Baby Coughing

By Paula

How to calm your baby coughing using natural cough remedies.

Since we started nursery for our daughter Roxana (she is 2 years old), she's got several rounds of cold, one worse than the other.

Although I knew this was going to happen (absolutely all the other mums told me that nursery will be difficult in this regard), I hoped that we will avoid colds :).

But no, it just so happened me and Roxana were elected! It didn't matter I had an immunity system I was proud of, I formed nonetheless a team with my daughter in almost all colds she had.

So I stuffed the buffet with all the herbs and remedies I knew to defend ourselves :).

Even if it seems something trivial, cough should not be left untreated. Consult your physician, ask whether the teas or other herbal medicine you intend to give the child are good for him or not.

Here are my favorite (voted best by Roxana) natural cough remedies for the winter:

1. Onion leaves syrup for baby coughing
One herbal cough remedy stays strong on my mind - the effect that onion leaves syrup had on my daughter's cough. The poor little thing coughed continuously. Her voice was hoarse and she braked into tears because of the effort.

After she drank the onion leaves syrup, she miraculously stopped coughing. And the effect lasted for the entire night. I couldn't believe it. No more crying and we could get some sleep.

The next day, however, the syrup didn't had the same powerful effect and the third day, too little.

I know this recipe from the assistant of my child physician. She told all the mums the recipe she used to treat her children's cough.

Preparation
Peal the leaves off a few onions and boil them in 2 cups of water until the water reduces to half. It didn't taste too good (yuck :) ), but you can sweeten it with honey and lemon.

My daughter drank it without honey, but she always drinks the tea unsweetened.

2. Black radish syrup has a good effect for baby coughing and it's sweet too. It has become a part of our family cure dowry :).

Preparation

Cut the tail and make a hole in the radish. Fill the hole with sugar and wait 5-6 hours. You will find syrup instead of sugar :). Collect the syrup and fill the hole with sugar again. You can repeat the process for 2-3 days.

Drink the syrup in small sips 2-3 times a day.

You can also put honey in the hole or cut the radish in slivers or slices and put the sugar in between them.

3. Walnut Tea for baby coughing as a herbal cough remedy.
At first I was preparing this tea only from the shells, but afterwards I put whole nuts. It works best if you hammer them first :). So just broke them with a hammer then boil them in 0.5 l / 16.9 oz of water.

I do not like the taste, but it is eventually bearable. My daughter drank this tea for 2 days in a row and I was happy with the result.

4. Plantain for baby coughing. It was recommended by a mommy friend who told me she always started the expectorant cough treatment with plantain syrup, ideally in combination with pine or fir buds.

On yet another visit to the family physician, she recommended us plantain syrup. We proudly hailed we already had this remedy at home :).

5. Thyme tea has always a good effect on me.
Boil a cup of water and put one teaspoon of thyme. Cover the infusion for a few minutes then drink.

The tea can be made with chopped thyme, like the one you use to spice the food, but it is preferable that you use the whole stem. Thus, the tea will be less pungent in taste, and will have a better effect, because many of the beneficial substances are found in branches.

6. Liquorice tea for baby coughing.
I found about this remedy when we were visiting our godparents. My husband was coughing and he couldn't stop. He coughed so bad that we had to go home. As a parting gift our godmother gave us a bag with chips of liquorice to make him tea. After he drank the tea he suddenly stopped coughing. Many thanks godmother :)



And as an experiment I will try on myself Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) and Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium).

Always remember to check with your child's physician for permission to use any herbal remedies. They may have contraindications for his condition.

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