Cough Remedies for Kids

Onions

Posted by Marcela (Mexico) on 03/01/2009
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Hi, my toddler had been coughing a little at night and after waking up, for several weeks now, but the last two days it was getting worse, so I decided to try two remedies at once: I cut an onion in half and put one half in a dish on his night table. And I spritzed a little Apple Cider Vinegar on both sides of his pillow. He coughed once, and then nothing. Slept through the whole night without a single cough. Upon waking up he coughed a little bit but nothing like the days before.

My husband is also recovering from some bad sinusitis and he began coughing last night as well, so once we saw that it worked for our little boy, we tried the same with him, only both halves of a (freshly cut) onion. And it was like pressing the "mute" button! No more coughing till like 5 a.m. I think the vapors wear off and it wasn't enough for the entire night for my husband, so tonight I'll try slicing another chunk off the onion when the cough restarts.

I had previously tried just the onion or just the Apple Cider Vinegar but I hadn't noticed much improvement. With both it was a really dramatic change, a mute button!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Donna (Corona, CA) on 12/05/2006
★★★★★

My 9 yr old daughter was sick and out of school for a whole week. I was giving her cough medicine, cough drops etc...it wasn't working so I took her to the DR. and they gave her some stronger cough medicine and antibiotic's. It wasn't working neither. It got a little better after giving her the entire bottle, but it wasn't completely gone. After sending her back to school for two days, we had a wind storm and it got really cold so she got back sick at school playing outside in the cold. The bad cough and cold came back so this time I went and got $25.00 worth of over the counter cold medicine and a vapor risor, multi-vitamins with extra C etc.. She was still coughing non stop after all this medication and I decided to go online and see what kind of home remedy I could find. God as my witness, it was like a miracle when I gave my 9 yr old the vinegar (2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar) and water mixture she stopped coughing after about 30 minutes. She was coughing so bad I felt helpless and didn't know what else I could do. After only1 dosage the cough stopped for about 4 hours after that it started back a little and I gave her some more and she's been fine and back to school without any problems. Thank you for a very valuable site! It's amazing I have another story about my son who later that evening got food poisoning from McDonalds and I came to the site for more advice. I gave him 2 tbsp spoon of vinegar and he's 11 year old. He was fine after that and went to sleep without throwing up or being up all night. The next morning he ate breakfast without any problem. Before when he had food poison it was a night mare I'll never forget. I was up with him all night and he was constantly throwing up. I wish I had of found this when my first child which is 19 yrs old now was born.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Brenda (Charlotte, Nc) on 11/11/2012
★★★★★

2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon honey. It worked! My daughter has the flu, and has been coughing non stop for days (a dry, non-prductive cough. ) I tried vapor rub, plain honey, cough medicine, and finally her nebulizer. Nothing worked. I saw a recipe for the acv and honey and was thrilled to see the success rate. I am SO relieved, plus I now have a bit of silence now and then ;)

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Brenda (Ottawa, ON Canada) on 05/30/2009
★★★★★

3% HP cured bad cough

May 29, 2009
My 14 year old son tried the inhale method below with much success. He woke up with a sore throat in the morning. He took the cayenne pepper in orange juice to get rid of the sore throat. It worked like a charm!! Then he asked me if there was a good remedy for a cough. I found your info on using a 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide and thought we would give it a try. I had 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide in the house so I mixed it up according to the direction: 2oz of 35% HP with 22 oz of distilled water = 3% HP. We put it into misting bottles and he proceeded to inhale this in the evening. He woke up early Saturday morning feeling much better! His sore throat is gone, and his cough is almost gone too. This stuff is awesome!! I feel this would be totally effective on any kind of Swine/Bird flu. We are grateful for this wonderful web site!

Cheers, Brenda

Onions

Posted by Willowone (Athens, GA) on 05/02/2009
★★★★★

Onions for cough and congestion: My first child was colicky and had several colds with congestion. The doctors gave him antibiotics that did not seem to help. I felt like the cold went away on its own. My grandmother told me about the onions. My second and third children never had to take antibiotics. I would take a onion or part of onion about the size of a golf ball and grate up in a bowl.Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and put in the fridge for 45 minutes. The sugar draws the syrup out of the onion. I would then take a dropper full and give to the child. It does not taste bad (try it yourself). It clears their chests and helps them sleep. I never had a problem with using it. Now when I feel like I am getting a cold I always eat more raw onions.

Cayenne, ACV and Baking Soda

Posted by Sheryl (Edison, NJ) on 12/11/2007
★★★★★

My 3 year old had a very bad cough, chest congestion and fatigue for 2 days...i gave him lemon juice and Apple Cider Vinegar and baking soda. No much effect on cough and it was getting worse. Finally mixed 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne in 2 teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, baking soda with 1 teaspoon water. Cough stopped instantly and in 10 mins he was playing. chest congestion cleared 80%. Thank you earthclinic. i visit this website regularly.

Onions

Posted by Melissa (Alberta, Canada) on 03/26/2012
★★★★★

I never write in to these things, but the red onion recipe is great.

I have a 4 year old who has been battling a nasty cough at night. It was horrible, she would cough so hard that she would throw up. I made the red onion recipe (sliced the RED onion and put a little honey on top of each slice and then stacked them neatly in a bowl. Within a few hours the mixture was quite runny... So don't overdo it, with the honey! ). She woke up at 11:00pm, hacking and coughing, so I gave her 1 teaspoon (even though it hadn't been the 15 hours a previous poster had recommended... More like 8-10ish). She went straight back to sleep without coughing, but woke up again about an hour later coughing up a storm. I gave her 1 tsp. Again and she went straight back to sleep. She woke up this morning (after sleeping until 9:30!!! Without a cough) claiming that she feels much better.

It does taste onion-y though, but the honey disguises it nicely.

EC: Remember, no honey for babies 12 months and under.

Vicks

Posted by Kristin (Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA) on 07/26/2008
★☆☆☆☆

I've tried the Vicks remedy several times on my 6 year old daughter. It has never worked for her.

Flaxseed Tea

Posted by Cher (Virginia, US) on 04/12/2015
★★★★★

Flaxseed tea worked wonders for my eight year son who had kept us up 3 nights in a row. We tried everything with only temporary results. We gave him the tea right before bed. He coughed for about 20 minutes and then slept all through the night. God Bless the person who discovered this and thank you!

EC: Recipe from Grannyguru, AZ:

"You put about a tablespoon or so of whole dark brown flaxseeds (for some reason golden seeds do not work anywhere near as well) into 2 cups of water and boil it until it just begins to thicken. It will seem to take forever, then suddenly it thickens quickly, so the minute you notice it thickening, remove it from the heat.

Add lemon juice or vitamin c and sweetener, like grade b maple syrup, or even just sugar. Drink. I found I did not like it when it was thickened, but I could put it in a thermos and keep it by my bed, and it would break down into just a soothing liquid, but would work just as good as the thick syrup I didn't like.

And of course if you add honey and vitamin c it tastes like apple juice."

Heather's Cough Formula

Posted by Heather (Ortonville, Michigan, Usa) on 03/04/2010
★★★★★

Hi recently out of frustration i mixed this up for my 5yr old because he was coughing constantly for a week and nothing was coming out. I knew he was at risk for infection because I had the same thing and got myself over it in less then 4 days, however it is not so easy to get a little one to take things. should have treated him sooner.

I took freshly squeezed juice of a half of an organic orange, half of an organic lemon, 1 tsp organic non pasteurized etc. apple cider vinegar, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, splash of Tabasco sauce, few drops of organic garlic juice, few drops of juice from freshly chopped onion (after sprinkling sugar on chopped onion and setting in fridge for 20 min or longer till juice comes out) and finally a large spoon of raw organic honey. mix all together in pan on stove till warm not boiling. Drink with plenty of water after. Will be spicy but sweet and tangy. Does not taste near as bad as it sounds! My 5yr old son started pouring out snot after one dose and stopped coughing right away! I gave him one more dose that night and he slept through the night. I gave him one more the next day and he went back to school the following day!!

When I was using these ingredients on myself. I increased the amounts, 1 tsp instead of 1/2 etc. use common sense. Thank you earth clinic for helping me through trial and error figure out a magic potion to heal myself and my baby! Medicine in your cupboard, I tell everyone. Thanks again and God bless!!!

Vicks

Posted by Ranjana (Arlington, Tx Usa) on 09/14/2009
★★★★★

I have had wonderful success with coughs for my child with this. I slather the vicks on his feet, put on socks and the coughing stops immediately for 6 plus hours, so we can all get a good nights sleep. If he wakes up coughing, I repeat this, and the coughing stops again. I have not figured out how to stop the cough in the daytime. Have had some success with honey with a pinch of black pepper.

Onions

Posted by Faith (Louisville, KY) on 12/03/2008
★★★★★

When I was younger, around 10 or 11 years old, I went with my grandma to visit her relatives. I think I caught cold during that time because I played outside a lot in the snow with my cousins.

When the night came, I was coughing non-stop. No body could sleep because of me. Needless to say that we were at some village far from civilization, lol, and they could not take me to the doctor. Well, in the middle of the night, the lady of the house got up and came to me asking me to get up and eat some onion. Nooo!!! I hated onions. But, she talked me into eating some. I wrapped it in a piece of bread and swallowed quickly without chewing. Amazingly, I did not cough at all for the rest of the night.

I think it really worked, and I tried it few times later in my life. It is not pleasant to eat raw onions, but it will help you, that is for sure.

Now, when I get sick and cough, I cut up a whole onion and mix it with cottage cheese and some sour cream add some salt and eat it like a salad. It tastes so much better and helps me get rid of the cold much faster.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 11/09/2007 490 posts
★★★★★

Apple Cider Vinegar used half & half with honey makes a very good cough syrup which will also cure strep. When my 3 youngest children got chickenpox at the same time, the older and younger of the 3 were faring much better than the middle one who kept running a fever. The next morning he had classic scarlet fever rash in groin to explain why. Yep, ACV / honey mixture to the rescue - I gave all 3 a tsp. every two hours or so. Next morning the ones rash in groin was decreased, and the other 2 never got it. I kept them on it for a couple more days.

After hospitals dis- covered they were spreading pseudomonas aeruginosa via the oxygen equipment, they removed this "hospital scourge infection" by soaking the equipment in 1 part vinegar - 7 parts water, so who knows what else it will cure.

Oregano Juice

Posted by Daren (Leyte Philippines) on 03/09/2024
★★★★★

My 1 year old half filipino son has had an on again/off again cough for 6 months. He's been through several courses of antibiotics. His mother and I became tired of giving our son antibiotics because we know the negative effects of doing that frequently and he's still so young that we don't want to destroy his good gut bacteria, and he would never fully recover from the antibiotics, it would just make him kind of better for awhile then come back.

I learned that in the Philippines a common remedy for children's cough is oregano juice. Here is how you make it, it's so simple! Use 5 small leaves of FRESH oregano. The small leaves are about the size of a U.S. quarter or 10 piece peso. If using the bigger leaves then use 2-3 leaves. (this type of oregano is the kind with thicker leaves, with a fury underside, typically referred to as greek/indian/mexican oregano)

You rinse them well under clean running water, and rub ur fingers on all surfaces of the leaf to clean it well. Then set the leaves aside. Boil a small amount of water. about 1/4 cup. once the water begins to boil remove it from flame. Put your cleaned oregano leaves in a coffee mug or bowl, pour the hot water over the leaves, just enough water to give you a couple tablespoons of liquid. Then mash/squeeze the leaves using fingers or spoon very well until the water turns brownish/yellowish/orangish. do the mashing/squeezing for about 5 minutes. Then remove and discard the leaves.

You will be left with oregano juice liquid. You can add a little sugar to it to make it taste sweet for a baby. (But do NOT use honey for baby)

Give this liquid to baby 3 times daily. (morning, afternoon, night)

My son was so sick he was coughing all night, and it was the painful kind of cough. this went on for about 6 months and I became very worried about pneumonia.

The oregano brought him back to normal in about 5-7 days. We also put him on a rice porridge diet during that same time. (just boiled rice until very soft/mush with enough water to make it like a soup. kind of like oatmeal.) We also added a pinch of sea salt to each meal.

Oregano has been proven scientifically to kill many of the viruses/bacteria that cause pneumonia. This is listed on the NIH gov website. It is also synergistic in it's effect when used with traditional antibiotics.

I feel MUCH better now knowing that I have this remedy to use for next time he gets sick. It's very effective and I don't have to worry about wrecking his natural immune system with antibiotics everytime. I believe antibiotics from the doctor have their place and time but just not everytime, and especially not repeatedly for months.

Coconut Oil

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 11/05/2017

Cheryl, I would first get a doctor's diagnosis for such a young 'un and then go from there.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Layla (Norway) on 12/07/2015

Hi,

You want to watch your intake, especially for a child. For some people a moderate daily amount is fine, for others consuming ACV daily is too often and they end up with problems like corroded teeth or bleeding stomach. It is vinegar, after all. I use it myself to address specific problems when they arise, otherwise not more than on salads and such.

Vicks

Posted by Victoria (San Diego, Ca) on 02/12/2011
★★★★★

My 5 year old son has a cough that really flared up today. There were constant hacks the whole day through. I looked here on earth clinic and saw the Vicks remedy, went to the store a couple hours ago and applied it to the bottom of his feet in the car. I put his socks and shoes on and at my young daughters request we stopped at the park where they played for an hour. There was only 2 coughs in the last couple of hours.

Tonight will be the true test when I put him to bed, but so far I must admit it seems to have made a difference for the better.