The Cure for the Common Cough

Last week I had a wicked ugly cold.  The kind that makes you envy the 16th Century Brits that got their heads chopped off kind of cold.  It came on Sunday night and continued through the week.  In the mornings I felt well enough to get up and hang with my workout posse, but by afternoon I was growling, weeping, wailing, and gnashing my teeth.  And I will admit it - even my beloved oils weren't giving me much relief from this monster.  It was determined to run its course and mow down everything with it.

Wednesday night was particularly brutal because it settled into my chest.  I was finally starting to clear my head when the violent, body-wracking hacking (a rhyme!  Now I can have a sense of humor about it!) started.  I did the vicks-vapo-rub-sock trick and that worked briefly, however, at 1:00am I was hit with an attack.  Nothing was helping so I got up to make myself some herbal tea.  I have a brand by yogi called "Breathe Deep" so I stuck that in a mug.  My friend Barbara brought me Gypsy Cold Care and I think you could easily use that as well.  I got some relief when I was really stuffed up from drinking it.

Then I remembered the conversation the night before with my mom, who knows a lot of strange home remedies.  

I added lemon juice to the mug.


Then I added honey to the mug.


And finally I added enough cayenne pepper to win a chili cookoff.

I stirred and blew on it and worked up the nerve to drink it.  Wowowow did it burn going down.  It's like drinking the juice from a pot of chili where Dave's insanity sauce has been added.  I felt it burn down my throat and into my chest and lungs and any urge to cough was completely gone.  I went back to bed and slept soundly for four hours until it was time to get up to work out.  I could feel the urge to cough coming on and had left about an inch in the mug so I went and downed it prior to working out and magic!  It worked again!  

There is almost no way that I think you could get a kid to try this out, however, it definitely works and I will be putting it in my New York Times best-selling book someday.  And, if it doesn't work for you, there is always Apple Cider Vinegar with "The Mother".  My cousin puts this in an IV all winter for her family. 

2 comments:

  1. This is a remedy my grandmother swears by. Actually its the cayenne that she'll try to get you to take for ANY type of ailment. So glad you got some relief and rest. I will surely remember this antidote when we get hit, hopefully never, knocking on wood!

    ReplyDelete