So the haze is back in Singapore, and air quality is expected to hit unhealthy levels more often. Here are some TCM remedies for haze, and tips to help prevent and relieve symptoms such as excessive thirst, sore throat, and eye irritation.
TCM Remedies For Haze
What are the health risks involved in haze?
- Dry or irritated eyes, eye inflammation (or Conjunctivitis).
- Nasal irritation; you may experience sneezing, excess mucus production such as a runny nose and difficulty in breathing.
- Throat irritation; you may experience dry, itchy or sore throat and coughing.
- Lung tissue inflammation; you may experience asthmatic problems and difficulty breathing.
- People suffering from chronic illnesses such as heart disease, lung disease, sinusitis and skin allergy, just to name a few, may be worsened by the haze pollutants.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers plenty of natural remedies to boost your immunity and alleviate discomfort.
Here are some TCM remedies to beat the haze:
Green bean soup
Green bean soup helps to clear the respiratory system, and remove heatiness. It also helps relieve sore eyes, dry throat and cough. Green bean soup also helps expel toxic substances that may cause skin irritation.
Here’s an easy green bean soup recipe:
- Rinse about 1 cup of green beans and soak in cool water for about 4 hours.
- Boil green beans in about 8 cups of water, and simmer for around 45 minutes until beans are softened and cracked.
- Add rock sugar to taste.
Cooling teas like Chrysanthemum tea
Chrysanthemum can be boiled in water to make tea, which clears heatiness.
Chrysanthemum has also been known to be effective for eye problems such as sore eyes, dry eyes and blurred vision.
To make chrysanthemum tea, put a few pieces of chrysanthemum flowers into a cup and pour in hot water. Let it sit for 20 minutes before drinking the tea.
Chrysanthemum can also be combined with mulberry leaf to help clear heat, detoxify, and relieve cough and upper respiratory infections.
Here is a video on how to brew chrysanthemum tea:
Liquorice
Liquorice root can be boiled together with honeysuckle flower so as to reduce heatiness. You can also make a tea for lung infections by boiling raw liquorice in warm water.
White fungus
White fungus can nourish the lungs and is good for relieving dry throat and dry cough that are associated with haze.
Boil white fungus with almond and gingko nuts. This dessert dish nourishes the lungs.
Asian Pear
Asian pear is known to clear heat in the body and can alleviate dry eyes, nose and throat.
The easiest way to eat it, is as a fruit. You can also place sliced pear in a bowl with water, add some rock sugar, and steam for 15 minutes until the pear is soft.
Alternatively, you can prepare a soup with Asian pear, lean pork and almonds. This soup nourishes the lungs.
Watermelon juice
This drink reduces heatiness from the body.
Water Chestnut
Water chestnut can soothe dry eyes and throat, and ease coughing symptoms.
You can eat it as a fruit or cut it into small pieces and boil it.
Snake gourd fruit
This ingredient dissolves phlegm, and can be eaten alone, or boiled as soup.
Lily bulbs with snow fungus
Make the drink by first boiling the snow fungus for two hours, and then adding lily bulbs and rock sugar. This drink clears heatiness and nourishes the lungs.
Additional tips to fight the haze
- Stay indoors, preferably switch on the air-conditioning and close all doors and windows. Children, pregnant women and people with respiratory problems and chronic illnesses especially, should minimise the time they spend outdoors.
- If you have to go outside, wear a mask.
- Drink lots of water. The haze makes the air dry.
- Remove your contact lens if your eyes start becoming irritated or inflamed.
- Have plenty of vegetables and fruits for Vitamin C. It is good to have plenty of nuts and seeds too, because they are rich in Vitamin E, which is great for immunity.
- Oily fish like salmon, sardines, mackerels, and fish oil supplements are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and enhance your immune system.
- Maintain a good diet. Avoid fatty, spicy, fried and sugary foods, and cut down on coffee and alcohol, especially during the haze.
- Use an air purifier to cleanse the air.
- If you or your child is having breathing difficulties, or feels extreme discomfort from the haze, do consult your doctor immediately.
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