Effective Natural Remedies for Cough Relief

Ginger

Posted by Maypeacebewithall (Singapore) on 04/13/2012
★★★★★

I have tried "ginger tea" many times successfully to heal my coughs. The coughs range from mild to severe. I cut a few slices of ginger and add to water. Then I bring it to boil and drink it when warm. Do remember to take it in the day time as there's a saying that ginger when taken in the morning is as good as ginseng but it's not good to take it during the night. I find the ginger tea especially good for coughs due to "exposure to wind".

Also, I just heard from my mum yesterday after she paid a visit to her best friend that she had used peppermint tea to cure her daughter, grandson and neighbour's long standing cough. Not even doctors' medicine could cure their cough and they have been coughing for months. After just 1 to 2 cups of peppermint tea, they are completely cured! She said to take 7 peppermint leaves and make into tea. Hope this helps.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda

Posted by Robert (Manila, Luzon, Philippines) on 01/11/2012
★★★★★

I started ACV with Sodium Bicarbonate yesterday at ten am. I took a dose in the middle of the afternoon and then before I dined. I am happy to report that last night was the first night that I slept most of the night in years. Only woke one time with a minor cough, a shot of water and I was off to sleep again. I am glad I found this site. Thanks Ted.

I contionued this regime today and hopefully will sleep well tonight. Had a few coughing spells today but not as bad as before the ACV.

I did not have the courage to drop the other meds my doctor has me on. I will eventually drop them if I keep having this level of energy and the reduction in coughing. Thanks Ted for your write up.

Chocolate

Posted by Vetta (Northeast, Usa) on 12/14/2011
★★★★★

Faster than anything I've ever tried: One glass water (8-10 oz. ) drunk all at once. This thins the phlegm. Then one small plain chocolate bar, about 2-3 inches, like a "fun size" for halloween. Cough disappeared instantly for 3 hours. Had to repeat during the night, but fell back asleep right away with no coughing!

I suggest using plain chocolate (like Hersheys) without anything added to it.

The British have been researching this since 2004. Lots on Google. Works so well!

Steam Inhalation

Posted by Annsmeal (Bailey, Colorado) on 09/21/2010
★★★★★

When anyone in my home, (including guests)have a cough, I get out my largest pot fill it with water Add 1 tablespoon of Oregano and 1 tablespoon of Thyme, turn to a simmer once it comes to a boil. Have a person stand over the steam and breath deep, this will make them cough up anything in the lungs. Breath in the steam until coughing is eased. Leaving the pot on simmer, adding water and more of the herbs if needed. I find that at least two days is the time frame to illuminate a bad cough. This combination takes care of both viral and bacterial causing coughs. Can be used with other remedies. I put this in a crock pot on low in sick rooms if the aroma doesn't reach from the kitchen.

Chocolate

Posted by Cleoppa (Cleburne, Tx) on 08/28/2010
★★★★★

Chocolate is amazing for coughs. Research has shown it's even better than cough syrup. Not so good is sugar. When I'm getting sick, I take pure chocolate. I don't think it necessarily helps me recover from my cold or flu quicker in itself. However, having a peaceful night where I can breathe easily definitely helps me recover quicker. I have tried many types of unsugared chocolate. All are gross. Sometimes I use baking squares. Sometimes I mix chocolate powder in water. Sometimes I eat cacao nibs. I think perhaps the most effective (and this may have to do with how much I can stand) is the baking squares.

Flaxseed Tea

Posted by Grannyguru (Oro Valley, Az) on 09/01/2010

You do not drink the seeds. You strain the seeds out of the mixture after it has boiled and begun to thicken. Discard the seeds. Pour the liquid into a thermos and add the honey and vitamin c, or freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice and maple syrup or whatever you want to use to sweeten it to taste. Tighten the lid on the thermos and shake it to mix it. Then just take drinks of it as needed.

Almonds

Posted by Adamo (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 01/30/2010
★★★★★

Here's something that works for me. For relief of dry coughs, take one teaspoon of organic almond paste or butter. You can add a half teaspoon of honey if you like. Have as often as needed but 3-4 times a day is usually sufficient.

Elderberry

Posted by Traderjosie (Maricopa, AZ) on 11/11/2008
★★★★★

I have experienced the lingering cough...how about 10 years. So I can help those with it...I felt I should post this. ELDERBERRY SYRUP/CAPS this is definitely what got rid of it for me. I first took elderberry syrup for a week or so....this is important to do before you go to the caps.

Then after a week or so I felt mucous drain out of my head and up out of my lungs and I blew it all out. What a mess. After that I had no more coughing.

Apparently the elderberry causes whatever pathogen I had, to run from elderberry. I am not sure why, but I really don't care. I just know elderberry will work for anyone with this problem...it's tops. Ok so just remember to take more than the normal dose when initially taking the syrup.

Now I just take elderberry caps when I feel myself beginning to cough again and it nips it in the bud.

So there you have it---a great herb.

traderjosie

Thyme

Posted by Brenda (San Antonio, Texas) on 03/15/2007
★★★★★

My 79 year old Mother had an upper respiratory infection. She could not shake the cough. I had recently read an article that said steep 1 teaspoon of your kitchen variety thyme in a cup of hot water, as you would a teabag, and sip. She tried it and it worked. Encouraged, I told my friend who has the start of COPD about it, she tried it and is amazed also. The article stated it relaxes the bronchials. Yet another alternative.

Oregano

Posted by Jennifer (Albuquerque, NM) on 12/03/2006
★★★★★

I tried ACV, the spicy tomato tea, the onion halves with brown sugar, and the garlic soup. Especially the tomato tea and ACV brought some temporary relief from a month-long cough and sinus congestion that I'd had almost as long. As far as I'm concerned, though, the #1 choice and remedy should be Oil of Oregano. I bought a jar last Tues. and began taking three per day with meals. I am so encouraged and feel at least 95% well again. After doing some research on it I now know that this is an amazing product! Perhaps it doesn't work the same for everyone but it has done so much for me in six days. I've also been using a good quality colloidal silver in a nasal spray bottle. This has probably worked alongside the Oil of Oregano for the sinus congestion. It cured a month-long cough/bronchitis and sinus congestion. I'm wondering now if I could have increased the dosage of Oil of Oregano to say four a day. I've stayed at 3/day since I couldn't find any info. to let me know if more would be too much of a good thing. Any thoughts on that?

Vitamin C, Herbs

Posted by Let It Go (Los Angeles, California) on 01/21/2017 10 posts
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Vit C, herbs for coughs

My son had several bad coughs (bronchitis) within a few months, and colds almost every month, so I started giving him vitamin C daily - usually about 4-5 grams a day in 2-3 doses. He didn't have a cold for 7 months, and so far didn't get any serious cough.

When we did have coughs, we used herbs - I have lots of tinctures I buy from Oregon online store or make my own with brandy (vodka just tastes very bad even in small amounts), and make mixtures using my intuition, but the main ones were wild cherry bark, mullein, Echinacea, Umckaloabo (Pelargonium sidoides), and lobelia. We also used propolis with good results, however it tastes not so good. We would take 2-3 droppers of mixture of several of these. It works within 10-15 minutes, so if it doesn't stop coughing in that time, another dose might be needed. But usually it did and he could go back to sleep at night.

There is another herb, that is very effective, but it tastes bad -like a sap or a paint thinner - lomatium (lomatium dissectum). Once I kicked the cold with it -although I had to take a few more doses every 4 hours to kick it for good. That said, I get one cold a year at the most, so I am not sure it would work for everyone. I take vitamin C and other supplements for other reasons, which I think helps to prevent them.

Mullein

Posted by Kazzakazzarooney (London) on 09/21/2016
★★★★★

Mullein Tincture - very powerful

I first tried this a few years ago when I had the most dreadful chesty phlemy cough. After 1/2 hour of taking the ready made shopped bought tincture it all came up! Funnily not by coughing. I blew my nose and I am not joking when I say, for about 20 mins non stop! The relief of being able to breathe better and not having a chesty cough was incredible! I carried on having the chesty cough later that day but then just took more of the tincture.

Since discovering ACV on this site, I think that would be good to take as well and seems to speed up the healing process too!

Thyme

Posted by Traveler (Detroit) on 12/18/2015
★★★★★

Have a hiatial hernia thanks to coughing really badly from a bacterial infection last year (clean your humidifiers regularly people.) It flares up off and on and I treat that by going to the chiropractor who's treatment makes an immediate difference.

This time around, I got a bad cold. Though I seemed to be remaining functional by gargling cayenne pepper water, and a few other things, my coughing was starting to scare me because I didn't want my hiatial hernia to worsen (it's a near constant pressure on your diaphragm, either making you feel falsely hungry, or nauseated like you don't want to eat.)

A few of the things I tried here helped (cayenne pepper for sore throat) but the vicks, for example, worked only for a couple of nights. I tried the thyme tea and that worked out very well. Brewed up a bunch and drank it over two days and nights. My cough is now very rare and seems to just be about expelling phlegm, rather than an irritated throat that feels itchy but not sore.

As a side note, something that may or may not be related is that I think the thyme tea made my period show up 4 days early, similar to how parsley tea does the same thing. It might not be related but it is something that I will keep in mind.

Oregano

Posted by Olddude (Tn) on 12/12/2015 21 posts
★★★★★

Oil of Oregano : I mix 6 drops to 1/4cup of olive oil and apply like lotion to the soles of my feet, and legs and lower back. It is the best pain killer I have found. It works almost instantly and for hours also. We take it internally, one drop under the tongue and yes it will burn somewhat, but I chase it with water, , , get over it, it works.

Oregano

Posted by Harriet (Dumont, Nj) on 12/11/2015
★★★★★

For coughs, Oil of Oregano is an amazing secret. You can buy it in liquid form or in pill form. It tastse terrible and it burns going down so I recommend the capsules. It stops wheezing and has natural antibiotic action and you never build up immunity to it.

Dosage: 3 drops in a 8 ounce glass of water or 1 capsule. I take it one a day during the inter months and I'm 63 and going strong. I take no rx meds at all.

Magnesium

Posted by Lisa M. (Long Island, Us) on 10/24/2014
★★★★★

I have had a cough for the past few weeks. Magnesium has really helped my lungs. I take it at night before going to sleep and haven't been waking up with coughing fits all night. Cough is slowly getting better.

Ginger

Posted by Tina (Princeton, N J) on 01/06/2017

Dear Kathi, Our daughter came home from college with a nagging cough that she had been battling for a few weeks including an ER visit when her temp spiked to 102. The docs said everything checked out ok and it was a viral infection. It was keeping her up at nights and she would wake up in the mornings unable to talk. I did all my usual remedies. Peppery hot tomato drink, apple cider vinegar with raw honey that she sipped throughout the day, and lots of Vitamin C. All these remedies helped but did not get rid of the cough. Until I started her on Umcka cough syrup and Vitamin D, 5,000 IU. She slept through the night and within 2 days the cough's gone. Hope this helps. All the best with getting rid of your cough.

Elderberry

Posted by Ed2010 (Canada) on 11/10/2013

Change the milk brand or percentage. Try skim milk. Preservatives in milk and milk products like butter, cheese can trigger cough.

To re emphasize, it is not the milk per se. It is the preservative that is causing the reaction.

In India, for mucus or chest congestion. We will boil glass of milk with quarter teaspoon black pepper and quarter teaspoon of Turmeric powder. Add Palm Sugar and drink it for couple of days. All the sore throat, congestion, mucis, cough are gone.

Good Health