Cough Remedies for Kids

Elderberry

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Jae (Baltimore, Md) on 11/17/2009
★★★★★

My son had a bad cough and wheezing and we used elderberry syrup and it went away quickly.


Essential Oils

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Jackie (Belfast, Northern Ireland) on 07/10/2010
★★★★★

My daughter gets occasional asthma and on some of these occasions the coughing is quite troublesome at night. It not only disrupts her sleep but mine too. However, I have found that mixing 2 or 3 drops of each of the following essential oils (frankincense, cypress and lavender) has soothed the cough, allowing everyone to get a good night's sleep. I have used this for years and I can truthfully say that in her case it has worked everytime.

I would "not" recommend using an oil burner with a candle for night time use. It is safer to use an electric oil burner. Or if you do not have one, just try putting the oils on the pyjamas/pillow/tissue etc. Or maybe even in a bowl of water or place on a damp cloth over a low heat radiator. Just so long as the oils are being inhaled.


Flaxseed Tea

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Cher (Virginia, US) on 04/12/2015
★★★★★

Flaxseed tea worked wonders for my eight year son who had kept us up 3 nights in a row. We tried everything with only temporary results. We gave him the tea right before bed. He coughed for about 20 minutes and then slept all through the night. God Bless the person who discovered this and thank you!

EC: Recipe from Grannyguru, AZ:

"You put about a tablespoon or so of whole dark brown flaxseeds (for some reason golden seeds do not work anywhere near as well) into 2 cups of water and boil it until it just begins to thicken. It will seem to take forever, then suddenly it thickens quickly, so the minute you notice it thickening, remove it from the heat.

Add lemon juice or vitamin c and sweetener, like grade b maple syrup, or even just sugar. Drink. I found I did not like it when it was thickened, but I could put it in a thermos and keep it by my bed, and it would break down into just a soothing liquid, but would work just as good as the thick syrup I didn't like.

And of course if you add honey and vitamin c it tastes like apple juice."


Frankincense

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 12/09/2015
★★★★★

My four year old is getting over a cold. Last night he was coughing in his sleep. I got out of bed and went to get him something for his cough. But it was dark and cold. I had just put castor oil in my eyes and couldn't see well, even when I turned on the bathroom light. I was not finding my cough "go-to's" (a homemade vapor rub, garlic oil, eucalyptus oil, etc.) But I did find, through my blurry eyes, my bottle of frankincense essential oil. I put a drop on a cotton ball and placed it near his head. He coughed a couple of more times in the next 60 seconds and didn't cough again the rest of the night. I was so happy to climb back into my warm bed!

Frankincense is kind of expensive and not in everyone's natural medicine cabinet. But I mention it in case you find yourself bleary eyed in the cold looking for a cough remedy and happen upon some frankincense essential oil!

We had actually discovered this helped once on vacation when I didn't have every last remedy with me, but must have had frankincense with me for some reason. I thought, who knows, maybe it will help, and it helped then too, to stop an irritating cough. Just one drop on a cottonball, near the head!

~Mama to Many~


Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, Honey

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Steph C. (Missouri) on 03/07/2017
★★★★★

Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric, Honey for Nighttime Cough

My children both have an absolute aversion to cough medicine (natural or otherwise). After a horrible incident with my 4-year-old, I desperately searched the webs for a non-ingested remedy, but never quite had all the ingredients, so I crafted a remedy of my own, as inspired by a multitude of sources.

This remedy is a poultice, to be placed on the upper chest above the heart.

Ingredients: 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely minced; 1 tsp fresh ginger, crushed and finely minced; 1/4 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp raw honey; 1 tsp olive oil; 1 tsp flour; gauze or paper towel (or anything to place mixture on); surgical tape. Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, and honey. Dust with a bit of the flour and roll it a bit. Drizzle with a bit of the oil and then dust with a bit more flour. Continue alternating with flour and oil until a paste forms. You don't want the mixture to be runny, but you also don't want it to be dried and doughy. Once the desired consistency is reached, smear mixture on gauze and apply to upper chest and secure with tape.

Notes: I've used this successfully on a 4 year old and a 7 year old. One had a wet, mucous-filled cough; and the other had a dry, hacking cough. This remedy worked equally well, as in ZERO coughs all night for either child. I thought, at first, it was a fluke. But, I have now used this remedy multiple times, and the results have been consistent. Adding this one to my toolbox.


Garlic, Honey, Lime

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Marcela (Malge Mountain, Utah, Usa) on 12/22/2008
★★★★★

My son 7 years old and he had a bad cough the kind that would not let anyone sleep..i heard about the garlic honey and lime..i blended 6 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons of 100% bee honey and 2 big limes..this will last a few days..i gave my son 1 small tablespoon and right away calmed his coughing..he did not cough at all and when i heard him cough i gave hime another dosage..for three days i gave him this remedy and now he doesn't cough at all..

Replied by Kara
(Chatham, Ma)
11/11/2010
★★★★★

My husband is from the moutains in Jamaica. When I was pregnant and could not have cough syrup, I learned this remedy from him. It works! You can make a thick syrup or tea. Something about the three ingredients together soothes the cough for hours.


Heather's Cough Formula

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Heather (Ortonville, Michigan, Usa) on 03/04/2010
★★★★★

Hi recently out of frustration i mixed this up for my 5yr old because he was coughing constantly for a week and nothing was coming out. I knew he was at risk for infection because I had the same thing and got myself over it in less then 4 days, however it is not so easy to get a little one to take things. should have treated him sooner.

I took freshly squeezed juice of a half of an organic orange, half of an organic lemon, 1 tsp organic non pasteurized etc. apple cider vinegar, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, splash of Tabasco sauce, few drops of organic garlic juice, few drops of juice from freshly chopped onion (after sprinkling sugar on chopped onion and setting in fridge for 20 min or longer till juice comes out) and finally a large spoon of raw organic honey. mix all together in pan on stove till warm not boiling. Drink with plenty of water after. Will be spicy but sweet and tangy. Does not taste near as bad as it sounds! My 5yr old son started pouring out snot after one dose and stopped coughing right away! I gave him one more dose that night and he slept through the night. I gave him one more the next day and he went back to school the following day!!

When I was using these ingredients on myself. I increased the amounts, 1 tsp instead of 1/2 etc. use common sense. Thank you earth clinic for helping me through trial and error figure out a magic potion to heal myself and my baby! Medicine in your cupboard, I tell everyone. Thanks again and God bless!!!


Hydrogen Peroxide

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Brenda (Ottawa, ON Canada) on 05/30/2009
★★★★★

3% HP cured bad cough

May 29, 2009
My 14 year old son tried the inhale method below with much success. He woke up with a sore throat in the morning. He took the cayenne pepper in orange juice to get rid of the sore throat. It worked like a charm!! Then he asked me if there was a good remedy for a cough. I found your info on using a 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide and thought we would give it a try. I had 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide in the house so I mixed it up according to the direction: 2oz of 35% HP with 22 oz of distilled water = 3% HP. We put it into misting bottles and he proceeded to inhale this in the evening. He woke up early Saturday morning feeling much better! His sore throat is gone, and his cough is almost gone too. This stuff is awesome!! I feel this would be totally effective on any kind of Swine/Bird flu. We are grateful for this wonderful web site!

Cheers, Brenda


Mama's Antiviral Fudge Recipe

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 08/27/2016
★★★★★

There is a cough/cold going around. My daughter had it and I thought it was allergy and treated it as such and it really hung on for a while. Then my 5 year old son started to cough and I realized that it was probably a virus - I was hearing of others in the neighborhood with it. The cough was the most irritating at night. I found that 1/2 onion cut up and placed by the pillow usually kept the coughing at bay all night. Then I remembered coconut oil works for viruses. I mixed up a fudge for my son and fed it to him 3-4 times a day. It was easy to get him to take and I could tell a big difference in 24 hours. I am taking the fudge too since it has blackstrap molasses and coconut oil in it. I try to take those things often and this is a delicious way to take it. I notice that it seems to have completely eliminated sugar cravings for me.

Antiviral Fudge Recipe

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil (soft)
  • 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter (I am sure almond butter would be excellent)
  • 2 T. raw cacao powder

Mix together. Lightly sprinkle the top with Celtic sea salt (or Himalayan pink.)

Pour/Spread into an 8x8 pan lined with wax paper.

Refrigerate for an hour. Cut into 24 squares. Each square has about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in it, which is the amount I want in one dose for my child.

Enjoy!

~Mama to Many~


Onions

4 User Reviews
5 star (4) 
  100%

Posted by Melissa (Alberta, Canada) on 03/26/2012
★★★★★

I never write in to these things, but the red onion recipe is great.

I have a 4 year old who has been battling a nasty cough at night. It was horrible, she would cough so hard that she would throw up. I made the red onion recipe (sliced the RED onion and put a little honey on top of each slice and then stacked them neatly in a bowl. Within a few hours the mixture was quite runny... So don't overdo it, with the honey! ). She woke up at 11:00pm, hacking and coughing, so I gave her 1 teaspoon (even though it hadn't been the 15 hours a previous poster had recommended... More like 8-10ish). She went straight back to sleep without coughing, but woke up again about an hour later coughing up a storm. I gave her 1 tsp. Again and she went straight back to sleep. She woke up this morning (after sleeping until 9:30!!! Without a cough) claiming that she feels much better.

It does taste onion-y though, but the honey disguises it nicely.

EC: Remember, no honey for babies 12 months and under.


Onions
Posted by Willowone (Athens, GA) on 05/02/2009
★★★★★

Onions for cough and congestion: My first child was colicky and had several colds with congestion. The doctors gave him antibiotics that did not seem to help. I felt like the cold went away on its own. My grandmother told me about the onions. My second and third children never had to take antibiotics. I would take a onion or part of onion about the size of a golf ball and grate up in a bowl.Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and put in the fridge for 45 minutes. The sugar draws the syrup out of the onion. I would then take a dropper full and give to the child. It does not taste bad (try it yourself). It clears their chests and helps them sleep. I never had a problem with using it. Now when I feel like I am getting a cold I always eat more raw onions.


Onions
Posted by Marcela (Mexico) on 03/01/2009
★★★★★

Hi, my toddler had been coughing a little at night and after waking up, for several weeks now, but the last two days it was getting worse, so I decided to try two remedies at once: I cut an onion in half and put one half in a dish on his night table. And I spritzed a little Apple Cider Vinegar on both sides of his pillow. He coughed once, and then nothing. Slept through the whole night without a single cough. Upon waking up he coughed a little bit but nothing like the days before.

My husband is also recovering from some bad sinusitis and he began coughing last night as well, so once we saw that it worked for our little boy, we tried the same with him, only both halves of a (freshly cut) onion. And it was like pressing the "mute" button! No more coughing till like 5 a.m. I think the vapors wear off and it wasn't enough for the entire night for my husband, so tonight I'll try slicing another chunk off the onion when the cough restarts.

I had previously tried just the onion or just the Apple Cider Vinegar but I hadn't noticed much improvement. With both it was a really dramatic change, a mute button!


Onions
Posted by Faith (Louisville, KY) on 12/03/2008
★★★★★

When I was younger, around 10 or 11 years old, I went with my grandma to visit her relatives. I think I caught cold during that time because I played outside a lot in the snow with my cousins.

When the night came, I was coughing non-stop. No body could sleep because of me. Needless to say that we were at some village far from civilization, lol, and they could not take me to the doctor. Well, in the middle of the night, the lady of the house got up and came to me asking me to get up and eat some onion. Nooo!!! I hated onions. But, she talked me into eating some. I wrapped it in a piece of bread and swallowed quickly without chewing. Amazingly, I did not cough at all for the rest of the night.

I think it really worked, and I tried it few times later in my life. It is not pleasant to eat raw onions, but it will help you, that is for sure.

Now, when I get sick and cough, I cut up a whole onion and mix it with cottage cheese and some sour cream add some salt and eat it like a salad. It tastes so much better and helps me get rid of the cold much faster.


Oregano Juice

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Daren (Leyte Philippines) on 03/09/2024
★★★★★

My 1 year old half filipino son has had an on again/off again cough for 6 months. He's been through several courses of antibiotics. His mother and I became tired of giving our son antibiotics because we know the negative effects of doing that frequently and he's still so young that we don't want to destroy his good gut bacteria, and he would never fully recover from the antibiotics, it would just make him kind of better for awhile then come back.

I learned that in the Philippines a common remedy for children's cough is oregano juice. Here is how you make it, it's so simple! Use 5 small leaves of FRESH oregano. The small leaves are about the size of a U.S. quarter or 10 piece peso. If using the bigger leaves then use 2-3 leaves. (this type of oregano is the kind with thicker leaves, with a fury underside, typically referred to as greek/indian/mexican oregano)

You rinse them well under clean running water, and rub ur fingers on all surfaces of the leaf to clean it well. Then set the leaves aside. Boil a small amount of water. about 1/4 cup. once the water begins to boil remove it from flame. Put your cleaned oregano leaves in a coffee mug or bowl, pour the hot water over the leaves, just enough water to give you a couple tablespoons of liquid. Then mash/squeeze the leaves using fingers or spoon very well until the water turns brownish/yellowish/orangish. do the mashing/squeezing for about 5 minutes. Then remove and discard the leaves.

You will be left with oregano juice liquid. You can add a little sugar to it to make it taste sweet for a baby. (But do NOT use honey for baby)

Give this liquid to baby 3 times daily. (morning, afternoon, night)

My son was so sick he was coughing all night, and it was the painful kind of cough. this went on for about 6 months and I became very worried about pneumonia.

The oregano brought him back to normal in about 5-7 days. We also put him on a rice porridge diet during that same time. (just boiled rice until very soft/mush with enough water to make it like a soup. kind of like oatmeal.) We also added a pinch of sea salt to each meal.

Oregano has been proven scientifically to kill many of the viruses/bacteria that cause pneumonia. This is listed on the NIH gov website. It is also synergistic in it's effect when used with traditional antibiotics.

I feel MUCH better now knowing that I have this remedy to use for next time he gets sick. It's very effective and I don't have to worry about wrecking his natural immune system with antibiotics everytime. I believe antibiotics from the doctor have their place and time but just not everytime, and especially not repeatedly for months.


Vicks

8 User Reviews
5 star (5) 
  63%
4 star (2) 
  25%
1 star (1) 
  13%

Posted by Eve (NJ) on 11/12/2023
★★★★☆

This does work. Last year my daughter, then 2.5 years old, was coughing a lot at night. Moms at our homeschool co-op told me about it, and as they had several children, I decided to try it. To my surprise, vicks rubbed on the bottom of her feet, then applying socks, did indeed stop the coughing for many hours. I tried it again this year and it's worked several times. I also tried it on my 7 year old and it helped, and even tried it on myself, with success once or twice. I don't think it works on every cough every time, but it CAN work. Try it, you've got nothing to lose. For the record, we had to go purchase vicks for this. I don't have any over the counter stuff in my house. But we needed sleep so we tried it and it worked.



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