Cough
A tickling sensation in the throat, dryness, irritation, or inflammation of the trachea or bronchus can all cause a cough.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, most coughs are caused by excess pitta or kapha in the bronchial tree, causing congestion and irritation of the bronchial mucous membrane. The basic strategy for managing this condition is to reduce the unwanted pitta or kapha that is creating the congestion.
To treat a cough most effectively, you need to determine whether it is a dry cough (vata) or a productive cough with mucus coming up (kapha), or whether pitta has also become involved.
DRY COUGH
For a dry cough or a cough without much mucus, eat a ripe banana with 1 teaspoon of honey and 2 pinches of ground black pepper. You can eat this 2 or 3 times a day.
Rx for a Stubborn Cough
Chop a clove of garlic, and boil it in a cup of milk. Then add ¼ teaspoon turmeric. This creates a golden yellow milk that tastes like garlic soup. This garlic-turmeric milk is effective for soothing and healing most types of cough.
- Try chewing ¼ teaspoon of ajwan mixed with 1 teaspoon natural organic sugar.
- Make talisadi tea, made of
talisadi powder ½ teaspoon
licorice powder ½ teaspoon
with a little honey added. This tea is quite effective.
- Dry cough or irritation in the throat may be due to slight congestion in the tonsils, or a congestive condition in the throat such as pharyngitis or laryngitis. To relieve this condition, boil 1 cup milk with ½ teaspoon turmeric and ¼ teaspoon ginger, making a golden yellow milk. If you drink this at night, it will relieve the irritation in the throat and take care of a dry cough.
PRODUCTIVE COUGH
For a productive or kapha cough, the simplest home remedy is black pepper. Mix ¼ teaspoon of the powder with 1 teaspoon of honey, and eat it on a full stomach. (If your voice is hoarse, use 1 teaspoon of ghee instead of the honey.) The heating quality of black pepper helps relieve congestion and drives out the cough. Take 2 or 3 times a day for 3 to 5 days.
- A tea made from ½ teaspoon ginger powder, plus a pinch of clove
and a pinch of cinnamon powder in a cupful of boiled water, can offer relief from your cough.
- If your cough persists, try this formula:
ground mustard ½ teaspoon
ginger powder ½ teaspoon
Mix together into 1 teaspoon of honey, and eat slowly. (Ginger relieves congestion, and mustard has a heating action.) You can use this mixture 2 to 3 times a day for as long as the cough persists.
- Another helpful natural remedy for a productive cough is the following:
bay leaf ½ teaspoon
pippali ¼ teaspoon
Take this mixture in 1 teaspoon honey 2 or 3 times a day.
- You can also try 1 teaspoon honey mixed with a pinch of clove powder, 2 or 3 times a day.
OTHER COUGHS
PRODUCTIVE COUGH WITH GREENISH-YELLOWISH MUCUS. In such a cough there is some secondary infection due to the involvement of pitta dosha. For this condition, you can use a tea made of equal proportions of
sitopaladi
maha sudarshan
Use ¼ teaspoon of the mixture to make a tea, and drink it 3 times a day with honey.
TIME TO SEE THE DOCTOR
If your cough persists for more than a week, you should see a doctor.
It will encourage elimination of the mucus and help heal the cough quickly.
FOR A CHILD’S COUGH. Try giving the child a drink of ½ cup pomegranate juice with a pinch of ginger powder and a pinch of pippali powder.
- Mix ¼ teaspoon of sitopaladi with 1 teaspoon of honey as an effective cough remedy for children. However, if the mother is sensitive or allergic to pollen, the child may be allergic to honey. In that case, instead of honey, use maple syrup.
FOR A CHRONIC COUGH. Make a mixture of 4 parts garlic powder to 1 part trikatu. Add a little honey. Take this twice a day.