Are you one of those people who has a cough that just won’t go away? Does it seem like you’ve tried everything, but nothing seems to work? Well, don’t give up yet!
There are actually a number of natural remedies that can help alleviate your symptoms. But to find out how to treat a cough, we have to find out what’s causing it first.
Why We Cough & Cough Syrups
Coughing can be really annoying, but it’s not actually that bad for us. Coughing is the lungs’ natural reaction to irritants like discomfort, infection, microbes, smoke, or allergens.
Even chronic conditions like heart conditions can compromise the body and create coughing. You may be coughing because your body is trying to get your heart beating on rhythm.
Coughing can be a good thing—it just doesn’t feel that good. We want some relief, but we don’t want to give up the positive effects.
Negative Side Effects of Cough Syrup
Many people just chug cough syrup as a quick fix when they feel a cough coming on. The problem is that you’re using drugs loaded with toxins that can create a lot of other issues, such as:
Blurred vision, which can lead to confusion
Difficulty urinating
Dizziness
Drowsiness
Nausea
Shakiness
Shortness of breath
Nervousness
Excitability
Irritability
When you treat your kids with cough syrup, let alone yourself, it might interrupt work, and life, and even have scary effects.
How do we avoid the side effects of this traditional method?
When you throw up or cough, your body is trying to get harmful material out of your body. We should start thinking about what we can do to help our bodies with this process.
Air quality, sleep, junk food, and physical labor are all things that could be contributing to your cough. Identifying what’s causing your cough is the first step to fixing it.
5 Natural Cough Remedies
Once you know what’s causing it, you can look into natural cough suppressants. Here are five of my favorites, as well as a cough solution that my family mixes together that might help you.
Honey
Research shows that honey may be more effective than cough syrup. You just can’t patent it, which is probably why it’s less advertised for colds and coughs.
While cough medicine can stop symptoms, raw honey contains more effective antioxidants which will keep you from getting even sicker.
Instead of just covering up the cough, you may consider actually fighting the microbes causing it. Raw, local honey is the way to go.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is something that we can rub on the skin or chest to break up the mucus that could be causing your lungs and throat to flare up. You can also combine it with lavender oil to make it smell even better. These are excellent alternatives to Vicks VapoRub, which is a toxic drug.
Peppermint can also be taken in the form of tea. The leaves are a great cough remedy that naturally soothes the throat and acts as a natural decongestant.
Peppermint oil can be a little bit intense the first time you use it. If it’s too much for you, I recommend going with tea instead.
Ginger
Ginger tea chews and juice have powerful immune properties and are great at suppressing coughs. It is one of my favorite soothers and it will soothe your inflamed lungs and throat.
It also smells fantastic. You can shave ginger into tea and then steep the tea. Its soothing bacteria loosen up congestion. It’s really good for your upper respiratory tract and for your throat.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is touted as a great treatment for a number of different conditions. The main active components in cinnamon actually help fight various types of infections, and have been shown to be effective against UTIs and URIs.
Cinnamon fights off upper respiratory infections, and it’s great for your teeth and breath. You can go for its powdered form, cinnamon sticks, tea, or you put it on top of your coffee!
Wild Cherry Bark
Traditionally, wild cherry bark is steeped as tea, but it can be eaten as well.
In the past, wild cherry bark was used to remedy colds, flus, and sore throats.
Research shows that cherry bark contains phenolic compounds, which can lower your blood pressure, reduce hypertension, and serve as a great antioxidant.
Wild cherry bark can also be turned into syrup.
Personal Cough Solution
All 5 of these are great options—just don’t overdose on any of them! To mix a couple of these together, here is how to make your own Doctor Livingood cough solution:
½ Tsp Cinnamon Powder
½ Tsp Ginger Powder or Fresh Shaved Ginger
2 Tbsp Raw Local Honey
½ -1 Cup Hot Water
Summary
Keep bolstering your immune system, stay healthy, and keep making health simple!
