6+ Home Remedies for Stuffy Nose

Who among us did not suffer from a stuffy nose? Suddenly it’s hard to breathe through the nose and you realize you’ve been breathing through your mouth in the past hours.

You feel that because your mouth becomes dry, your lips chapped from licking them, trying to recreate the moisture of a closed mouth.

Nasal congestion, as stuffy nose is called, occurs when the tissues lining the nose and nasal passages become swollen. It can be caused by colds or flu, by allergies or airborne irritants and may produce mucus discharge. The membranes lining the nose become inflamed and irritated and they begin to produce mucus – the body’s way of flushing out what caused the irritation; a virus, a bacteria or allergens.

What do you do next? If you live in the USA, most likely you’ll reach for the medicine cabinet. Antihistamine pills, nasal sprays and gels, will most of the time provide relief, but it will be short-lived.

While stuffy nose can cause discomfort in adults, it may cause serious health problems for infants or those with compromised immune system. Before you use medicine to treat this simple condition, why not try some of the home remedies for stuffy nose?

stuffy nose

How to Deal with Stuffy Nose

Every culture has its own technique to deal with a stuffy nose, but some seem to repeat themselves in many cultures.

  • The most important thing to remember is that you want to keep your nasal passages in a humid atmosphere to help moisture the membranes and encourage them to release the mucus and shrink.
  • Decrease the intake of dairy products which are known to increase mucus production.
  • At night, when you sleep, try to have your head as elevated as you can. It will ease the breathing and the mucus will not go into the throat (post nasal drip).
  • Steam or a hot sauna will relieve nasal congestion. The hot environment encourages the body to increase its metabolic rate and supply all the auxiliary blood vessels with blood.

Natural Remedies for Nasal Congestion

How to get rid of a stuffy nose? Maybe try some home remedies, we believe in natural ways and we love these remedies for nasal congestion. Give them a try!

Disclaimer:
*In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links, which means that we may get a commission if you decide to purchase products recommended by us. We only recommend products we love, and would still recommend them if they had no affiliate program available.

Eucalyptus Oil

Have you ever seen a koala with a stuffed nose? Their main diet consists of eucalyptus leaves.

Joking aside, eucalyptus essential oil is one of the ingredients in many over the counter medicines. It has been used in many cultures as the primary stuffed nose home remedy. This is especially important when dealing with infants and small children.

How to Use Eucalyptus Oil for Stuffy Nose

  • A few drops around the collar of the child’s pyjama before going to sleep. The oil will gently vaporize with the body’s heat. It might stain the garment, but will produce relief, so use old clothes.
  • Stuff cotton balls down a vial with stopper. Drip a few drops of eucalyptus oil and close the vial. Whenever you feel your nose needs unblocking, open the vial and inhale the vapors. It is a homemade Vicks stick.
  • Put a few drops in the humidifier or essential oil diffuser you use to add humidity to the room. We love essential oil diffusers, not only to help with a runny nose, they are just great addition to bedroom or office, you can get your own essential oil diffuser for office or bedroom.
  • For adults only. Boil water, add 10-15 drops of eucalyptus oil into the boiling water, cover your head with a towel and inhale the vapors.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper has the ability to decrease inflammation which is the major cause of stuffy nose. It produces a reaction that encourages mucus discharge.

How to Use

  • Add 1 teaspoon to a cup pf boiling water. You can sweeten it with honey. Drink it twice a day.
  • Spice up your food with cayenne pepper. If you are using powder, put it last into the food or sprinkle on top.
  • Just sniff the pepper. It will most likely produce sneezing and might have a burning sensation if your nose is irritated from frequent blowing.

Ginger Root

Ginger root is one of the most often used root in natural medicine. Ginger also has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

How to Use

  1. Boil water with 5-inch piece of fresh ginger root. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. Remove the ginger and use as a base for tea.
  3. You can add lemon and honey to increase vitamin c intake and make it taste better.

Ginger root is great not only for stuffy nose, take a look on other health benefits of ginger root.

Horseradish Root

Horseradish root has similar properties to the ginger but is more common in European cuisine. It clears the sinuses and improves circulation.

How to Use

  • Grate fresh horseradish root and eat about 1 teaspoon. The vapors will shoot up your nose and open the nasal passages.

The taste is a bit bitter, so you can purchase a jar of ready-made horseradish and eat a bit of that. The spicier the horseradish (usually the white kind) the more reaction it will produce.

Onion

Russians use to treat nasal congestion with onion.

How to Use

  1. Grate an onion and let sit in its juices overnight.
  2. The next morning drink the juice.

Chicken Soup

Is notorious for curing all kind of diseases and maladies. It might be that a hot cup of water might do a similar trick, but it is not as tasty as a home cooked chicken soup, and it doesn’t contain so many vitamins. Some think that the chicken fat has something to do with it as well.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to be able to make a decent pot of chicken soup. The vitamins from the vegetables and the chicken protein will make you feel better.

How to Make Chicken Soup

You will need:

  • A whole chicken cut into pieces
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 zucchini
  • 2 parsley roots or parsnips
  • 1 head of cabbage
  • Celery root cut into small pieces or 3 celery leaves
  • Onion, quartered
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • A pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Sea salt & you can add black pepper

Steps:

  1. Cut the vegetables into thick medallions. You can also add a piece of ginger, or other green vegetables.
  2. Put everything in a pot, cover with water and boil for 2 hours.

Eat a steaming plate at least twice a day. You can add rice or thin pasta to make it more interesting.

Best Cold Pick-Me-Upper

  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced,
  • Juice from 1 lemon,
  • Honey to taste.
  1. Boil water, add the ingredients and drink.

It is not as awful as it sounds. The combination of the antibiotic properties of the garlic, with a dose of natural vitamin C ( the lemon) and the smoothness and energy of the honey will really pick you up.

Just avoid friends and family who don’t like the smell of garlic for a few hours.

Hopefully, home remedies for stuffy nose discussed in this post will help you to get rid of nasal congestion. Don’t forget to share it or pin it for later!


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