Top Home Remedies For Shortness Of Breath

Shortness of breath is an uncomfortable and distressing experience. Problems with your heart and lungs can harm your breathing. If your shortness of breath isn’t caused by a medical emergency, you could try some types of home treatments that are effective at helping relieve this condition. Here are some home remedies for shortness of breath you should apply.

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1 Home Remedies For Shortness Of Breath

Home Remedies For Shortness Of Breath

1. Sitting forward

Leaning forward while sitting may help relax your body and makes you breathe easily. This position helps release the pressure over your lungs and heart.

Whenever you feel breathless, you can try this position by sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor, leaning your chest slightly forward. Keep your shoulder and neck muscles relaxed.

2. Pursed-Lip Breathing

Another technique for treating shortness of breath is pursed-lip breathing. It can efficiently decelerate the breathing pace which will normalize your breathing. Moreover, it can help you ease anxiety as well as stress.

How to do:

Take a seat comfortably while relaxing the shoulder and neck muscles.
Press both your lips against each other tightly but leave the center of the lips loose.
Breathe in for few seconds by the nose.
Breathe out gently and slowly by the pursed lips and count to 4 in your head at the same time.
Perform the breathing in and out for 10 minutes more.

3. Standing with a supported back

This is one of the home remedies for shortness of breath. Standing can also help relax your body and airways.

How to do:

Stand near a wall, facing away, and rest your hips on the wall.
Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and rest your hands on your thighs.
With your shoulders relaxed, lean slightly forward, and dangle your arms in front of you.

4. Diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing can also help your shortness of breath. To try this breathing style:

Sit in a chair with bent knees and relaxed shoulders, head, and neck.
Place your hand on your belly.
Breathe in slowly through your nose. You should feel your belly moving under your hand.
As you exhale, tighten your muscles. You should feel your belly fall inward. Breathe out through your mouth with pursed lips.
Put more emphasis on the exhale than the inhale. Keep exhaling for longer than usual before slowly inhaling again.
Repeat for about 5 minutes.

5. Sleeping in a relaxed position

Many people experience shortness of breath while they sleep. This can lead to waking up frequently, which can diminish the quality and duration of your sleep.

Try lying on your side with a pillow between your legs and your head elevated by pillows, keeping your back straight. Or lie on your back with your head elevated and your knees bent, with a pillow under your knees.

Both of these positions help your body and airways relax, making breathing easier. Have your doctor assess you for sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine if recommended.

6. Black Coffee

This odd tip from the list of home remedies for shortness of breath can be significantly helpful. Caffeine is able to ease the fatigue of respiratory muscles as well as enhance the function of the airway rather well. Moreover, it might work against symptoms of asthma.

Consume 1 – 2 cups of strong black coffee to soothe breathlessness and normalize your breathing.

However, avoid excessively consuming coffee as it might increase blood pressure and heart rate.

7. Steam Inhalation

This tip from the list of home remedies for shortness of breath is especially effective against breathlessness caused by some respiratory problems as it is capable of decongesting the nasal passages.

How to do:

Take a bowl and fill it with extremely hot water.
Put in some essential oil like peppermint or eucalyptus oil.
Put your face above the bowl with a towel over the head.
Breathe in the steam deeply for a couple of minutes.
Perform whenever you are suffering from nasal congestion.

8. Ginger

It would a big mistake to miss out on ginger in the list of home remedies for shortness of breath. Considered a brilliant expectorant that can clear congestion, it even contains other components which can prevent mucus from secreting in order to aid breathing.

How to do:

Consume 2 – 3 cups of ginger tea every day. In order to prepare the tea, take a tablespoon of fresh ginger slices into some boiling water. After simmering for about 10 minutes, have it strained and put in some honey then consume slowly.