Home Remedies for Coughing

here's what nobody ever suggests - stop using dairy products. as a long time smoker and someone who's developed a few allergies - i have to be careful about colds and anything that starts the mucus going. it's hardly ever about the lungs until it's gotten bad. it's about the sinuses. when i stopped doing dairy (milk, butter, ice cream, CHEESE!) i got better immediately. as a kid i got colds so often that wouldn't go away. and i loved dairy. i tried the Vicks thing on myself and it helped some but attend to the sinuses and it really goes away. also, there are several homeopathic remedies for allergies that work much better than conventional OTC drugs - and have no side effects. so i strongly suggest them. give it a try without the dairy for a week and you'll see a huge difference. my grandson had bad sinus issues and we kept him away from dairy. his sleeping improved 100% after being a heavy snorer and having dark circles under his eyes. good luck with it all.

this is the craziest thing..but it works! rub vics vapo rub on their FEET. i have done it on chests and neck with some success, but when i was adviced to try feet, i did in desperation one night. the coughing totally stopped. i have girlfriends that swear by this too. give it a try.

My three year old has this same problem. Her doctor finally had me purchase a nebulizer. Its a breathing machine that you put medicine in that is prescribed and then she uses it in the morning and evening when her coughing is real bad. The first time we had to do this it took about a week for the coughing to clear up. This last time it only took a couple of days. Her Doctor is now putting her on singulair and we are working on ruling out astmah, the childhood kind. She sleeps much better now and it is not an everyday thing. It is just when the coughing gets bad. We haven't started the singulair yet, that starts tomorrow. Good luck!

I heard that if you put vicks vapor rub on the bottom of their feet and put socks on them it's supposed to help stop their over night coughing, I would ask your pediatrician first. P

Try 1/2 teaspoon of honey - is very soothing, coats the throat, calms the cough and tastes great too! Plus none of the potential side effects of over the counter medications, which have been proven to be ineffective in young children.

As someone already mentioned, try honey. Works great and is better for them than medication. Also, limit his milk consumption in the evening and at night. Milk increases mucous production, which is often a problem/symptom/cause of a cough. And if he's coughing during the day at all, let him so that he can get out of his body as much of whatever is making him cough as possible. Good luck- I know it's hard when they are coughing so much they can't sleep (and neither can you.)

I know this sounds crazy but it does work..Handed down from my mom.. Take some Vicks Vapor Rub and put it on the bottom of the feet at night with socks on of course..It quiets the cough and helps the child or adult sleep..

M...Mom Of 2 now adult children 24 and 21..

Try putting Vicks Vaporub (there's even a baby kind) on the bottom of his feet and cover them with socks before he goes to bed.

I know this sounds a little crazy but it has worked for all my friends' children, try putting some Children's Vicks on their feet and cover them with socks before you put them to bed. I don't know quite how it works but it does. My son is 17 months old and our pediatrician recommended a little bit of Benedryl 30 mins. before bedtime as well, so far that has worked great for my son.
I hope this helps and your kids feel better soon!!!!

~ N. D.

My grandma used to make some with brandy, hot water, honey, lemon juice and peppermint candy (you can add cayenne pepper or chili powder to help the cough even more). It doesn't taste great though so I don't know if your child will drink it. Good luck.

I read that honey works well, but not to give it to children under the age of 1 due to the rare risk of infantile botulism. Someone else told me of the vicks on their feet too and I found that interesting. I have not tried either remedy, but plan to the next time coughing is an issue with either of my children.

good luck

I would try putting vicks on his chest before bed and also a teaspoon of honey. My 2 year old also had a horrible cough. The doctor couldn't do much either. Be careful giving meds to your kids because new studies suggest not giving any cough meds to kids under 6(I think some even say 10). I hope this works for you!

could it be allergies? you might want to try some benedryl at night or you can try triaminic. i dont know what else you have tried.

put vicks vapor rub on feet at night and cover w/socks and cough stops almost instantly. feel absorb easily and I hear this really works, even on adults.

Have you tried Delsym? I have found that either Delsym works for my daughter or Mucinex. Both work on her like no other medication. They also seem to work miraculously or not at all so, I know pretty quickly which one to switch to if the first doesn't work. They are both over the counter.

I've tried the trick of putting Vick's vapor rub on her feet to stop the coughing when she sleeps - but, it doesn't work for her.

Good luck!

Hi! Like so many others, I have gone through the SAME thing. Totally made me nuts!

We have gone 'round and 'round with every virus, antibiotic, you name it. He was also give a prescription medicine that was antihistimine/decongestant/cough supressant. Then we went the allergy route, complete with testing and Singular and Zyrtec. To tell you the honest truth, what I found to work the best for him was Dimetapp Cold and Allergy. It seemed to dry everything up so he wouldn't be up all night.

Finally (and my son will be 4 in a few weeks) it has been decided that he has an asthmatic-type reaction to cold air. SO, when it gets colder, that's when the cough starts and doesn't go away until spring...grrr. So, we start the nebulizer with preventative medication when it starts and it seems to help.

Does your son have any other symptoms? I seem to remember maybe that a cough at night is a sign of asthma. Maybe it's this crazy weather too :)

Good luck!

I don't know if this will work for everybody, but with my kids the amazing cure for horrible coughs at bedtime seems to be Vicks vaporub. Crazy, but I read somewhere that a study was done and in 90%+ of the cases, rubbing a little bit of vicks on the bottom of each foot and then putting socks on over it, stopped the coughing. I was skeptical, but tried it when my kids were sick and it's crazy, but it worked. Good luck and hope this helps!
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OOPS! Nevermind...looks like everyone else told you the same thing. Sorry!

try just running the humifier every other night too much moisture not really good either.and it could be allgery.just nag the child's doctor until he or she listens to you about your child too. you know your child better than the doctor anyway. i agree with rachel c too.

> VICKS VAPOR RUB...TRY IT, IT WORKS
> >> http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/vaporub.asp
> >>
> >> I wish I'd known this when my family was young during winter colds
> >> and coughs. I am going to try it myself. Share with young parents.
> >> Isn't life strange. When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they
> >> told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic
>
> >> on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it.
> >> Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from
> >> chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've
> >> never heard of this.
> >> And
> >> don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the
>
> >> Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.
> >>
> >> To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out
> >> personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet
> >> at bedtime , then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep
> >> coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many
>
> >> hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in
> >> children than even very strong prescription cough medicines.
> >> In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will
> >> sleep soundly.
> >> I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these
> >> findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating
>
> >> the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in
> >> children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure.
> >> Just happened to tune in A.M.Radio and picked up this guy talking
> >> about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to
>
> >> the chemical makeup of these strong dr ugs so,I listened. It was a
> >> surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed
> >> medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and
>
> >> calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.
> >> Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and
> >> persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it
>
> >> felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few
>
> >> minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every
>
> >> few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours
> >> every night that she used it.
> >> If you
> >> have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself
> >> and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.
> >>

Have you tried Infant Vicks? That has worked wonders for my 18 month old daughter. She has had a cold since October it seems. Also.. my pediatrican suggested bundling her up and letting her breathe in either cold air from outside or the freezer? I thought that was strange, but it did seem to help a little.

put vicks vapor rub on his feet and then put his socks on. then when he gets up wash it off.

Ok, this is going to sound very strange and I haven't tried it yet so I have NO IDEA if it works. But you sound like you've tried everything so you have nothing to lose. I just got this email from my cousin (who works at a hospital) and she knows of a remedy for coughs. Rub VICKS vapor rub on the bottom of his feet and put socks on them before he goes to bed. It is supposed to stop the coughing. Who knows, it may work, give it a try!