hi guys. jason from mr physio
i'm going to show you two simple techniques to get rid of sputum
before that i will show you the lung anatomy
There is a 'wind pipe' in the middle (trachea)
it divides into two main stem bronchi
A lot of branches called bronchi go across the lungs
and then the air eventually will arrive in alveoli where gas exchange occurs
so if you have phlegm in the middle of this airway
due to flu, pneumonia and COVID 19
that airway can be blocked and there will be less gas exchange
and due to gravity, sputum can go down into the base of your lungs where most gas exchange occurs
that means there will be less oxygenated blood in your body
and your body function can decrease
that's why we need to get rid of them even if you have cold symptoms
i will show you how to do that
firstly we're going to take five small breaths
use 50% of your full breath and breathe in
hold your breath for five seconds to allow air to go deeper into the lungs
slowly breathe out through your mouth
and breathe in again
your belly should come forward so that your diaphragm can come down
which means there is enough space for your lungs to expand
after taking five small breaths, we are going to take another five deep breaths
this time one hand on your belly and the other hand on your lower ribs
and take a deep breath
hold your breath for 5 seconds
and breathe out
one more time breathe in
slowly breathe out
we're doing this to get the air behind the sputum so that we can push the sputum up
also the air can moisturize the airways and the sticky sputum
the last technique is huff and cough and there are two ways of huffing
the first one is to take a small breath and breathe out slowly for a few seconds
so take a small breath through belly and hold for a couple of seconds
and then breathe out
you have to make an 'O' shape with your mouth
take a small breath and breathe out for few seconds
you can actually cough if you want but try this a couple of times
and then move onto the next huffing technique
the second technique is to take a deep breath and breathe very strongly for just one second
oh it's coming
so you try this a couple of times. i will do one more time
it's in there
5 small breaths + 5 deep breaths
2-3 small huffing + 2-3 big huffing
if you can't get rid of phlegm at the end of this cycle, then you have to cough 2-3 times
but if you still have some phlegm left, you have to repeat this whole process again
however, too much huff and cough can cause sore throat
so just do it 2-3 times per hour only
and you can try another technique with a plastic bottle and straw
it's very simple you just take a deep breath and blow it into the water
okay one more time
you repeat this 10 to 20 times and finish with huff and cough
the rationale behind this device is this
when you blow into the water, you can't exhale the air all at once
so the air will keep the airway open and moisturize the airway
today we talked about some simple techniques to get rid of phlegm
and i got my pants wet
i'll see you next time