I found myself under the weather about a month ago intially dealing with a sore throat and then having it move into my chest presenting with an irritable dry cough. Depsite the fact that I try to keep my immune system strong there are occassions when even herbalists become their own patients.
When I encounter a dry and irritable cough I know that its time to reach for a demulcent. A demulcent helps to soothe irritated tissue and moisten the mucus membranes. A demulcent is indicated when there is a dry irritable cough with little expectoration. I was also looking for an herbal expectorant. Expectorants increase the flow of mucus and help expel thick excess mucus from the lungs. The last thing I want to do is suppress a cough and have it move into a more severe condition.
I love using remedies that are inexpensive and readily available. A wonderful demulcent that quite a few people might already have at the house are flaxseeds. Flaxseeds not only fit the bill as a wonderful demulcent, but they are also an expectorant. So for my cough I prepared myself a tea using 2 tbsp of flaxseed to one cup of water. I boiled the water and poured it over the flax and let it sit for about 10-15 mins or until it got real slimy and thick. I then strained off the seeds and for an extra boost I added some elderberry syrup. The elderberry syrup added a nice flavor as well as an immune boost. If you don’t have elderberry syrup around you can add some fresh lemon juice and honey. I took a tablespoon of the mixture as often as I felt like I needed. It really helped with both the sore throat and the irritable cough. By helping to relax and soothe the underlying reflex without completely suppressing the cough it allowed my body to get some rest from the irritation of the cough.
Demulcents help to lubricate or moisten all mucus membranes to include those of the bowels. Because of their moistening effect Flaxseeds can also be a wonderful aid for constipation and Irritable bowel conditions. Some other benefits of Flaxseeds is that they are high in the good Omega-3 fatty acids, high in fiber and manganese. Flaxseeds are also a good source of magnesium as well as antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals.
Besides making them into a tea Flaxseeds can be ground up and sprinkled on food or used when cooking muffins or breads. Flax seeds can be found at most grocery stores or health foods stores and are an inexpensive and a beneficial addition to any medicine/kitchen cabinet.
YES! Suffered terribly allergies after returning from UK to dusty hot Bahrain. Got runny sinuses that left a dry irritable cough that was making me wheeze. Decided to take flaxseed tea by chance for other health benefits and found it stopped the cough. One happy camper!!
I know Lorraine…isn’t it wonderful that such a simple remedy can be such “big medicine”. Thanks for stopping by.
My husband had nasty cough and I choose this flax reed remedy, Alhamdullilah, he had a sound sleep after 10 days of suffering. This indeed is a good remedy for cough.
Thank you so much for the feedback Zakia. I’m so glad your husband is feeling better!!
Hello Natalie,
I want to try this remedy for my cough but I have a question. I’m sorry if it sounds naive 🙂
So after boiling the flaxseeds in water till it gets thick we have to strain the water.
My question is, do we add the honey and lemon to the strained flaxseed or the water?
Which one of the two needs to be used?
Please let me know.
Thank you and Kind regards.
Hi Shweta and thanks for stopping by. Once you strain the liquid you will add the honey and lemon to the liquid. Hope this helps.
Please help. I have tried to “strain” the thick liquid and the flax seeds won’t strain through my strainer (too thick). How do you strain it?
Secondly, where can I get elderberry syrup?
Hi Nancy…you may have to use a strainer with a less dense mesh. You could also add a little more water if it is really thick. As for elderberry syrup, you can find countless recipes online to make your own, local health food stores often carry it or you can check out various online resources…it is fairly easy to find. Hope this helps.
Hiya – does it keep a couple of days after making it or do you have to make fresh every day ? Am going to give it a try for my daughter who is miserable from coughing 24/7
Hi Jayne….sorry to hear about your daughter…hope she feels better soon. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days, but then you want to discard it and make a new batch. Good to just make it in small batches. Thanks for stopping by.
It’s so excellent. I myself has been suffering from cough for months and I can’t find a perfect treatment. It helped a lot Natalie. Keep on sharing. Please send some useful tips to my email ID also. adityarajkuntal9@gmail.com. Thank you once again.
My nephew is having dry cough daily nonstop for 5 to 10 minutes when it comes and she becomes likes unconscious when it comes does this remedy helps plz reply
Sorry to hear about your nephews cough. Under the circumstances since he is becoming unconscious I would say that you should seek medical assistance.
I am currently trying your remedy of trying the flaxseed test for a hacking cough. I pour boiling water over 2 tbsp of flaxseeds and let them soak till thick and slimy. Then I strain the seeds out and dispose of them, add 1 tbsp of honey and lemon and drink that (15ml) at a time as needed. Am I doing this right, or am I supposed to use the seeds in the mixture? Please advice on that. I toasted a batch and sprinkle them on my cereal and also my yogurt…tastes awesome.
Thanks for your prompt response and look forward to hearing back.
Sincerely,
Marie Conroy
Hi Marie… sounds like what you are doing is spot on…keep up the good work. Best wishes, Natalie
I am trying this for my son. He is continuously coughing. Medicines are actually supressing his cough and in few days it comes back. Hope it works for him.
I apologize that I didn’t get to reply to your comment sooner. Hope your son is feeling better. ❤
Thank you for your reply. He recovered in a week’s time. I continued with flaxseed water and an Indian Ayuverdic medicine (Sitopaladi Churna). There was absolutely no need to see the doctor. I am grateful I read this information. Thank you so much ❤️🙏
Glad he is doing better 😊❤
3 of our grandchildren have the whooping cough and it stopped their cough in 2days. !!
I’m sorry that your grandchildren have been sick AnaMae. However, that’s wonderful that the flaxseed is helping. Thanks for stopping by and sharing. ❤
Should I crush the flaxseeds or use them whole
Hi John… normally if you are consuming the seeds to obtain the nutrients you would grind them. In this particular case you can leave them whole and they will produce the mucilage (slimy consistency) you are looking for. Thanks for stopping by 😁
My mother made this concoction for us in the 1950’s but used Canada Mints as the sweetener and a bit of lemon. It’s not a cure for anything, but it soothes a sore throat really nicely. Delicious, the slime coats a sore throat.
I love to hear stories about how people have used folk remedies in their daily lives. Thanks for stopping by David.
For the coughing remedy ground or unground flax seeds?
Either ground or unground will work.