Remedies for the disruptive cough??

[kidsnurse1969]

I am looking for non-medicinal remedies for the disruptive/annoying, dry, hacking cough that is so typical at this time of year in the midwest. Cough drops are not allowed in our school without physician authroization.

I have the kids sip warm water with honey, but it rarely does the trick. What do you do?

Thanks in advance

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I googled "homeopathic cough remedies" because, as you say, it's that time of year around here; DS has asthma which tends to manifest as that God-awful croupy style cough when we get cold weather. I thought "hm, good idea, what is there that I can give him here at home to avoid problems at school besides his rescue inhaler?"

I had to laugh when I started looking at the pages that came up...apparently belladonna is one recommended homeopathic cure. Can you see a school full of kids on belladonna? Or you could just give them some good old fashioned hot toddies...

I did find a page for parents, which had some recommendations since they've yanked all the meds off the shelves for little ones. One was to mix 1 tsp honey in 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice and mix with some water.

I have personally used ginger root tea with honey to sweeten with pretty good results, but doubt that you'd be able to do that at a school!

Another site I came across said that mixing one tsp honey in a cup of grape juice is helpful...but the same site said that you should do daily warm water enemas to help the cough as well, so take it with a grain (or truckload) of salt.

I find that having a humidifier running at home at night in the kids' rooms seem to help; is there a way for you to perhaps send a letter home to the parents with information such as this on it, since "'Tis the season"?

Good luck dealing with this!

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

I have used a couple of remedies, but my school system frowns on anything herbal or nontraditional. I keep little cups of salt ready, add warm water, and have the student gargle (this only work if they are old enough to do it right!) I also find that cherry Lifesavers do as good a job as cough drops and they're legal in most schools. Peppermint also helps. But I think the best remedy of all is the old honey-and-lemon trick--it tastes just good enough to be helpful and just nasty enough to keep them from wanting more.

[pattylpn54, LPN]

i go to wal-mart & buy the bucket of soft mints(they also come in bags). they're larger than regular small mints, so there's less chance of choking & they're soft, almost like melt-aways. only problem is i have to pay for them if i want them, so you've got to ration or they'll be in constantly wanting candy!!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

The life savers are a good idea - i'd make them bring a pass from their teacher stating that it is truly a disruptive cough.

[michigooseBSN]

We can't give any type of candy (I used to give Jolly Ranchers) since we've gone food free so I require doctor's orders for cough drops and then give them to the classroom teach to administer. Also for some children I have referred them to their doctors to check for cough-variant asthma and that has been the case for several kids. The inhaler works wonders then.

[Aneroo, LPN]

I am looking for non-medicinal remedies for the disruptive/annoying, dry, hacking cough that is so typical at this time of year in the midwest. Cough drops are not allowed in our school without physician authroization.

I have the kids sip warm water with honey, but it rarely does the trick. What do you do?

Thanks in advance

Peppermints!