Best Home Remedies for Coughs – Natural Options that Work
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Coughing can make you miserable, whether it’s from dry indoor air, the tail end of common colds, or cold and flu season. A cough is your body’s way of clearing irritants, but when it hangs around for days (or keeps you awake half the night), enough is enough. Simple home remedies can go a long way to relieve a cough naturally.
If you need relief, try these time-tested herbal and old-fashioned remedies that work surprisingly well.
Note: In the photo above, I’m demonstrating coughing into your arm. This is the preferred option to keep your cough to yourself.
Table of Contents
The Simplest Home Remedies for Coughs – Hydration and Warmth (or Cold!)
One of the easiest ways to treat a cough is simply keeping your throat moist. Sipping warm water, herbal tea, or broth throughout the day helps calm a dry cough and keeps mucus moving.
At night, a warm drink with a spoonful of honey—if you tolerate it—can feel like someone has wrapped your throat in a soft blanket.
That said, one unexpected remedy is cold air. If you’ve ever stepped outside on a crisp winter night and suddenly stopped coughing, you know the trick. The cold air helps reduce the swelling and inflammation in the throat.
We came across this remedy by accident when our youngest had a croupy cough as a baby. While taking him in to the ER one night, we found that transporting him in the cold air helped to relieve his cough.
The doctor advised us to use this trick again as needed if he was hit with another coughing attack.
Honey, Ginger Honey, Cinnamon Honey
Honey is an old favorite for gently suppressing coughs without the side effects of over-the-counter cough syrup. Studies confirm that honey works as well or better than dextromorphin. You can take a spoonful straight, stir it into tea, or try something even better: ginger honey.
To make ginger honey, chop fresh ginger and cover it with raw honey. Let it sit for a few hours (or days) to infuse. Ginger helps warm the body and calm irritation. Ginger tea with honey is a classic for a reason.
Cinnamon honey is another good combination, since both are anti-microbial. Just mix in about ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon to 1/2 cup honey. Use a spoonful as needed for coughs.
Herbal Help: Marshmallow Root, Thyme, and More
If you’re dealing with a stubborn dry cough, marshmallow root is one of the best herbs out there. Its natural mucilage coats irritated tissues the way a soft scarf wraps your neck on a blustery day. A cold infusion works beautifully—just soak the root in cool water and sip as needed.
Thyme is another long-standing favorite, especially for spasmodic or barking coughs. It’s naturally antimicrobial and helps relax the throat and bronchial muscles. A simple thyme tea or thyme-infused honey works well.
Hot herbal tea helps to ease congestion, keep you hydrated and soothe irritated tissues. Some more herbal tea options for cough include:
- Sage
- Linden (also known as tilia or basswood)
- Lemon balm
- Horehound (more commonly used in cough and sore throat lozenges and syrups)
- Rosemary
- Peppermint
To make herbal tea, place one teaspoon of dried herb in a mug and cover with eight ounces of warm water. Cover with a lid or plate to trap the steam and steep for about 10 minutes. Strain and add honey and lemon if desired.
If cough is accompanied by mild upset stomach due to sinus drainage, peppermint tea helps calm the stomach upset.
Here is a great tutorial recently with two easy homemade herbal cough lozenge recipes.
Steam/Humidity
When coughing gets worse in dry winter air, moisture often makes the difference. A warm shower or a humidifier by the bed can help loosen mucus and calm irritation.
Keeping a humidifier running to add moisture to the air will also help a dry cough/itchy throat. This is one of the safest cough remedies for small children. Make sure to keep your humidifier clean, so you’re not growing mold or bacteria.
Saltwater Gargles
Saltwater gargles aren’t fancy, but they’re effective. A simple mix of salt and warm water helps reduce inflammation and wash away irritants. If your cough is triggered by a scratchy or sore throat, gargling can give quick relief.
Pine Cone Jam (Old Northern Remedy)
If you grew up in a northern climate, you might have heard of pine cone jam or syrup. Young, green pine cones are steeped in sugar until they release a resin-rich syrup that soothes the throat and supports the respiratory system. It has a forest-sweet flavor and works similarly to herbal cough drops, just in syrup form.
It’s especially nice for wet, rattly coughs. Get the recipe for pine cone jam here.
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Tomato Tea (A Surprisingly Effective Remedy)
Tomato tea is one of those strange-sounding remedies that actually works well for congestion and coughs. Warm tomato juice, garlic, lemon, and a bit of hot sauce create a steam-like effect from the inside out. It opens the sinuses, warms the chest, and often brings quick relief.
It’s especially helpful when a cough is tied in with sinus drainage. Learn how to make tomato tea.
Elderberry Syrup
Many families reach for elderberry syrup as a home remedy for coughs. Elderberries may help shorten viral infections, and the syrup soothes the throat in the same way honey does. It’s gentle, pleasant tasting, and kid-friendly (for ages 1+).
We have two different elderberry syrup recipes on the site. See “How to Make Elderberry Syrup with Fresh or Dried Elderberries” for the recipes.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice helps to loosen and clear phlegm, and provides immune boosting vitamin C. To use lemon as a cough remedy, you can mix it with your honey, make a lemon gargle (1/4 cup water plus 2 tablespoons lemon), or mix up a cup of warm honey sweetened lemonade.
Milk and Butter or Golden Milk
Combine 1 cup of warm milk with two tablespoons sweet butter to relieve dry coughs. This works better for a dry, unproductive cough (not much mucus), because it coats and relaxes the throat.
Warm coconut milk blended into golden milk with turmeric and other spices coats the throat and reduces inflammation. My friend Jessica has three recipe variations for golden milk on her website.
Foods That Settle a Cough
Soups, broths, garlic, onions, pears, pineapple, and warm herbal drinks all help the body recover from illness. These foods aren’t magic bullets, but they support healing and ease irritation.
Coughing in Children (Special Considerations)
Children are more sensitive to strong essential oils, alcohol-based products, and many OTC cough syrup blends. For littles, keep things simple:
- Moisture (humidifier or steamy bathroom)
- Warm drinks (or cold air)
- Honey for children over one year
- Gentle herbs like chamomile, thyme, or marshmallow
Nighttime coughing is often worse when kids lie down. Slightly elevating the head of the bed or offering a warm drink before sleep can help.
Cough Remedies Best Avoided
Not every remedy is a good remedy—especially when side effects outweigh benefits. Use caution with:
- Strong essential oils on young children (just don’t do it)
- Multi-symptom cold medicines
- Alcohol-based or numbing sprays
- Sugary store-bought cough drops with dyes
What helps one person can irritate someone else, so pay attention to how your body responds.
When to Seek Medical Care
Most coughs from common colds resolve with rest, hydration, and simple care. But it’s time for medical attention if a cough:
- Lasts more than two or three weeks
- Comes with persistent fever
- Produces blood
- Causes wheezing or trouble breathing
- Occurs in an infant under three months
Trust your instincts—if something feels off, get it checked.
A German New Medicine Interpretation of Coughing
For those interested in a different perspective, German New Medicine (GNM) views coughing not as a malfunction but as part of a biological program. In this model, a cough may appear during a “healing phase” after a conflict involving fear, territory, or feeling unable to get enough air or space. The body uses coughing to help clear or repair tissues affected during that conflict.
I find GNM to be a useful reminder that the body often tries to heal itself, not work against us.
What are your preferred home remedies for coughs?
Most coughs—whether dry, tickly, or part of cold and flu season—respond well to simple natural remedies. These gentle, time-tested options support your body instead of simply shutting down symptoms, helping you feel better sooner and rest more easily.
What’s your preferred cough remedy? Share your thoughts in the comments.
This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie is a lifelong learner with a passion for natural remedies and holistic healing. She’s successfully improved her eyesight and cleared her psoriasis.
Originally posted in 2012, last updated in 2025.
For head congestion, put a couple of cloves of garlic into a mixture of 1 cup water and 1 cup (apple cider) vinegar. boil the mixture and breathe in the steam by wafting it toward you with your hand. Be careful! The hot steam can burn you if you inhale directly over the pot or get your hand too close!
There are some wonderful ideas in here, and as it happens I have a sore throat and cough. AND I’m an ESL conversation instructor, which means losing my voice is truly more than inconvenient. Going to try that honey and cinnamon one for sure tonight.
In ‘purchased’ rather than homemade, I have to second Ricola. They are much milder than the strong menthol in Halls or similar, which I have to spit out about halfway because it just freezes my whole mouth! Ricola’s herbal taste is pleasant, and the result definitely soothing.
And I love my ‘Sniffle Kit’ from HeavenScent. It contains a rub (beeswax, coco oil, soy, menthol, eucalyptus, camphor, rosemary, hyssop, and peppermint) which is really effective, a mini inhaler and the essential oils to refill it, a healing lip balm, and some teabags. I think I bought it over a year and a half ago (I live overseas) and it’s still going strong.
Old Indian Wild Cherry Bark Syrup works great. Got at health food store.
For overall colds and flu, and broncial stuff, I can’t recommend enough Congaplex, from Standard Process. You have to get it from providers but I think you can order it online. I take 3 capaules, 3x’s a day with meals and within 2 days usually, whatever it is is gone. Yesterday I felt bronchitis coming on and I immediately started on it. This morning my cough is now more loose and breaking up and I’m coughing less. Hopefully by this time tomorrow it will be much better. The stuff is amazing. Also, i’m not a coffee or tea drinker but like the feeling of the warm liquid. So I heat up a cup of water and put a Stevia packet in it. I don’t eat sugar so sipping on warm, sweet water is a treat for me and is soothing to the throat.
Congaplex is available online at amazon – http://amzn.to/17LMDud
Warm liquid is a wonderful thing for sore throats and congestion.
If interested in Thieves, you can contact me at: http://www.oil-testimonials.com/1511894 and send me an e-mail from there. Thank You.
Thieves Lozenges are key with any sickness, including headache. Infused with essential oils: Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Peppermint.
Recipe?
Actually, they are pre-made, to purchase. You can also spray the back of your throat with Thieves spray. (make by adding 3-4 drops Thieves essential oil blend to a small, travel-sized spray bottle filled with distilled or purified water. It is slightly numbing and useful as cough medicine. Amazing that the same concoction can also be used to clean with because Thieves essential oil is a blend of highly antiviral, antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-infectious essential oils. How to Use this Antibacterial Essential Oil Blend. I also have 50+ other uses for it…..
1. For sickness – diffuse in the air or use topically or internally via capsule
2. House cleaning
3. As a mouthwash
4. Dental issues – occasionally swish with 1-2 tsp of coconut oil with about 4 drops of antibacterial oils added to address dental concerns.
5. Wound Healing, etc………
There are homemade versions of this though.
I use doTERRA so I use OnGuard personally, but there is a Thieves recipe online.
Make sure you use theraupeudic grade oils that can be put on your skin.
Again, I use doTERRA, but balance test to find out what works best for you.
I used Young Living before, and wasn’t impressed (didn’t notice any results for any of the oils), but doTERRA had a result for me (relieved all issues I was trying to resolve, using same types of oils, just doTERRA brand instead).
So find out what works for YOU! 😀
Homemade Anti-infectious Recipes
In a dark glass bottle add the following essential oils:
Recipe #1
40 drops of Clove Essential Oil
35 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
20 drops of Cinnamon Essential Oil
15 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil
10 drops of Rosemary Essential Oil
Recipe #2
200 drops of Clove Oil
175 drops of Lemon Oil
100 drops of Cinnamon Bark
75 drops of Eucalyptus Oil
50 drops of Rosemary Oil
Recipe #3
1 tbs. Clove Essential Oil
1 tbs. Lemon Essential Oil
2 ½ tsp. Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
2 tsp. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
2 tsp. Rosemary Essential Oil
Recipe #4
2 tsp Clove Oil
1 1/2 tsp Lemon Oil
1 tsp Cinnamon Bark Oil
3/4 tsp Eucalyptus Oil
1/2 tsp Rosemary Oil
Great lineup. I can vouch for the cold option. Sharing on Fb now :).
Thanks, Adrienne. I need to make up another batch of elderberry syrup before cold season hits out of the juice in the pantry. That and the honey are our personal favorites.
For Remedies #11 and #12 you link to the Amazon book “Home Remedies What Works”.
Amazon says the book is “Currently unavailable”.
It’s an older book (published back in the 1990’s), so copies are getting hard to find, but I wanted to note that I did use it for a reference. I linked some similar books at the bottom of the post that are currently available.
#10 most definitely works and unless there’s an infection set it will get rid of your cough soon. My Mammaw would keep a toddy of Jack Daniels and a King Lion peppermint stick in a small jelly jar. The peppermint eventually melts and that’s when it’s ready. She gave it to us all the time and took it herself too! Yes we were kids! A couple teaspoons of JD never hurt a single thing. Nowadays she probably would have CPS pay her a visit and my mom, aunt and uncle taken away from her or my brother and I if people knew she gave that to us. Yet they give their own kids Robitussin like it’s no big deal. Ever read how much alcohol is in there? None of us had to be told not to take the entire bottle or have it locked up like Ft Knox the way these hellions being raised today do. Can’t get any medicines OTC anymore because they aren’t smart enough not to shoot it up their arm or worse somewhere else
So true on the alcohol on OTC cough meds, plus other strange ingredients. One of my brothers got buzzed on cough meds when he was around 12. He kept taking more because he kept coughing, ugh, yeah buddy, not the best idea. I’ll take the simple booze and mint (which mom left on an open shelf, when it sat and collected dust, except for on special occasions).
I make a Wild Turkey peppermint cough medicine every year or as needed. I’m sure if the right person found out they wouldn’t hesitate to call CPS on me. I make all different types of home remedies that my grandmother made/used, and it didn’t hurt any of her 9 kids, 26 grandkids, or 22 great grandkids!! So I figure it’s safe for my kids!
My grandmother made a cough syrup that works when others don’t
She used a pint jar with lid.
Pint of good whiskey
1 orange cut in slices and put in the jar
a box of sugar crystal candy
Put the orange in the jar fill with the whiskey. Take the sugar crystal candy and put it in and close the lid
leave till the sugar candy dissolves take the orange out and anyone can eat it.
Dose is a Tablespoon when you need it. It works when everything else don’t.
Thanks for sharing your grandmother’s recipe.
Here is an interesting bit: I just came from my doctor’s office with a nasty case of bronchitis that is trying to turn into pneumonia. He told me to take honey and cinnamon, roughly three parts honey to one part cinnamon (tbsp of honey to a tsp of cinnamon for example) and warm it as warm as you can handle it (not so hot it burns but warm enough to help your throat) and swallow a couple teaspoons just before bed. He says it is better than any over the counter cough suppressant out there, and says it beat out dextromethorphan in clinical trials. Obviously make sure you are not allergic to either honey or cinnamon, but if you are not, people this is from a real live MD. They are beginning to incorporate more and more holistic things instead of just reaching for drugs.
That’s great! Nice to see a doc moving beyond popping pills. I hope your cough clears up soon.
Your MD is right I tried this and it works. My cough was gone in two days. Thanks for sharing it.
Will this also help break up the cough or merely stiffle it
My 20 yr old son got sick a few weeks back and that @$%% cough hasn’t gone away. Last week, he got sick again, sneezing, temperature, phlegm, cough….the works. He was in bed for 3 days, today is the first day he was well enough to leave the house. But, that cough!!! I still hear it! Gonna try this right now…???????????????? Wish me(or him) luck!
I was given tequila with honey and cinnamon in Mexico while on vacation. I had bronchitis and the elderly lady who made it for me said it would calm the cough and help my body fight off the bronchitis. Imagine my surprise when it worked! She said it has to be real tequila not American made so look for one made in Mexico.
1 cup tequila
1 cup pure honey
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Mix all together in bottle until honey dissolves 1 shot before bed. Obviously this is not for children!!! Cynthia R
Thanks, Cynthia.
When I was a kid my Mom and Grandma made a cough medicine by slicing a raw white union just like you would slice to put on a sandwich, she then placed these slices in a shallow bowl and poured 1 cup of white sugar over the slices and places the bowl to the side with a thin white towel she called a tea towel,the union wilts in the bowl and gets juicy, Mom would then mash the remaining Juice from the onion slices and remove them from the bowl mixing the sugar and juice giving us one tablespoon (Not Teaspoon)every 4 hours or as necessary and the only side effect was, no body wanted to kiss you!!
I’m 64 now, never missed school and still use Mom’s Magic ( That’s what I call it) for coughs
Sometimes moms have the best magic there is. 🙂
Just found this wonderful page after waking up AGAIN with a cough so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. I know this post is old, but I’m confused. Is it just the onion juice that’s being taken or the mashed onion too?
It sounds like just the juice was used.
@ doTerra Mother..I’d be careful using eucalytpus radiata on babies..Radiata smithii would be the better one to use, eucalyptus radiata and globulus are recommended for adults..love Ravevsara, lemon and peppermint..Also, peppermint essential oil is not recommended for children under 7years old, as there have been reports that the menthol fumes can be toxic to little ones, even when applied topically. Also, the menthone, which is a keytone can also be toxic. Spearmint is recommended for babies, known as the ‘peppermint for babies’. It is imperative to know the blending factors of each essential oil also, as they are extremely powerful. One can not be just adding essential oils, without any prior knowledge concerning their chemical constituents etc..Yes therapeutic grade, or organic is definitely the way to go, and whatever you do, do not use adulterated oils..bless 🙂
Oopsey, @ doTerra, I meant ‘Eucalyptus Smithii’ for children, babies..not radiata smithii..
Nothing wrong with essential oils, but I tend to become especially hesitant when someone chimes into the discussion by trying to subtly promote their MLM products (especially involving health or medicinal topics).
Not only do their products cost outrageous amounts (because they have to cover the costs of paying their downlines), but the science is usually way off and the quality of their product is questionable. Hence you get a lot of brand ambassadors who regurgitate the same language that their uplines feed them and assume everyone they tell this to has no scientific or medical frame of reference (easily gullible). Sorry I am very protective of consumers when it comes to doTerra or anything of the like.
I cut thyme, oregano, mint, and rosemary from my garden and crunch it up in a bowl of just boiled water and inhale the steam. Thyme and oregano both have antimicrobial properties and the steam helps loosen your cough and open airways. You could also use this combination of herbs as a tea with honey, which is also antibacterial.
This post is fabulous! I’m always cursing myself when I have a cough and no medicine lying around. Now I can make my own! Love it!
My favorite thing about the home remedies is that they help without the bizarre side effects of OTC meds.
I mixed honey with boiled leaves of oregano plus ginger. It works for me.Try it.
Sounds like all good things. 🙂
Fantastic! Throw in a bit of peppermint and it’ll be even stronger! Not to mention that it’ll perk you up, too!
The milk and butter was a good thing for colds also — but you have to add minced garlic. In the morning, you are all better! Grandma’s potion!
One strange cough remedy i have heard is to rub Vick’s Vapo-rub on the Cougher’s feet. I tried it on myself the last time I had a cold and don’t know if it was the Vicks, or just the idea, but it really seemed to work!
I’d believe it. Your whole body is connected, and I’ve had good luck clearing a rash on my knees by using detox deodorant on my feet – https://commonsensehome.com/product-review-herbalix-deodorants/
I use the vicks on my feet and I have a very bad cough that the only thing the doctor gives me that works is a narcotic and I don’t want to have to take that any more then I have to.But the vicks works for me always,just rub it on and put on a pair of socks.
I just want to mention that slippery elm is on its way to becoming endangered. Its better to find your own source and see if you can harvest without harm.
Krystal,
I checked with Mountain Rose Herbs about their slippery elm, and here is the response I received:
“According to my conversation with our Lab Manager, slippery elm is endangered in some areas. However, Mountain Rose Herbs sources its slippery elm from harvesters who want to continue the population. They are harvesters who work consciously to promote it. Please let me know if I can offer additional information.”
What a helpful post! Good idea to pull all this info together! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Sharon. BTW, if anyone is browsing through these comments and would like to explore more information about all things herbal, do visit Sharon’s site at The Woodwife’s Journal.
i was told this by an aunt., and it had been used over a hundred years ago. used for all of my children and still use for myself. wrap neck in a cloth that has been soaked in very cold water and wrung out, wrap again in large wool sock or scarf, pin in place, will usually stop a cough within minutes. i caught a bad cold just a week ago, could not breathe, this stopped cough, relaxed me enough to get my breath. TRY IT.
That’s interesting. I wonder how/why that works?
I too have found that a cold rag on the throat works. My grandmother was a nurse and she said that it relaxes the muscles in the throat and that helps them not to cough as bad. I had 2 kids with croup and never once had to take them to the hospital.
I had coup as a child a cold wet washcloth put around my neck plus cough medicine work. I used this on my children when
This really does work! A friend of mine who believes in holistic remedies had me do this and I couldn’t believe it had I not experienced it myself!