6 Home Remedies For Congestion

You're stuffed up because the tissue inside your nose is swollen and the mucus behind it is too thick to go anywhere. What’s causing it is another story, but home remedies for congestion can provide some much-needed relief while you get to the bottom of the issue.

From simple remedies like steam breathing and cold compresses to long-term solutions such as lung support supplements, we’ll help you start breathing clearly again with our top tips below.

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What Causes Sinus Congestion?

There are hollow pockets behind your forehead, cheekbones, and nose lined with tissue. That tissue makes mucus all day long. Perfectly normal. The problems arise when that tissue gets irritated. Two things happen at once: 

  • It swells up
  • It starts producing way more mucus than it should

That’s where the pressure you feel when you’re congested comes from. But contrary to what a lot of people assume, the mucus isn’t actually the enemy here. It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do, trapping whatever irritant set things off. But eventually the swelling gets bad enough that the mucus can’t go anywhere.

Colds and flu are the obvious causes. You catch something, and the congestion peaks within a day or two. It usually clears on its own within a week. Allergies are sneakier because the stuffiness hangs around as long as the pollen, dust, or pet dander does. 

Dry air and cigarette smoke - both of those can trigger enough swelling to block you up. But you might not care much about the why right now. You just want to feel better. Try these home remedies for congestion below.

Our 6 Favorite Home Remedies For Congestion

There are 6 things you can try first to clear the congestion and begin breathing better.

Start With Hydration

Mucus gets thicker when you’re dehydrated, and thick mucus just sits in your sinuses doing nothing besides building up pressure. Water, bone broth, tea - you have plenty of options to choose from. Warm liquids work best because the heat helps loosen things while the fluid thins the mucus from the inside.1 

The two things to avoid drinking are anything with caffeine and alcohol. Both of them dehydrate you. The opposite of what you need right now. Certain fruits are good for lungs for this exact reason. Citrus and berries hydrate you while delivering essential vitamin C to help the immune response fight the culprit behind the congestion.2

Steam Breathing

The classic remedy when you want to breathe better now. Pour hot water in a bowl, put a towel over your head, and breathe deeply through your nose for 5-10 minutes. The steam opens your nasal passages and breaks up the mucus sitting in there.3 A hot shower does the same thing if sitting hunched over the kitchen counter sounds miserable.

You can take this a step further by tossing eucalyptus oil into the water. This is one of the best herbs for mucus (along with peppermint). It has compounds that may ease bronchial tightness on top of what the steam is already doing.4 

One caveat: The relief is super short-term. You’ll be right back where you were when your passages cool down. Do it right before bed so you can fall asleep while everything's open.

Try Warm Compresses

Wring out a towel drenched in warm water and drape it across your nose and forehead. Heat draws blood flow to the area, and that gets the mucus moving. 5-10 minutes is plenty. You can redo this anytime the pressure builds back. 

Sinus Irrigation

Neti pots look ridiculous and feel weird, but they work. Pouring a saline solution into one nostril and letting it drain out the other side takes all the mucus and irritants with it. 

We recommend using distilled or previously boiled water mixed with a saline packet. Never tap water. And just be prepared for it to feel weird the first time. But it’s one of the strongest home remedies for congestion from a clinical standpoint.5 You can do this 1-2 times a day while fighting symptoms.

Enjoy Some Spicy Meals

You’ve probably eaten something spicy in the past and felt your sinuses clearing up - you can use that to your advantage here. Capsaicin forces your nasal membranes to dump a wave of thin, watery mucus, breaking up the thick stuff and opening your airways.6 

Like other home remedies for congestion, it doesn’t last forever. It works for some much-needed relief in the meantime, though. Hot sauce or cayenne work great. You can also toss chili flakes or fresh jalapeños into soup or broth for some hydration benefits at the same time.

Even How You Sleep Matters

Lying flat lets mucus pool in your sinuses. That's why congestion almost always feels worse at night.7 Prop your head up with an extra pillow or two and let gravity help drain things rather than sit. 

Sleeping elevated on your back is the best position while you’re congested. Side sleepers will notice the lower nostril clogging. A humidifier in the bedroom helps as well since dry air thickens mucus overnight.8 

Long-Term Solutions for Congestion

There are genuinely some great home remedies for congestion. But they share a common theme - temporary relief. 

Something deeper is keeping the inflammation going if you’re always feeling congested. It could be allergies, bad air quality, or even just a weakened immune response. Use the remedies in the meantime, but support your immune system and lung function for the long haul as well.

Vitamins for lung health like C and D support the respiratory system,2,9 and anti-inflammatory foods can reduce the chronic swelling that keeps sinuses irritated.* 

It’s worth incorporating the best supplements for lungs. The gut-lung axis makes probiotics an intriguing option. Research shows that gut bacteria talk directly with your respiratory immune system.*10,11 

We formulated our award-winning lung support supplement resB® with three clinically studied probiotic strains (L. plantarum RSB11®, L. acidophilus RSB12®, L. rhamnosus RSB13®) along with Vasaka, Turmeric, and Holy Basil to support respiratory function and mucus clearance.* 

82% of users said resB improved their quality of life.* 95% were likely to recommend the supplement to others.* 100% reported zero adverse side effects.* Your order is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, too. Get rid of chronic congestion today at resbiotic.*

References

  1. Sanu A, Eccles R. "The effects of a hot drink on nasal airflow and symptoms of common cold and flu." Rhinology, 2008; 46(4): 271-275. PubMed
  2. Hemilä H, Chalker E. "Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013; 2013(1): CD000980. PubMed
  3. Singh M, Singh M, Jaiswal N, Chauhan A. "Heated, humidified air for the common cold." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017; 8(8): CD001728. PubMed
  4. Juergens UR. "Anti-inflammatory properties of the monoterpene 1.8-cineole: current evidence for co-medication in inflammatory airway diseases." Drug Research, 2014; 64(12): 638-646. PubMed
  5. King D, Mitchell B, Williams CP, Spurling GKP. "Saline nasal irrigation for acute upper respiratory tract infections." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015; 2015(4): CD006821. PubMed
  6. Gevorgyan A, Segboer C, Gorissen R, van Drunen CM, Fokkens W. "Capsaicin for non-allergic rhinitis." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015; 2015(7): CD010591. PubMed
  7. Virkkula P, Maasilta P, Hytönen M, Salmi T, Malmberg H. "Nasal obstruction and sleep-disordered breathing: the effect of supine body position on nasal measurements in snorers." Acta Otolaryngologica, 2003; 123(5): 648-654. PubMed
  8. Salah B, Dinh Xuan AT, Fouilladieu JL, Lockhart A, Regnard J. "Nasal mucociliary transport in healthy subjects is slower when breathing dry air." European Respiratory Journal, 1988; 1(9): 852-855. PubMed
  9. Martineau AR, Jolliffe DA, Greenberg L, et al. "Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data." BMJ, 2017; 356: i6583. PubMed
  10. He Y, Wen Q, Yao F, Xu D, Huang Y, Wang J. "Gut-lung axis: The microbial contributions and clinical implications." Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 2017; 43(1): 81-95. PubMed
  11. Enaud R, Prevel R, Ciarlo E, et al. "The Gut-Lung Axis in Health and Respiratory Diseases: A Place for Inter-Organ and Inter-Kingdom Crosstalks." Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2020; 10: 9. PubMed

About the Authors

Kara Siedman, RDN, CDCES

Kara is the VP of Science and Partnerships at resbiotic. A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, she brings a decade of clinical experience to every piece of content she writes. Her specialty is translational nutrition — turning peer-reviewed microbiome research into practical guidance people can actually use. Before joining resbiotic, she worked directly with patients managing respiratory, metabolic, and hormonal conditions, giving her firsthand understanding of the challenges these products are built to address.

C. Vivek Lal, MD, FAAP

Dr. Lal is the Founder and CEO of resbiotic and a double board-certified physician-scientist in Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He is a tenured Professor of Pediatrics and Executive in Residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he directs the Microbiome & Discovery Labs — one of the nation's leading research centers for translating microbiome science into clinical therapeutics. His NIH-funded research has produced 20+ patents and reshaped how medicine understands the gut-lung axis. He is also the Founder and CEO of Alveolus Bio, a biotech company developing inhaled biotherapeutics for pulmonary conditions.