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It’s officially cold and flu season. Everyone seems to be sniffling, sneezing and coughing, trying desperately to find remedies to ease their symptoms. I tend to get sick like clockwork this time of year. Last year around this time I was feeling pretty miserable [2]. This time around it seems to be a bad cold with lots of uncontrollable coughing. In between coughs, I decided to check in with some great green minds from around the blogosphere to see how they would combat a vicious cough the non-toxic and natural way.
Here’s what the great green minds from around the blogosphere had to say about treating a cough the natural way:
- Sarah from Practically Green [3] mixes ginger, honey, lemon and garlic into her green tea (or rum).
- Lizandra from Safer Chemicals Healthy Families [4]swears by colloidal silver to get rid of bronchial problems.
- Lisa from Retro Housewife Goes Green suggests:
Boiron’s homeopathic cough medicine, sucking on peppermints, and/or honey (the whiskey trick is good as well!). To get better colloidal silver, Emergen-C, olive leaf extract, elderberry extract and oil of oregano.
She also found this interesting concoction works: take an onion and slice it, then pour honey over it, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and then take a spoonful every 15 minutes. Sorry Lisa, that doesn’t sound very appetizing.
- Hillary finds that 9 times out of 10 when she gets a cough it is post-nasal drip-related. She uses her Neti pot twice a day. She remembers her family physician recommending a couple teaspoons of Crème de Menthe.
- Julia from It’s Not Like a Cat [5] suggests making a cup of tea with eucalyptus, licorice, wild cherry bark, and mullein and honey. She has also had luck with sipping very hot chicken broth spiked with lemon, garlic, and cayenne or red pepper.
- Anastacia starts with her Neti Pot and then makes a mixture of minced garlic mixed with raw honey.
- Amity from Green Gifts Guide has found that Eucalyptus Oil worked well for her last spring when she had her first (and hopefully last) case of bronchitis. She made a steam tent in the bathroom sink and inhaled it.
- Jennifer from It’s Not Easy to be Green [6]suggests mixing generous amounts of honey and lemon juice in hot water. The alternative is a salt water gargle.
- Claire from Moms Rising shared a great article, Non-toxic Tips for Winter Coughs & Colds [7]. I tried out the simple recipe from Dr. Greene [8]for combating a cold.
- Xinyu, Jennifer (buckwheat honey) and Local Bites [9] agree that honey is the cure (with a little lime juice). Sam agrees, but adds a little citrus and whiskey to his mixture.
- Laura says a Neti pot will flush the sinuses that may be draining, wild cherry bark tea for the cough & elderberry to boost your immune system. Zinc and echinacea are also helpful.
It seems the general consensus for treating a cough the natural way is:
Honey works
According to the New York Times [10], the thinking is that sweet substances of any kind help soothe the back of the throat and break up mucus in the airways. Honey is also known to have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
Citrus juice helps
Most citrus juices (lemon, orange) are rich in vitamin C, which helps to strenghen the immune system. Vitamin C is also acidic so it will help thin the accumulated phlegm in the airway passages.
Looking for more natural ways to soothe your cough?Hop over to Healthy Child Healthy World for a few more suggestions.
I’ll add my own tip: sleep and lots of it!
Do you have any favorite all natural cough remedies?
Disclaimer: This post is not meant to be medical advice. I’m not a physician. Please consult a physician if your cough persists.