5 Homemade Cough-Taming Teas
Updated: Aug. 06, 2019Cough remedies don’t have to taste terrible in order to be effective! A cup of hot tea, for instance, can soothe your throat and tame your cough-if you brew it with the following ingredients.
Horehound Leaf Tea
To make the tea:
Steep 2 teaspoons horehound leaves or flowers in 1 cup boiling water, strain, and drink.
Thyme Tea
Thyme is an expectorant and also contains substances that relax the respiratory tract.
To make the tea:
1. Place 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (1 tablespoon dried) in a cup of hot water.
2. Allow it to steep, then drain out the herb
3. Add honey if you like, and drink.
Marshmallow Tea
Sip a cup of marshmallow tea. When combined with water, marshmallow yields a gooey mucilage that coats the throat and also thins mucus in the lungs, making it easier to cough up.
To make the tea:
1. Steep 2 teaspoons of the dried herb in one cup hot water.
Have a total of three cups a day.
Licorice Tea
Licorice loosens phlegm and relaxes bronchial spasms. A caution: Don’t take licorice for more than a few weeks, as it can raise blood pressure.
To make the tea:
Add 45 drops of licorice tincture to a cup of hot water and sip.
Spice Tea
Practitioners of Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, recommend a spice tea that you can drink several times a day.
To make the tea:
1. Add a half-teaspoon powdered ginger and a pinch each of clove and cinnamon powder to a cupful of just-boiled water and drink.
