Natural Cough Remedies for Children

It’s another sleepless night. Just when your child starts sleeping through the night, they start catching every virus out there. This is especially true when your child is starting school or daycare for the first time. That lingering cough can make it hard for anyone to get a good night’s sleep. So what can you do about it? I know as a parent, I’m always hesitant to put medicine in their bodies that can cause more harm than good. Most over the counter cough remedies are laden with dyes, sugars and other chemicals. So what is a parent to do?  I’m happy to say there many natural cough remedies for children to reduce that persistent cough.

Essential Oils

There are many different essential oils available that will help reduce your child’s inflammation in their lungs. High quality oils are very safe and many are made with children in mind.  Young Living’s SniffleEase for example is great for opening up those inflamed nostrils and reducing mucus from dripping to their lungs.  Diffusing lavender at night will provide extra moisture in dry air and encourage a peaceful night’s sleep. Just make sure whatever oil you choose is naturally therapeutic and not synthetic or fake as those can do more harm than good.

Homeopathic

Nowadays you can walk into most stores and find homeopathic remedies. Borion ColdCalm pellets are a staple in my household.  Beekeepers natural cough syrup is another favorite. It blends calming L-theanine with honey and chamomile to soothe irritation. 

Balms

As a child, my mother always covered me up with Vics Vaporub anytime I had a cough. Now there are more natural forms with the same benefits. Personally my family uses Young Living’s Thieves chest rub but in a pinch, we’ve used Zumbaby. 

Salt Therapy

My favorite remedy for a child’s nagging cough is salt therapy.  This gives parents a much needed break while their child plays and receives the benefits of salt at the same time. So how does it work? By breathing in therapeutic salt, your respiratory tract is cleansed and those toxins are pulled out by the salt. This reduces inflammation in those pathways. So as your child breathes in the salt, the lungs will slowly start to clear the mucus build up.  Repetitive sessions of twice weekly yield the most benefit for a lingering cough.  Sessions are 30 minutes long and beach toys are provided to entertain your child.

So as you can see, there are many options to try when your child has an insistent cough. A combination of two or more of these may be just what is needed to give everyone a good night’s sleep!