There are few things more disturbing to our inner peace than an incessant cough attack. Sometimes, even when we start to feel a bit under the weather, we can manage to get by as long as we don't have a persistent cough, because once it does kick in it is bound to make our day that much more horrible.
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A cough, whether its due to a sickness, an allergy or a simple throat irritation can really get in the way and set you up for a bad day. But fear not, because there are a slew of home remedies you can try to alleviate this terrible annoyance and which will hep you get on with your day.
Take a look at these 40 tried-and-tested home remedies that are effective in battling that irritating cough.
Wonderfully magical ginger can be of great help to erradicate a nasty cough.
Ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory that works wonders on irritated throats.
Ginger powder can added to any hot drink and it will soothe the throat.
Think of it as your own personal relaxing potion. Just sprinkle it on your coffee or tea for immediate relief.
You can also brew it into a delicious tea.
A bit of ginger tea with a splash of lemon and a dab of honey before bed will make you sleep like a baby and wake up cough-free.
If it's a hot summer day, take care of that scratchy throat with ginger iced tea.
Allergies can be quite treacherous in the spring and summer, so whip up a refreshing ginger iced tea and add some lemon or pineapple for a breezier touch. Your cough will go bye-bye very soon.
Chewing on raw garlic will get rid of a cough right away.
Garlic's chemicals have wide-ranging antibacterial properties, which have made it a doctor's fave throughout history to treat throat and respiratory infections. As yucky as it may sound, try to chew on raw garlic when you get a cough attack and you will feel better right away. Then, brush your teeth.
If that's a bit to much for you, just up your intake of garlic when cooking.
There's nothing wrong with this. Sauté an extra spoonful of chopped garlic with your meal when you feel you are getting a scratchy throat and stop the cough right away.
Adding roasted garlic spread to toast in the morning is an easy way to use those wonderful nutrients consistently.
This is just a delicious way to make sure coughing doesn't become a regular on your daily routine.
Garlic tea is also very effective, but admittedly not the most savory of drinks.
This one may be tough to swallow (no pun intended), but it is a fast way to release garlic's anti-cough properties. You can mix it with your favorite tea flavoring, and also add honey for a sweet touch.
Lemon juice and honey will soothe your throat right away.
If you are losing sleep because of continuous coughing, let a bit of lemon juice and honey help you. It's a great way to keep the throat hydrated and cough-free. Add some ginger for an extra kick of anti-inflammatory properties.
When you need urgent relief, sucking on a lemon will stop the coughing.
This is just a way to get the acidity of the lemon to help your sore throat right away. It will be intense, but it works!
If raw lemon juice proves to be too much, a nice warm tea will do the trick.
It's the same concept, but you will feel even more relaxed and enjoy uninterrupted sleep.
Lemon's vitamin C is a great companion to fight off temperature changes.
A refreshing lemonade always helps, but the vitamin C in lemon also helps boost your inmune system and prevent infections that cause coughing.
As gross as it sounds, onion juice will do the trick.
If you have an onion and have a cough, you are in luck. You can put it through a juicer and drink the resulting liquid for a quick fix to your cough. Onion has organosulfur compounds and flavonoid polyphenols that have amazing antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Drink up!
Onion helps fight off persitent coughing.
Given its many natural properties, eating raw onion, albeit intense, is a great way to get rid of a cough.
Onion syrup is a fun way to get the same elements into your system for fast cold relief.
Think of it as a your homemade Nyquil. Mix chopped up onions with sugar in a mason jar and shake well. Let it sit on the kitchen counter for 12 hours, and it's done. This actually works!
Grated onions are a great garnish and a preventive solution.
Onion is such a powerful remedy against the cough, that you can simply make sure you add it to your daily diet.
Sage tea has historically been used to treat cough symptoms.
Dating back to ancient Greek times, dry sage tea was used to treat respiratory illnesses.
Fresh sage leaves can help reduce your baby's cough.
Its relaxing properties work wonders on their bodies. Just dip a few leaves in warm water and caress their necks with them for a calming and soothing effect.
Burning off some dry sage incense will help you clear out that phlegm.
The chemical compounds in sage are natural expectorants, which help you expel phlegm, so making sure there is dry sage incense burning through your home is a great way to drive off the cough. Plus, it's very easy to make.
If tea is not your thing, just add some sage extract to your water.
The trick obviously is to stay hydrated, but sage's natural properties are a great help. So if you are not much of a tea drinker, just make sure you add some sage extract to your water and wave your cough goodbye.
Don't make hot cocoa, make turmeric milk and forget all about your cough.
Add two teaspoons of turmeric powder to hot milk and drink twice a day. Now that's cough relief!
For the coffee drinker, you can enjoy a wonderful turmeric latte.
If they make pumpkin spiced latte, then there's no reason not to make turmeric latte. This will give you the caffeine kick you need and get rid of that tedious cough.
Turmeric tea also makes for a great pre-bedtime drink.
Turn to turmeric tea to mimic the remedies used in China and India for over 15 centuries.
Turmeric poweder can be a great addition to many protein dishes.
Surprise your friends and family with a touch of turmeric on your chicken or even your steak. Indian style masala has about 10% turmeric, so there's a flavor to shoot for, which will also help relieve your cough.
Homemade soup is potentially the best natural way to get rid of a cough.
Any kind of soup will do, though some are better than others. The most important thing is that it is hot.
A classic like chicken soup is a must for anyone with a cough.
There are few more satisfying dishes than chicken soup, and if it's homemade, with fresh ingredients, even better. You'll feel better almost instantly.
Spicy and strong ingredients in soups are even more effective.
While any hot soup will help with the cough, onion, garlic, red pepper or any other hot and spicy ingredient will make it even more effective. Just make sure it is not cream-based so you also keep an eye on your waistline.
The other great option is to add your spices as a garnish to any hot soup for major health benefits.
If you still want to enjoy a hot soup without strong and pungent flavors, that's fine. Just top off your plate with fresh cracked pepper, grated ginger, or turmeric powder for fast relief to your cough.
Water is so key.
As with everything in this life, water is esential. If you have a cough, whether it is allergic or viral or just simply throat irritation, it is probably because your body needs water in one way or another.
Inhalating water steam will clear mucus and open up your breathing passages.
Boil water and let your face stand over the steam it creates, trying to capture most of it in your face with a towel over your head. Be careful not to touch the actual boiling water. This will allow you to breathe better and get rid of any mucus on your throat.
Add eucalyptus extract to your water vapors for better results.
Eucalyptus, like sage, is a refreshing herb with incredible expectorant properties, so drop some extract into your steam of water and inhale deeply.
Sometimes the dryness of a home can cause the irritation of your throat.
With a humidifier you will make sure the air in your home is moist and so your throat will not get raspy and cause you to cough.
Drinking more water will keep your esophagus hydrated.
Doctors recommend 88 oz a day, and you should listen to them. There's no better way to prevent or relief coughing than drinking lots of water.
Mullein leaves have long been a home remedy for coughing.
In European medieval traditions, Mullein flowers and leaves would be used to relieve for persistent coughs.
Dried mullein leaves can be rolled up into a cigar and smoked for faster relief.
It was tradition to make a cigar with mullein leaves and smoke it to soothe the coughing problems.
If smoking is not your thing, a simple tea will do the trick.
Steep some of its dry leave and flowers in boiling water for 15 minutes and drink the delicious tea. Make sure to gargle with it a few days to coat the throat with the chemicals released by the flower.
Red grapes are packed with antioxidants that will get rid of your cough.
This is a delicious way to get rid of a stubborn cough. Red grapes have a ton of antioxidants that will reboot your inmune system right away.
Fresh red grape juice will help reduce your chest congestion.
Grape juice acts as a mucolytic expectorant and alleviates chest congestion so you can release mucus easily and get rid of the cough that comes associated with it.
A sweeter way to get the same effect is by overloading on raisins.
These delicious treats go great with anything and are packed with the same goodness of the regular red grapes, only sweeter and dried.
And if all else fails, there's always the possibility of enjoying a glass of wine.
Red wine is made with red grapes, so those wonderful anti-cough properties are there.
