can do some light exercise such as push-ups, planks, or squats.

5. Drink a hot cup of tea

Maybe you have realised by now that ‘hot’ is the keyword for helping you ‘melt’ that mucus. Try drinking a hot cup of tea when you have a nose block. The steam from the tea also helps to thin the mucus stuck inside of your nose.

If you are up to it, drinking ginger tea would help a lot. Or if you love onions then drink onions tea instead!

6. Eat garlic

“Why are you suggesting all the weird things to get rid of my blocked nose? Are you trying to kill me here?”

Do you not know? *Whispers* I am secretly a sadist and I love to see you suffer.

Kidding!

Garlic act as a natural anti-viral which is used to treat infections such as colds and sinuses that cause a stuffy nose. We all know garlic has a pungent taste. An interesting fact, that very taste causes a release in secretions that help to drain the nasal passage and helps us to breathe comfortably.

You should try taking garlic the next time.

It also helps you to fight against vampires…