Most respiratory infections will go away without much help from you or a doctor, but respiratory illnesses can be a bit different. They tend to be more severe and can include coronavirus, emphysema, asthma, lung cancer and tuberculosis.

If you have recently suffered from one of these serious health problems, you will need to do a few things to help your body recover. If you are suffering from any of these and they are affecting your lung function, then the following tips can be helpful for preventing a major health crisis and keeping you feeling as good as possible.

Build Up Lung Function

Your lungs will be weak after a major respiratory illness, and they may have been severely injured or have a reduced capacity. If that is the case, then your doctor may tell you to strengthen your lung function. There are a number of ways you can do that, and we want to include some of the least strenuous.

You can do breathing exercises, the most common of which is blowing up a balloon a few times a day. Just slowly blow up the balloon to full capacity and let it out, and then do that again. It also helps to do some exercise that makes you breathe hard and gets your blood pumping. This forces your body to breathe in and out rapidly. You obviously don’t want to tax yourself too much, but you can start with some walking and then move up to rapid walking and even jogging if your doctor allows. Exercises like climbing stairs, pushups and sit-ups are all good for building lung function as well, but if you overdo it, your lungs may be overburdened for a few days afterwards.

Drink Lots of Liquids

When your body is well hydrated, it simply works better. Many people will rob their body of necessary liquids simply because they are not aware that they need it. If you are thirsty, you should always get something to drink, if you can, especially if you are trying to recover from an illness. Healthy liquids like juice, tea, and water are really good at energizing your body, feeding your cells, and making you healthy. When your body is in need of water and does not get it, it can go into survival mode and shut down some processes or slow them down, and that may include its healing work.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Water isn’t the only necessary component for helping your body heal. The majority of the healing that your body does happens when you sleep. Make sure that you get enough sleep and take precautions to ensure that your sleep is uninterrupted and peaceful. You may need to wear a sleeping mask or earplugs to cancel out noises and lights that would keep you awake. You should also try to go to bed at approximately the same time each night and wake up at around the same time each day. A regular sleep schedule will give you more energy and allow your body to heal faster. It also helps you to fall asleep faster since your body will anticipate your bedtime.

You should also get plenty of rest. Bedtime should not be the only time you are at rest, especially if you are trying to recover from a major illness of any kind. If you overwork yourself, then you will slow down the recovery process.  It is okay to get help for common tasks that you need to take a rest from. Consider hiring a Washington, DC housecleaner to do the sweeping, mopping, and other chores that you should be resting from. Some of the house chores we commonly do are hard on our respiratory system, like dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping, and these should definitely be left for someone else to do while you are in recovery.     

Treat Sore Throats and Coughs

A respiratory infection may be accompanied by a sore throat or a cough. Any irritation in your lungs or other parts of your respiratory system can cause you to cough or create irritation in the throat. You should try to soothe your coughs and the soreness by using appropriate medication, like cough drops, tea, cough syrup, and other remedies your doctor will recommend.

If you allow a sore throat or cough to persist, then your body may suffer additional damage. This can make it harder for your respiratory system to heal and extend the recovery process longer than it needs to be. If the over-the-counter remedies that we already mentioned are not working and the soreness or cough persists, then you should consult your doctor about taking something stronger or different that might be more effective.

Limit Further Infection

The last thing you need when you are attempting respiratory recovery is to get sick again. A common cold or the flu can be devastating to your respiratory system when it is still trying to get over a major infection or health crisis. So, you should be doing everything you can to limit your exposure to germs and bacteria.

Try to stay away from people who could be sick and areas where it is easy to pick up an infection, like schools and anyplace where young children are. Kids tend to not be very careful about how they are spreading germs, so you need to be careful and keep your distance when you can until you get better.

Take vitamins to boost your immune system and get plenty of fresh air and sunshine to help with that as well. Use preventative measures to keep yourself safe and free from infections, like social distancing, hand washing, and changing your clothes after you come home.

If you can minimize your exposure to germs, you will help the recovery process along. A cold can slow things down and make you feel much worse than you normally would, just because it is affecting a sensitive part of the body during your recovery period. With any luck, you will get  better quickly and be over your respiratory problems and back to normal.