The color of mucus and phlegm can be an important diagnostic tool for the herbalist. Others outright suppress a spasmodic cough so that you can get some relief. Some of these help to thin the mucus so it can be easily dispelled. The following are some of my favorite home remedies for cough along with their indications. So although these herbs are introduced singly, as your herbal knowledge grows you may find yourself combining herbs to get more broad-spectrum results. Also, home remedies for cough are often formulated to include herbs with different herbal properties. They often have several actions and a myriad of ways of working within the body. I often prefer these as a tincture.Īlthough I have done my best to organize these herbs into well-defined categories, in reality plants don’t really behave in this manner. (Often times this type of cough becomes more pronounced at night or when the person lays down.)Īntispasmodic herbs for coughs include california poppy, valerian, mullein, thyme, and red clover. The second part is to use antispasmodic herbs for when the coughing is too excessive or the person is trying to sleep. Marshmallow, licorice, linden, plantain and slippery elm are some of my favorites. I use a two pronged approach to treat dry spasmodic coughs.ĭemulcent herbs can be used throughout the day to moisten the lungs. Both stimulating and relaxing expectorants or demulcent herbs can be used to help thin the mucous, making it easier for the body to expel.Īnother type of unproductive cough is the insistent dry hacking that keeps someone from sleeping and burns the throat. In this case the mucus could be stuck in the lungs but it is not coming up. Or they may have occasional expectoration but the sense is that there is more trapped in the lungs. The person may feel like their breathing is “tight”. The first type is a cough that has little to no mucus expectoration but there are obvious feelings of mucus congestion in the lungs. There are at least two ways of understanding unproductive coughs. However, if mucous membranes are dry, stimulating expectorants can exacerbate the problems and relaxing expectorants should be used instead. They especially excel at boggy or clogged mucus. Generally, stimulating expectorants are taken when there is a large amount of mucous present. Stimulating expectorants include elecampane, ginger, bee balm, horseradish, cayenne, evergreens like pine and Douglas fir, mustard, and poplar buds. In this way we support the cough by aiding the body’s natural function, not by suppressing the cough. In the case of a productive cough with excessive phlegm, stimulating expectorant herbs are used to thin and expectorate mucus, making it easier to expel from the lungs. By clearing out the congestion, we support healthy lung function and ultimately stop our coughing. Instead, when we have a wet, productive cough we want to support our body by thinning the mucus so that we can more readily expel it from our lungs. If we stop our body’s ability to clear the lungs of mucus then we could prolong an illness or, in a worse case scenario, leave our lungs more susceptible to pneumonia. This is a beneficial cough that helps to clear the lungs of congestion and we rarely want to outright suppress this type of beneficial cough. Productive coughs expel mucus from the lungs. to reduce pain in the throat caused by coughingĭetermining what type of cough someone has will dictate what home remedies for cough are used.to address pathogenic cold in the body (white mucus/tongue coating).to address pathogenic heat in the body (yellow mucus/tongue coating).to stop spasmodic dry coughs that keep someone from sleeping.to address inflammation and infection in the lungs.to thin mucus, making it easier to expel from the lungs (for productive coughs).Here are some ways that herbalists use herbal remedies for coughs Instead of simply thinking about cough suppressants, natural or otherwise, we need to first determine the type of cough and, only then, determine how we can best use herbs to support our body. Most of the time we do not want to suppress the action of coughing because to do so would trap unwanted mucus or particles in the lungs. Coughing can be beneficial!Ĭoughs are the body’s mechanism for clearing the lungs of pathogens and excessive phlegm. What is commonly missing from mainstream thought is that there are many types of coughs and, while we may want to suppress some types of coughs, others are beneficial. Some people may choose over-the-counter syrups to stop their coughing while others may reach for home remedies for cough.īut as annoying as coughs can be, suppressing them can lead to a prolonged illness or further complications. That is probably why our first instinct when we have a cough is to reach for a cough suppressant. Coughs can be painful, annoying and even keep us from sleep.
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