Cold Weather Lung Care

Protecting your lungs from extreme cold

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but inside it’s so delightful… Unless it is not. When a polar vortex wreaks havoc on our weather I do everything I can to protect my lungs. As anyone with lung ailments knows, while arguably one of our most beautiful seasons, winter can cause numerous pulmonary problems.

Raana Akbar, a physician whom I credit with literally saving my life, once told me how bad cold air is for anyone with breathing difficulties. She said the most important thing I could do to protect my lungs during colder months, was to wear a scarf or facemask over my mouth and nose. This will allow my body to preheat the cold air before it enters my lungs. She also suggested that I breathe in through my nose, and out through my mouth. The reduced diameter and longer length of the nasal passages allows the greater surface area to further heat the air before it enters the lungs. Even warming it a couple of degrees can reduce the tight, burning, feeling those of us with lung problems know all too well.

While wearing a scarf works well enough, I began to look for ways in which I could build my lungs back up to their fighting weight, so to speak. And let me tell you, dealing with extreme cold temperatures is a hellacious fight for our lungs. The outcome of which can have devastating effects on our health and wellbeing.

Extremely cold air is typically very dry air. Much like smoke and chemical fumes, cold, dry, air can irritate the lining of the lungs. This irritation triggers the body’s inflammatory response. This inflammation can exacerbate already weak lungs.

Demulcents
Demulcents are herbs which soothe and tone the mucus membranes of the body. As I am sure you are aware, the lungs are lined with mucus membranes. These medicinal herbs cause the membranes to secrete mucus. For years, television commercials have told us of the perils of mucus. Dry, thick, stubborn, mucus lodged deep in our lungs is in fact a bad thing. This thick, viscous, mucus builds up because our lungs are dry and irritated from inflammation caused by an illness. Demulcents soothe the mucosa of the body. These soothed membranes then secrete slippery mucus which then allows our body to expel that thick, stubborn, stuff.

Through years of trial and error, I found Mullein to be the best demulcent plant for treating any lung ailment. Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus, is a stately biennial weed. Biennial means that the plant lives a two-year life cycle. The oval shaped leaves of the plant are often quite large, sometimes reaching up to 12” in length and about 6” in width. They are grey green in color, and completely covered in fine hairs causing them to appear velvety or flannel covered. This leads to one of the common names of the plant, old man’s flannel.

The leaves of the first-year plant grow in a basal rosette emanating from a single central tap-root and hairy root mass. The second-year plant sends up a tall, stout, erect, stalk. Leaves grow along the length of this stalk, with the leaves on the bottom of the plant are much larger than those near the top. This stalk can reach heights of 3ft to 8ft tall.

This tall stalk ends at a large flower spike containing literally hundreds of individual flowers. These yellow flowers are about an inch across and consist of 5 petals, 5 stamens, and one pistil. The flowers bloom a few at a time throughout the flowering season. This means that one plant will often have flowers from June into September.

This ubiquitous, yet stately weed prefers full sun. You can find it in abandoned homesteads, disturbed soils, fields, waste areas, forest margins, and quite often along roads and highways. Not only does this plant grow just about everywhere, it is also extremely easy to use.

I like to harvest the second-year plant just before it begins to flower. I grasp the stalk just above the ground, and pull the plant from the ground, roots and all. I always make sure to practice ethical harvesting. I only take a maximum of 30% of the plants from an area. Once harvested, I clean all of the soil from the root mass and hang it in a shady, well-ventilated, place to dry. The use of a dehydrator will significantly speed up this progress. Once dried, I grind up the leaves and roots, and store them in a sealed container. They will keep like this for quite some time.

There are many ways in which the curative properties of mullein can be extracted. We will however limit our discussion to the easiest methods by which we can make use of its wonderful demulcent effects. The simplest of which are teas, infusions, and decoctions. Regardless of the method you choose, it is very important that each final extraction is strained through a fine cloth to remove the fine hairs which coat the leaves. While I will not go into gory detail, suffice it to say the irritation these hairs cause the throat ensures you will never again forget this crucial step.

Teas:
To enjoy the benefits of mullein as a tea, simply place 1 tsp dried mullein, or 2 tsp of fresh, into a warm glass, and add 6 oz boiling water. Let steep for 15 minutes, and strain through a small sieve lined with cheese cloth. I like to sweeten mine with a little honey. One cup three times a day is the typical dosage of this tea.

Infusions:
Simply put, an infusion is made by soaking a medicinal herb in boiling water for a specific period of time. This is accomplished by placing the herb and water into a proper non-reactive container. Proper non-reactive containers are made from inert materials like glazed pottery, porcelain, or glass. One cannot use containers made from metallic or plastic materials as they will react with most herbs, especially those containing tannins or acids.

The standard infusion is made from 1-part dried herb by weight, or 2-parts fresh, to 20 parts boiling water by volume. For example, start by placing 25gm or 1 oz of dried mullein into your warmed non-reactive container. I recommend warming the container because a cold container will quickly reduce the temperature of the added water, thereby diminishing the strength of the infusion. Next add 500ml or 1-pint, of boiling water. Stir the contents to ensure the herb and water are fully mixed, cover your container tightly, and let stand in a warm location for 30 minutes. Strain the material through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth and press the plant material to remove as much of the infusion as possible. Pour enough hot water through the plant material to bring your reserved infusion back up to the original 500ml volume. When refrigerated this infusion will keep for a few days. The normal adult dosage is 6-8 ounces three times a day.

Decoctions:
Think of a decoction like a tea that you boil for an extended period of time, reducing the water volume by half. I add 2 tightly packed cups of dried mullein leaves and 1 gallon of cold water to a large pot. I bring the water to a boil and simmer covered until the water is reduced by 50%. I allow the mixture to cool, and then strain it through cheesecloth. The dosage of decoction is 6oz up to three times daily. Again, I like to sweeten mine with honey.

Mullein is a wonderfully effective plant for any lung ailments. I take it all year long, as it is delicious, and it helps to keep my lungs functioning normally.