Chronic Cough Remedies

Hello everyone – I see lots of things to "take" for a cough, especially a wheezing phlegmy cough - and those are great if they work. But if you can find someone to do what I call "back whacking" and what the professionals call "pulmonary cupping" I highly recommend it.

Years ago I had pneumonia and even though after one week I felt better I was actually worse as all the crap in my lungs had sunk to the bottom. They put me on a new antibiotic that in the end did the trick, but when I asked my doctor "what else can I do?" she said "find someone to slap your back". I didn't then, but in the past few years I have had many many simple colds that turn into chest colds (I'm a smoker, have to quit that I know) and as everything else improves, my cough is persistent for a long time after. Unless I call my nurse friends over to whack my back that is. They can tell by the sound when they're cupping where the congestion is. Sort of like knocking on a wall to find the stud, the sound density is different. Once they find the spot or spots where the mucus is, they go to town and I hack it up. I can't recommend it enough, it always works and gets rid of the cough in 48 hours or less. You have to do it a few times, but it always works.

Timh

I agree with you. I take iodine everyday. I will check into the other things you mentioned.

I am very interested in Mullein and other natural healing herbs. I think I have id'ed some but not exactly sure plus the stuff I found is near a road and probably not so fresh.

Thanks for the info.

Joy, Thank you!

Editors, Thank you!

Thankyou to Artcloud for a very comprehensive and informative post. (Editors Choice) I'm happy you are now well again .Earth Clinic has some excellent posters on the site, (there are a couple of trolls) and so long as posts like this one appear which is from your own experience this site will remain tops.

Good post Artcloud and congrats on your recovery.

If I may add a few items to further improve on this condition & solution.

As for Salt, yes Sea Salt (Iodized) and Pink Himalayan Salt are many times preferred over processed salt. Only drawback to these is an out-of-balance ratio of Sodium to all the other major & minor Minerals needed by the body. Check out Dr Joel Wallach "Dead Doctors Don't Lie". If I am not mistaken there are now "low sodium" Pink Himalayan Salt products which helps correct the imbalance. For the single best source of Minerals look no further than Ionic Trace Minerals. Next time you go to Colorado, keep heading west destination Utah Great Salt Lake (or go there on YouTube vids), one of planet Earth's greatest deposits of Major & Trace Minerals. Also very important in the Mineral Category is Iodine. Kelp supplement is a good start or preventive, but Iodine supplements are best.

Now, for the lungs. You may wish to research & consider these nutrients for healthy respiratory. Glucosamine Sulfate, has a very beneficial effect on mucus membranes in the gut & lungs. Calcium 2 AEP, also has beneficial effects on lung function and helps the entire body transport minerals in & out of cells. The herb Mullein is beneficial for lungs and grows all about Kentucky.

Back to minerals. Research & consider BlackStrapMolasses (BSM) a big favorite here on E.C. BSM is a great addition to Coffee as a natural sweetener and a big Mineral booster with substantial amounts of Iron & Magnesium among others.

For whole body oxygenation research & consider Sodium Chlorite or Oxygen Supplement. SC boost Oxygen in the blood & body naturally or you can go strait to oral drops of H2O2. With a little research you will find that many Mountain Climbers use these nutrients to increase performance in high altitudes.

You may also consider improving your indoor air with Negative Ion and/or Ozone purifiers. Many retailers label or promote their products with words like "Alpine Air" because that once low oxygen indoor air now smells & feels "fresh" like an Alpine environment or your outdoors after a rainstorm or May shower. This is air with high concentrations of Negative and low concentration of positive Ions. This relieves a huge burden off the lungs and brings back the body's Main endogenous antioxidant Glutathione.

Lastly, back to Lung health. A few yrs back someone discovered and produced a device that physically "strengthens" the lungs. It's called "PowerLung" and it has big benefits on lungs and overall body performance especially in athletics or mountain climbing, as it increases the volume of air going in and air going out of the lungs.

Coughing, bronchitis, pneumonia:

I thought would share with you what I did to cure myself of a terrible cough I got last fall.

My history

I have had pneumonia 3 times in the past years and it was very scary. I was diagnosed w/ adult onset asthma 15 or so years ago and used inhalers for a few months and then the asthma mysteriously went away. I used to have really bad allergies so you can see I have had a few lung congestion issues. I am a woman aged 62 and in good health.

What happened-

Last year after a trip to Colorado where I spent a lot of time above 10, 000 ft elevation in cold, dry air I came home with the most severe cough I have ever had. I was concerned that I might break a rib I was coughing so hard. I was never sick on this trip, never even had a fever so I couldn't figure out why I had this cough, what it was or where it came from. Not only that but I was very healthy and in good shape when I began the trip.

After 2 exhausting weeks with no let up and being nearly unable to talk or go anywhere because of the coughing fits I went to an urgent treatment center and was told by the Dr. that he didn't know what it was but he sent me off with antibiotics and an inhaler. I also took prednisone. NOTHING helped. I was the same. Coughing up stuff and coughing so badly I could hardly breathe.

What I discovered

At this point I knew I had to help myself so I began looking online. I found out about mountain climbers cough due to cold, dry air. It is called HAC (High Altitude Cough) or khumbu cough after some mountain peak somewhere. I read TWO very important pieces of information about our lungs. I found out about this by researching bronchitis, pneumonia and coughing as there is very little info online about HAC.

BTW, This how I found Earthclinic.com.

The FIRST important thing I learned was about inhaling Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
There is a video of a man named Bill Munro and the link is here
https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/hydrogen_peroxide_inhalation.html

He inhaled hydrogen peroxide and it cured him of all kinds of things. He used it straight from the drugstore bottle. You can see how he did this by watching his video.

The SECOND thing I learned was about how important being consistently well hydrated and eating sea salt is.

NOW, and this is important, I read on Earthclinic one comment about a book called The Bodies Many Cries for Water by F. Batmanghelidj M.D. which explains how our bodies miraculously direct the available water in our system to keep us alive. I got the book and also several other books by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj M.D. one in particular called ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus: Eradicate Asthma Now!

(FYI-I have no connection whatsoever to these books, that is to say I don't sell them or anything. They just helped me get well.) This book explains that we die if our blood isn't hydrated so water must go there first. That means water is diverted from other parts of our bodies like our lungs. Water is also diverted from our joints, our brains and all other parts of our bodies but that is something to consider if you have any other ailments.

Our lungs MUST be moist or 1. worst case they dry up (desiccate), and fall apart and we can't breathe so we die, best case it we find it really hard to breathe with dried up lungs 2. Aren't able to shed or cough up bacteria, pollution and other toxins, 3. the mucus becomes thick, difficult to cough up and is more susceptible to bacteria and viruses (Hello pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma etc).

The book also explains that salt is absolutely essential to our being alive. We are made of salt water. Think about it - saline solution is used in many cures including re-hydration, tissue flushes, eye flushes etc.. Our medical community directing us to cut back on salt is a death directive. If you have ever had horses or cows you know that a salt block in the field is essential to the health of the animals just as eating salt is to humans. Salt was once used as currency because it is so valuable to our very being alive.

How I recovered

At that point three weeks had gone by and I was desperate and had nothing to lose. I was fighting for my life. So I began inhaling H2O2 and within a a day I saw relief (ONE day) and within a week I was markedly better. I stopped inhaling at that point as I began to think maybe I would have gotten better on my own which I actually thought was going to happen anyway. BUT after I stopped inhaling H2O2 I stayed at exactly the same place with my cough about half as bad as it had been when I started the H2O2. My cough stopped getting better. It stayed the same miserable hack.

That is when I KNEW it was the H2O2 that helped cure my cough so I started inhaling again and got steadily better. Some days I would forget and only inhale once or twice but the days I would do it 3 or 4 or 5 times I could tell I was better faster. It took me a while to get this inhaling down pat but basically I just jumped in and went for it. I can't remember exactly how long it took but I think 3 weeks or so. I kept after it. I practiced a couple of quick sharp inhales and then sprayed the H2O2.

The other absolutely essential thing I began doing was drinking water and eating good healthy sea salt or Himalayan salt, (not table salt which has evidently been stripped of minerals and has toxic additives).

Our lungs LOVE salt. Mucus contains of salt. I started putting a pinch of salt on my tongue after drinking a glass of water, letting the salt mostly dissolve and then drinking another glass of water. It really helps clean the lungs, cause a most amazing and satisfying release and coughing up of stuff. The salt also greatly facilitates re-hydration.(think sports drinks, with sodium). 1/4 teaspoon a day is recommended to be ingested throughout the day on food or whatever.
SO I would drink half my body weight in ounces (ie if you weigh 140 pounds drink 70 oz of water ) at the very least 8 cups (think measuring CUP) of water a day. Drink 2 cups in the AM when you get up to begin re-hydrating. Dr. Batmanhelidj's book explains it all. The water helps everything feel better from your mood and outlook to your digestion, skin, breathing, sinuses, joints, back, heart, thinking and on and on. I could tell the water/salt was the factor that went hand in hand with the H2O2 to allow my body to recover. I needed both.

Follow up

I am so thankful for the internet, for Dr. Batmanheldj, for Earthclinic, Bill Munro and for the people who took the time to comment so I could figure out how to get better. I am well. Not only that but I have an arsenal of weapons for good health.

Other info and my thoughts
1. I ignored everything I read about "food grade H2O2". What I used came from the drugstore in a brown bottle just like Bill Munro.
2. I did not dilute the H2O2 I used.
3. Inhaling H2O2 did not hurt me at all. The back of my throat might sting a tiny bit but frankly felt rather cleansing.
4. I got a tiny bit dizzy when inhaling sometimes but I would just sit down for a couple of seconds and it would go away. I really think it was the quick, rapid breathing that caused that.

5. I bought a tiny brown glass spray bottle at a health food store and used that but I have seen H2O2 in squirt bottle at the drugstore. that might work.

6. This is just my story and what worked for me. You may want to read some of the comments regarding H2O2. Amazing stuff.

7. I add a pinch of salt to my coffee in the AM and you can't taste it, in fact the coffee is delicious and it really helped my lungs release stuff.

8. Stop consuming ALL soft drinks. Fruit juice is better if you need a dose of sugar but still isn't so great for you. Sugar feeds fungus.

9. Sugar and aspartame are as debilitating and as addictive as heroin. They are also dehydrating.

10. Sodium and salt are 2 different things somehow/kind of. Read the books for a good explanation or do the research.

11. Coffee and caffeine are also dehydrating so I only drink one cup in the AM.

12. I am not recommending or advising anyone to do what I did. I just wanted to share in case anyone could be helped. And since I am only sharing my experience I am not interested in anyone's critical comments. Helpful comments yes.

13. Watch Bill Munro's video and if you have any questions watch it 5 more times or until you have no more questions.

14. Same with the books.

15. Last (unless I think of something else) and MOST importantly, drink water every day even when you travel. I cut back during my trip to Colorado to keep from having to stop and find a bathroom etc. and I think that absolutely contributed to the onset of the cough.

Beware of Lisinopril!! For blood pressure. Been fighting a cough for years and a new doctor took me off of Lisinopril and it went away quickly. My energy level went up and I feel better than ever. Just Google Lisinopril and you will see tons of horror stories. Good Luck!

Hi Janet...Thanks for commenting. Yes, who would think that by just taking sea salt you could cure such an annoying and prolonged lung/mucus problem?

I've just been watching a long video lecture by Dr Joel Wallach. It's here. That man is simply overflowing with common sense. He is also a qualified vet and most of his advice comes from his own experience as both a vet and as a research pathologist. It's also quite poignant that in America, farmers cannot get medical insurance for their animals. So whenever a vet comes to look at your sick prize breeding bull, that vet better cure the bull -- he had better perform -- else the farmer will not be impressed and that vet will get a bad rep and no more business. With medical doctors who treat humans, the approach seems to be entirely different. Just treat the symptoms with drugs -- a cure doesn't usually even come into the equation -- that's what they always do. Perhaps the lesson here is that if the allopathic doctors are not able to cure what ails you with their drugs and your not happy with this then perhaps you should just ask a vet what ails you because vets seem to be more honest, more clued up on diet and much more capable at finding cures.

Bill. I agree. The last few years have been "go back" years. I mean go back to Ted's and your advice. Every time I use a remedy from Ted, I have success. If I try something else I usually wind up going right back to his remedies. Amazing body of work he provides. E.C. is the other miracle as we have this information at our fingertips. Your contribution is pretty great too as I get up to go get my sea salt in water I should have started last night.....I was using my ammonia spray from ted. Coughing is mold for me every time. Except this time. Forgetting that basic remedy number 1 is sea salt. Thank you Bill Thompson. Janet

I thought that I would mention having some considerable success at using just plain old sea salt and water against a fairly serious build up of phlegm in my lungs that made me cough at night and which continually disturbed my sleep. This has been going on for several months.

I figured that, with such an unusual build up of phlegm and mucus in my lungs, there just had to be an infection involved. This problem wasn't due to a cold or flu, this was something entirely different because only the lungs were affected.

I tried nebulizing with hydrogen peroxide and, at different times, I also nebulized with with either lugol's iodine or potassium iodide in water. None of these regimens worked to get rid of my excessive lung mucus or coughing problem.

Then, two or three days ago, I remembered another pearl from Ted. He advises that just taking sea salt and water will greatly reduce heavy mucus or phlegm build up in the lungs. So I tried it.

Why is Ted always so right? I swear that if there was a Nobel Prize for Medical Honesty then Ted would win it -- hands down -- every time.

Anyway, back to my problem. So, 3 days ago, I took 1/2 level teaspoon of sea salt mixed with a a glass of water. I took this at about 8:00 pm at night. That night, I had the best sleep than I've had in months. No coughing. No mucus.

It's now been three days since I started the sea salt regimen(I now add drops of magnesium oil to the mix as well) and I can now say pretty confidently that I am cured of this annoying problem which has been dogging me for months.

Some more relevant information. Several months ago we had the aircon in our bedroom cleaned. And lo and behold we found a large, dead and festering gecko inside the aircon that was in the air output path. Well, there's the source the lung infecting pathogens for sure. My partner also had a coughing problem, but she got over it after a while but I couldn't get rid of this problem.

Until I took Ted's advice.

I've also read that, before biblical times, there were Ethiopian desert tribes in Africa who truly realized and appreciated the value of salt. To them, salt was life or death. They used to trade and buy natural salt for it's equivalent weight in gold. And I think they had that dead right.

I was so impressed with the effects of sea salt, sea salt is also now part of my night regimen, since I reckon that my average daily salt intake was way too low in the first place and that's not a clever habit for a guy like me living in a hot and humid country like the Philippines.

After trying the gargles and remedy 'shots' suggested for my dry, irritating cough, I did not experience any relief. Just to be clear, I had already detoxed to the point that my body had no more phlegm or any actual bad stuff I had to get rid of.

It was just this nagging, dry cough that kept persisting and kept me from sleeping or even relaxing. Seeing no other remedies suggested for this, I stopped to think what was happening, and realized that if I could just coat that spot in my throat with something soothing that would stay put (and not just disappear when I swallowed), that might help. I did not want to use honey because the sugar could make the condition worse. So I thought of trying liquid lecithin. I happened to have a silicone head toothbrush, and used that to apply the lecithin.

Method: Place a small amount of liquid lecithin on the tip of the clean silicone toothbrush. Gently reach the toothbrush into the back of my throat (on and around the irritated spot) and lightly dab the lecithin where needed. The relief was instant. Eventually, the lecithin washes away and may need to be reapplied.

Om, one way to know what you are getting, is simply to smell it. That's a good test for virgin olive oil and for real coconut oil. (If you can stomach the "real thing" that is...)

Hello, Jin (Birmingham, UK) ---

Not too long ago the board that deals with olive oil internationally, decided to make it legal to sell olive adulterated with GMO and other chemicals and olive oil might only be a small percentage when the consumer purchases it.

Ordinarily, no one has complained so far about pure olive oil till the decision to deceive the consumer was made. Somebody even wrote a book about this travesty. Today there is not really a way knowing what one brings home and one has to research and use caution as there is no transparency.

Namaste, Om

My wife had a persistant cough which lasted for months. Nothing worked until somebody suggested not to use olive oil in cooking.

We would use olive oil to cook our curries everyday. We started to use butter instead of olive oil and the relief from coughing came overnight.

Other people with coughs we suggested to give up olive oil had similar results.

The latest was my wife's nephew who is a fit young man, regular gym goer who despite frequent visits to his doctor was told nothing could be done.

After we told him to avoid olive oil his cough disappeared almost overnight.

Last night we had some vegetables roasted in olive oil and predictably my wife is coughing this morning.

I do not appear to have any such problems with olive oil.

Here's hoping lessons have been learned.

I tried searching for this remedy but couldn't find it so decided to write this post.

Lucky me I did not caught flu this winter, but spring came with tonsillitis, high fever and excessive dry cough, no phlegm, no chest pain but I could not sleep at nights for a week because of the cough.

I knew I can get rid of the tonsillitis in two three days just with cayenne, I did not know the lungs are affected and I panicked when the tonsillitis past and the cough was still there and was getting worse, so I went and I bought dry garlic, ginger, oregano, more cayenne and apple cider vinegar, all together under ten dollars, do not buy them in pill form, they are way more expensive, I buy them by pound from Bulk Barn in Canada, or even better if you can buy them fresh at your local grocery store.

I took for three days one cup of mint tea mixes with two-three spoons of apple cider vinegar,

and one or two cups a day of water mixed with half to one teaspoon of garlic, ginger, oregano and cayenne. Start with half a teaspoon of each, it's quite strong the mixture, if it's making you nauseous have some apple or peach handy, that will help. it did not made me nauseous, but I can't tolerate very well the hotness of cayenne, I will recommend the mixture on regular basis to flavor veggies and, or meat when you are cooking.

I am 82 years old and recovering from a bout of pneumonia. I have had a lingering cough for the past few weeks. What finally cured my cough and gave me my energy back is steaming 3 times a day with 2 drops each of eucalyptus, oregano, and tea tree oils added to a bowl of just boiled water. I put a towel over my head and inhaled the steam for 15 minutes each time.

I also sniffed a teaspoon full of diluted colloidal silver up each nostril twice a day.

These two things helped me recover quickly. I hope this helps someone else!

I used this remedy for my children when they were still babies for coughs and colds.

I don't want to step on any one's great remedies but I would like to share one option for chronic coughs. I put vicks vapor rub on the bottom of both feet before going to bed, then put socks on. The most and largest pores we have are the feet and the hands. I feel any thing is better than taking conventional meds. or suffering with much pain.

To manage mucous and sinus drainage, try the black seed oil (nigella sativa), 1 tsp in the evening, 1 tsp in the morning. It takes icky but just chase it down with some water or juice. I use this remedy to manage my asthma plus allergies and my mucous is virtually non-existent. If it is too strong, try 1/2 tsp in am and again, pm. Wonderful! Get this oil off of Amazon. Pretty healthy stuff! Good Luck!

My husband had a chronic cough that was ongoing for more than two months. He wasn't sleeping and coughed so hard we went to the ER because he thought he had pulled a muscle. They gave him prednisone antibiotics and robitussen with codeine. Nothing worked. I saw the posts here for Apple Cider Vinegar and honey and gave him a dose. 2 tbl organic Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 tbl spoon honey in a 1/4 c warm water. His cough calmed enough that he napped for 3 hours. When the cough returned he felt it didn't work and stopped; after another horrible nite I asked him to try it again. But continue with it every 3 to 4 hours. In one day his cough was 90% improved. By day 2 it was completely gone! So my advice is, keep taking until all symptoms are gone. Depending on the cause and duration it may take a little longer. It's been a month now and his cough has not returned.

I've had this cough now for 17 weeks. When I tried the pickle juice, it was like wow! I feel a lot better. But I still cough once in a while. But it works!

Some hbp meds cause chronic cough. Needs to be changed. Also, check out oil pulling therapy for lots of things, including cronic cough. Extra virgin coconut oil is best for oil pulling. I was doing this and was better after reading Dr. Bruce Fife's book, "Oil Pulling Therapy, " I got lax & let up on my regime & the allergies & coughing, runny nose spells all came back. I started back w the coconut oil & could immediately feel myself getting better. Also luv the ACV/honey/Echinacea, Golden seal tinture/warm water regimen. I know dairy is bad. & whatever but I luv the stuff. However, whenever I do all of these things it is livable. I luv this site. I hav received more helpful info from sites such as this, plus that oil pulling therapy book of Dr Fife's than from any doctor.

My coughing is related to allergy/cold induced asthma so, my efforts to use natural remedies lead me to black seed oil (nigella sativa). I take 1 tsp in the am and one tsp in the pm. It tastes pretty icky so wash it down with some juice. I just take it and drink a glass of water afterwards. No coughing or congestion at all. Because I take this remedy to control my asthma symptoms, I take it every day - and because of it's immune system support, will take it the rest of my life. The first couple of days using it, I had some detox symptoms - phlegm, blowing nose, wake up with headaches but now, my sinuses are clear, no coughing, decreased asthma symptoms (I use Bill Munroe's H202 therapy as my asthma as needed protocol).....I get the black seed oil that is organic and cold pressed off of the "big A." Amazing oil.

Pertaining to the problem of coughs and colds that tend to undermine our equilibrium at this time of the year, there are steps one can take that mitigate these annoyances! Here are some of the ways with which I have experimented over the years and found to be most helpful:

Fresh ginger root made into a tea, likewise pieces of garlic. (The latter should be allowed to sit after slicing for a few minutes to allow the beneficial chemistry to take effect). Other remedies that I have found to be extremely good include Echinacea, Elderberry, and the herb Mullein for coughs. I have sliced onion and put it beside my bed! Why not? If it works, well and good! An old remedy is to slice an onion and dip a piece into boiling water for a second or two only (apparently), then sipping the water throughout the day. This seems to me to be a homeopathic idea! Eating fresh oranges or grapefruit with some lemon juice squeezed over the slices and a touch of raw honey.

Using steam very carefully has helped me quite often with coughs. The heat of the steam is said to kill viruses which might be somewhat useful. Chicken soup with garlic, onions and lots of vegetables can be most welcome when one is not feeling up to par. Having some in the freezer comes in handy at these times. Having used the twelve tissue cell-salts for years, I can suggest them also.

A remedy I used when I was pregnant (since there's not much you can take) was rubbing Amish Origins (a version of Vicks Vapo Rub) on the soles of my feet and covering them with thick, warm socks. I could get a decent night's sleep when I did that. I do this with my 20 month old as well when she has a cough, but I use Matey's baby chest rub instead since the Amish Origins is a bit strong. Elderberry syrup works well too.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I seem to manufacture mucus-- a lot. The drainage never stops. It has been this way for a couple of years. I do get relief with ACV, but if I stop taking it, the cough returns. ANY ideas, help, advice-- PLEASE.

Dear Deedra,

Years ago one of my children had a throat clearing problem. I took him off dairy and it disappeared. I kept him off for maybe 6 months. When he went back on it, he no longer had trouble. Dairy can be mucous forming. It would be worth a try to give it up for a time.

Another child had allergies and asthma. I put him on nettles for a year or two and it seemed to cure both. Nettle leaf is a blood purifier and good for allergies. If your mucous is from allergies, this might work. You may have to take it a while for healing to happen, as with the case of my son.

You might also look in to Bill Munroe's hydrogen peroxide inhalation therapy on this site. It has helped lots of people!

Let us know what you try and how it works!

~Mama to Many~

Deedra, for chronic cough, try eliminating dairy and wheat for a bit and see if it makes a difference.