Congestion, Cough, and Soar Throat?
There’re Appalachian Remedies for That!
Deep winter months often bring deep coughs and other common cold symptoms. Luckily, the forests of Appalachia have supplied their inhabitants with medicinal remedies since the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Tuscarora tribes were the first people to call the land “home.” Later, as Europeans began to settle in the area, indigenous wisdom mixed with European botany and herbalism to build on the land’s natural resources.
As Appalachia became a place of industry and cultivation, the land remained the people’s nurse and medicine cabinet when doctors were scarce, providing natural remedies many current Appalachians still use today. Though you may not need to walk through the woods to harvest or distill many of these herbs and ingredients today, the healing power of nature is still a timeless tradition anyone in Appalachia or beyond can tap into.
Here are a few timeless Appalachian home *remedies to fend off the common cold woes of an Appalachian winter.
For Chest Congestion
- Try a good old Hot Toddy – mix a shot of whiskey with a freshly brewed cup of herbal tea and lemon, and drink a cup once or twice a day. After consumption, rest under a large pile of blankets and sweat it out.
- Roast an onion, then wrap it in a cloth and beat it with a rolling bin or meat tenderizer until the juice from the onion soaks the cloth. Apply the fabric to your chest until symptoms are relieved. (consider saving the beaten onion piece for a soup or other onion-rich recipe. Onions are widely known to be a “superfood” regarding good immune health, so eat up!)
- For a less natural remedy but a tried and true store-bought one for all Southern Appalachians, rub a generous amount of Vicks Vapor Rub on the chest, upper back, and soles of the feet before bed. Once the rub is applied, sleep in a flannel shirt and wear thick socks on your feet while sleeping under the covers. The vapor rub and heat will draw out the illness.
For Coughs
- Make a batch of Onion Syrup to relieve a deep cough. Do this by thinly slicing an onion and layering it in a pan with sugar. Set the pan in a warm oven with the door open to sweat syrup out of the onions. Once you have a thick syrup in your pan, take it by the teaspoon 4-5 times.
- Make Horehound Candied Cough Drops. Boil one handful of horehound leaves in water and strain to make tea. For each pint of tea, add a half pound of brown sugar and boil over the stove until it begins to reach a “hard ball stage.” Pour this into a greased, shallow pan and cut into squares once it is almost cooled. Store in an air tight container and use as needed.
- Drink herbal teas that contain peppermint, ginger, slippery elm, thyme, turmeric, or marshmallow root to relieve lingering or troublesome coughs.
For Sore Throats
- Gargle with salt water twice daily. This can draw out extra moisture from swollen glands and reduce inflammation.
- Boil dried eucalyptus leaves in a pot of water. Transfer the water to a bowl and sit to lean your face over the rising steam. Create a “tent” to trap the vapors by draping a cloth or towel over your head and the bowl. Do this 2-4 times daily as needed or until symptoms ease.
- Boil red oak bark into a tea and drink as a soothing beverage once to twice a day.
- Eat three raw garlic cloves daily to relieve sore throat and alleviate other cold symptoms. You should start with consuming half cloves, as garlic can have quite a bite, but don’t consume more than three whole cloves a day. Follow up eating the cloves with a glass of milk or a cup of yogurt for those with sensitive stomachs, and remember that garlic is a natural blood thinner, much like aspirin.
We at Highroads Living wish all our readers a safe and illness-free winter, but we hope these simple “cures for what ales you” bring you reassurance and comfort till spring. For other recipes that may not cure your cold symptoms but will undoubtedly bring you comfort, see our favorite featured Appalachian recipes here.
*The authors and creators of Highroads Living do not claim to be certified medical experts. The recipes and recommendations above are traditional home remedies that can help relieve nonlife-threatening symptoms. They are not promised to replace any medication/s you have been prescribed. If you have additional questions or concerns, please consult your primary care physician for further information before using these remedies.
