Cough & Chest
A nagging cough, chest congestion, a scratchy throat, the start of a cold.
Old-fashioned syrups, steams, and chest remedies that help you breathe easier.
Amish-Style Honey Thyme Cough Syrup
Long before the pharmacy aisle, the cough remedy lived in the kitchen cabinet: raw honey to coat a scratchy throat, and thyme, the herb traditionally used to ease the urge to cough. This is that old syrup, made in 15 minutes.
Start with this one →Cold-pressed and high in carvacrol, the compound that does the actual work. A bottle of drops lasts months.
This is the Oil of Oregano I recommend →★ 4.6 · 1,100+ Amazon reviews
Opens on Amazon · We may earn a commission at no cost to you
More cough & chest recipes
Old-Fashioned Mustard Plaster
A mustard plaster is one of the oldest chest remedies there is. The gentle warmth brings blood to the surface and the mustard vapor helps a stuffy chest feel like it can breathe again. Your great-grandmother almost certainly made one.
Grandmother's Onion Socks
When a fever came on and the cabinet was bare, the old remedy was an onion sliced onto the soles of the feet overnight. It is strange, it is pure folklore, and grandmothers have sworn by it for generations.