Fast and Effective Natural Remedies for Cough

A summer cold has been going around the area for a while. Two of my teen sons have had a bad cough from it. Not productive at all but very harsh and irritating to them. They mostly have not felt awful otherwise.

I was treating them with my usual cough remedies and nothing was working to get rid of it though they would have some temporary relief. As usual, the onion by the bed kept them from coughing at night. But as soon as they were up and back working the cough was back too. It didn't help that I was out of town for a week and I don't think they did much to treat the cough other than some vitamin C in the morning.

Finally, two nights ago, I remembered coconut oil.

Coconut oil worked my son's mono in 36 hours when he had been flat on his back for 3 weeks. Coconut oil worked for another son's sinus infection when nothing else did.

I started giving them coconut oil (Just Costco's organic coconut oil, that smells like coconut oil) by the tablespoon full 36 hours ago. I gave it to them twice a day.

Their coughs are so so so much better now. As much as they dislike taking coconut oil they continue to take it because they know it is bringing relief.

Wish I had tried this a couple of weeks ago!

~Mama to Many~

I have had a bit of a cough. Last evening it was all of sudden really bad. It was unproductive, constant and causing my throat to hurt from coughing. I realized I probably hadn't had much to drink all evening (which makes mucous in lungs and sinuses thicker) I started to heat up a kettle of water. I immediately drank some cool water with some sodium ascorbate (vitamin C) added. I put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of honey and pinch of cayenne pepper in a mug and added hot water. I added a little ice to make the tea drinkable and started sipping. In less than 10 minutes my cough was calmed.

I had more fluids before bed and didn't cough once during the night. I have had some more of my vinegar-honey-cayenne tea today and my cough is rare.

I have used hot honey and vinegar tea for years but that was the most amazing relief I have ever had from a cough.

~Mama to Many~

Coconut Oil for Coughing Fit

I have had that dreaded flu for over 10 days that seems to start out as a cold, but it progressively gets worse, with aches, tiredness and then..."the cough". I coughed and coughed until my lower ribs and stomach were sore. I couldn't sleep due to loud, coughing fits.. I tried Oregano, cayenne, Magnesium, ACV, herbal teas, and Elderberry syrup. A little relief but very temporary. I then remembered reading on here about coconut oil. I thought, "Why not. It won't harm."

So being awake at 4 am because of a coughing fit, I went in the kitchen and simply ate a tsp of Virgin coconut oil.

I quieted down right away, and was able to go back to sleep for a few more hours peacefully! So grateful to give my bronchia a rest. Will continue with the CO and hopefully will get me back to 100%...

A bit of a cold has been going around among friends and family, so I didn't get too excited when my 5 year old was having some cold symptoms, mostly a cough at night. But then, for 2 days he slept most of the day and had a fever, which is not usual for a cold or for him. I was giving him some vitamin C and using a menthol salve for the cough but it wasn't cutting it.

If he didn't have a cold, what did he have? Mono? Strep? Whooping Cough? Bronchitis? Croup? The flu?

Well, whatever it was, it had to be viral or bacterial and I could fight either with garlic, vitamin C and elderberry, so I went full force on treatment.

• I started giving him a small clove of garlic, crushed, mixed with raw honey four times a day. (Antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory.)
• I gave him home made elderberry syrup 3 times a day. (for immune support)
• I gave him vitamin C every hour or two.
• I gave him warm baths with 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup citric acid. (I think this is alkalizing.)
• I made chicken soup.

The night time cough was the worst. But the mighty onion came to the rescue.

• I chop one small or 1/2 of a large onion and put it in a bowl near his head. Yes, the room smells strongly by morning but it is the very best for a nighttime cough.

Within 12 hours he was much, much better.

Then two of his brothers started to cough. Well, I figured I would nip that in the bud. I started to give them elderberry syrup. I gave them a couple of doses of garlic. But mostly, I gave them a lot of vitamin C. I can't quite believe how much that helped.

I have been reading a lot about vitamin C, including The Clinic Guide to the Use of Vitamin C. Truly fascinating. http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/198x/smith-lh-clinical_guide_1988.htm

I used Dr. Suzanne Humphries' calculations for how to give large doses of vitamin C (that she uses to neutralize the whooping cough toxin.)

• Between 200 - 375 mg of vitamin C per kg of child's body weight every 24 hours.

One of my children reached bowel tolerance quickly (diarrhea) so I cut him back.

But I didn't give large amounts at one time. I divided the total by 10 and gave it hourly or so during the day.

I don't know what they had (it wasn't whooping cough though because I was able to way cut back on the vitamin C and the cough didn't return. For whooping cough you have to continue the diligent C protocol for the duration of the illness - 100 days, but supposedly it really makes the illness quite tolerable.)

I used the sodium ascorbate form of vitamin C. 1 part Nutribiotic ascorbic acid powder plus 1/2 part of baking soda to make my own sodium ascorbate.

That's my story and I am sticking to it. :)

~Mama to Many~

Last night I got up and was having a pretty bad coughing spell and fortunately had taken note last week of a boiled flaxseed remedy I thought may be helpful for these spells. Even though I could have taken a 1/2 tsp dose of black seed oil (nigella sativa) to quiet me down, at 1 a.m. in the morning, I wanted to try this flaxseed remedy. Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds

- 8 ounces of water

- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

- 2 tablespoons of honey

Procedure:

In a small sauce pan, boil the water with the flaxseeds. This rolling boil eventually will help the flaxseeds go into a gelatinous state. Once thickened (it happens pretty quick), take off the burner and strain the best you can. This mixture was so thick, it reminded me of a jelly fish. Ultimately, I had to manually take out most of the leftover flaxseeds with a spoon. Anyway, you should have several spoonful doses of thick, hot flaxseed gelatin stuff. Mix in the lemon juice and honey. Stir. While still warmed, drink a couple sips of this mixture. You should have at least a couple doses in the cup. Save the rest for later as needed. This remedy was effective within 10 minutes. The tickle in my throat went away, and I slept for 5 solid hours after that. WoW! In the spirit of keeping remedies simple, I hope this remedy finds it's way to the masses of people searching for relief.

I read about the Anise Tincture here at Earth Clinic. (Brigitte's recipe.) I made some up a few months ago to have on hand. We had a cough come through this week and I had the opportunity to try it.

When my 4 year old had a coughing fit, I gave him 1/2 teaspoon of the tincture in a couple of ounces of water and it helped him a lot! I gave a dose to anyone who was coughing at bedtime and it seemed to keep the nighttime cough (when it tends to be worse) at bay quite well.

I did use other cough remedies (homemade chest salve and essential oils on the bottom of the feet) that worked well too, but those were not new remedies to me. I love to find something new that works!

• 5 Tablespoons of Anise Seed
• 1 cup of rum
• Put both in a canning jar and leave in a cool dark place for 2-6 weeks. Strain out the anise seeds through a coffee filter. This tincture will keep for years.

I gave middle sized children 1/2 teaspoon of tincture in 2 ounces of water.

If I still had toddlers I would use 1/4 teaspoon in 1 ounce of water.

For adults I would use 1 teaspoon (2 for a large adult) in 3 ounces of water.

It tastes like licorice. :)

~Mama to Many~

I came to earth clinic to see if anyone else had this experience, as the SAME thing happened to my daughter and me this weekend. I tried raw almonds for my cough by accident. It even cured the cough. It was Immediate...Instant. The cough never came back. It went from severe to 0 in one swoop.

It did the same for my daughter...miracle!

Just to clarify. Star anise and anise seeds are different things. Anise seeds being talked about in the above two posts are also known as fennel seeds while star anise is a spice.

I had a very bad dry and tickly cough that didn't seem to go away (for more than a week). I tried every natural remedies possible, ACV with honey, ACV gargle, inhalation, eucalyptus etc... and nothing worked.

The only thing that did finally work was a deep gargle with Colloidal Silver. I did gargle with the solution then laid on the bed with my head on the edge of the bed so that the solution can reach the back of my throat. I kept the solution in my mouth for 6 minutes and then I slowly swallowed the solution.

I repeated the treatment 3 times since last night and after 12 hours only, I am already feeling extremely better. I just learned that dry coughs that last are usually caused by bacteria so unless you kill the bacteria, you are going to cough forever. Colloidal Silver kills them in just minutes. I pray this will help someone feel better.

My daughter and I both had a bad cold/cough and were driving to the store to buy some remedies to help stop our constant cough. I always keep raw almonds in the car and noticed that once I started snacking on them my coughing immediately stopped. After 10 min I pointed this out to my daughter (who was still coughing) wondering if the almonds were having some affect on my throat or lungs (maybe the fat soothes or coats the throat? not sure). I gave her a handful to eat and her cough also stopped immediately. This is after a few hours of constant coughing. I'd would say it worked faster than a cough drop and the lasting affects were about the same length of time as cough drops...but without all the chemicals, dyes, sugars...

Flaxseed tea cures those awful coughing spasms that won't stop until you gag. It stops them whether they are from a bad cold, or from other reasons, including the cough that comes from taking medicines for high blood pressure.

I got this from my doctor many years ago when I was pregnant and got a bad cold with a cough that wouldn't go away and would make me cough so hard my doctor was afraid I was going to lose the baby.

He was emphatic that I should only use whole flaxseed. Why, I have no idea. But he said it was something I could use as much as I wanted, because it had no bad side effects.

I gave this recipe to a friend who was coughing continuously from taking medicine for high blood pressure and then developed bronchitis where the cough just hung on and would not stop until she gagged, then would start again. Before she got the cold she complained about the constant hacking cough from the medicine to both her doctor and her pharmacist and both insisted there was NOTHING that could get rid of it, and she'd just have to learn to live with it.

She tried the flaxseed tea and the cough was almost immediately stopped, so she could get some sleep. She used it to stop the coughing for a day or two, and it COMPLETELY GOT RID OF THE COUGH. Even the cough that she had had from the high blood pressure medicine.

I've discovered that for the cough from the medicine you have to take it for a couple of days or so, and then the cough is gone...for months. If you keep taking the blood pressure medicine, then the cough will gradually come back (people describe an itch or tickle in their throat that starts it).. but once you again take the flax seed tea the cough goes away again... again for months.

With colds it works best with coughs after you have had the cold for a couple of days. That dry hacking cough that makes you cough and cough and cough until finally you gag.

Of course if you take vitamin c and other remedies when the cold starts, you may never need flaxseed tea.

But if you've ever had a cough like that, the tea is amazing.

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.

I put it out here because I realized a lot of people are being told there is NOTHING that can help the cough they get from taking high blood pressure medicine. Seems to me just the constant coughing is going to raise your blood pressure. In any case, it is not true that nothing can help that cough. Cough drops may seem to help but in the end they just make it worse and pretty soon you are always sucking on a cough drop, but coughing more and more. Flaxseed tea works immediately to stop the coughing, and then works to take the cough away...for months. Plus my doctor said back then that there was nothing that could hurt me ...or my unborn child.

So I thought I'd mention it here.

I was up night with a horrible cough. So my throat was on fire this morning. I mixed a little cayenne with Apple Cider Vinegar and warm water. And what can I say it works its a beautiful day out side and I am on my way to enjoy it.

If you have a severe cough, dry cough, or wet cough, make Star Anise seed tea and drink once an hour. Maybe 3 or 4 times a day.

Before I was using Flax Seed Tea, but star anise seed tea works even faster and easy to make than Flax Seed Tea. Make sure you treat for your underlying cause as well bronchitis, allergies, mold, lung infection, copd.

To Make Star Anise Tea

• Boil 300 ml of water add 5 Star Anise Seeds.
• Boil for 10 mins in medium heat.
• Add 2 or 3 drops of Eucalyptus Oil.

When it is drinking hot, add honey or other sweetner.

Drink it once an hour till your cough subsides. Usually it works in 1 tea.

Honey and Eucalyptus Oil are optional.

Star Anise Seeds and Anise Seeds both are same.

You can get Star Anise Seeds in Desi Stores, but it is availabe in most of the stores.

The best part is it is very tasty and children will like it.

Please give feedback if it worked for you.

Good Health

WARNING!

Dangerous Cough Cause:

Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? Is it working? About a month ago a friend of mine had a 3 week cough that was getting worse and started sounding like it could've been pneumonia. Then, one day her landlord came over to check the furnace and found it was breaking down. They measured the carbon monoxide levels and found they were nearly fatal. After replacing the furnace with a new one and installing a CO2 level detector she was immediately better! No coughing and her roommate felt better after suffering from persistant cold and flu-like symptoms. Please check your CO2 and radon levels, since radon causes lung disorders as well.

Whiskey Cough and Cold Syrup:

This was a prescription from a physician for a child's cough syrup in 1962. Ahh the good old days!! I grew up on this stuff.

• 1 tsp whiskey (Kentucky Gentleman Whiskey, Good flavor and cheap)
• 1 tsp lemon
• 1 tbsp honey

Take as needed for cough, especially before bed.

The whisky helps you sleep and it's alcohol content acts as a disinfectant, while the honey and lemon soothe your throat and also acts as a disinfectant.

My daughter had a bad cough due to the flu which was keeping her up and causing her throat to hurt. Found your site because I wanted to treat her naturally. The ACV, raw honey, cinnamon in warm water helped (I added lemon). It is not an instant cure but she was able to get some rest. Will continue to prepare this and drink it. Thanks

The almonds are high in magnesium which helps lung function. :)

Re: Anise seed tincture for treatment of nonproductive coughs.

A nonproductive cough is another name for a dry cough which does nothing to move phlegm from the throat and lungs. This is often a precursor to a more serious ailment like pneumonia. It is of the utmost importance that you remove the excessive phlem from your system.

I have found that the best expectorant that I can find is made by placing five tablespoons anise seeds into 1 cup of rum. (Allow seeds to soak in rum for 2 weeks and then strain out the seeds. The anise infused rum will last for a long time.)

I take no more than 2 teaspoons of this as needed to induce a cough which allows for the mucus to be removed from the body. A note to nursing mothers who have problems with milk production; a good side affect of anise is that it increases milk production in lactating mothers. I know this for a fact as my last child was born when I was 40 and I had problems producing milk sufficient to meet my child's needs. Be cognisant of the fact that you do not want to over do it with alcohol if you are nursing as this would be counter productive to the health and well being of the child who depends on you for nourishment. I used an anise tea when I was nursing it works well for increasing milk production.