i spent a couple years trying out cough formulas.
if you have quality ingredients, it's not difficult to get relief.
it takes some finesse to get a great support.

when it boils down to it, fresh white pine needle + bark tea is my favorite deep lung congestion remedy.
if there's a white pine tree near you, snap off some fresh twigs with the needle tufts,
put it all in a pot and simmer it lidded for 20 mins. keep the lid on until it turns an strong orange-red color.
drink a cup or two as hot as you can. adding honey is fine.
keep the lid on and let it steep all day or overnight to extract full properties + potential.
wonderfully prompt, effective + free. this is a fundamental remedy that everyone should know.
it's an easy beginner's forage.

i don't like busy cough formulas, you don't need it to be complicated. don't give yourself a bellyache.
you need quality ingredients and to give the right remedies room to act in the body.
take care to stay well hydrated and to stay warm.

when it comes to cough tinctures, these work a bit differently than tea.
most cough and congestion remedies are diaphoretic and bronchodilators.
they have opening properties and they have clearing/expectorant properties.
those properties are strongly catalyzed by heat, which is why hot tea rocks for coughs and congestion.
the heat is built in.
but with tincture, you can get a super concentrated remedy with full properties, which is awesome.
but you need to add your own heat to really take advantage of those deeper properties.
you need heat to open the body to your remedy. it's important to let yourself sweat a little bit.
opening the pores is a part of opening the lungs and the bronchioles and the 'tubes' of the body.
so what can we do?
follow your remedy with a hot mug of water or appropriate tea.
and take a dose of cough tincture (or tea!) before a hot shower or bath.
then take extra care to keep your body warm. bundle up. turn the heat up. build a fire- whatever.
let yourself sweat a little bit. it helps to open your body to the tincture.
you will use less and feel better faster.
is it completely necessary? no! but knowledge is power.

i wild foraged these needles and inner bark after a winter storm on new year's eve 2024.
i tinctured everything fresh in grain alcohol. it's a concentrate. it's very strong. it's top quality.

i grew the elecampane roots in my herb gardens.
it's a biennial that you harvest in the second year in late summer.
it is such a wonderful remedy.
it's strong but so much more gentle and pragmatic than the dried root.
the fresh elecampane root tincture is strong and has a strong taste, but it is not harsh.
it pleasantly warms and clears the lungs.
it pleasantly benefits the stomach, which can become queasy from too much phlegm and coughing.
it also seems to be high in inulin, which benefits the body, microbiome and general homeostasis at large.
it strongly settles at the bottom of the jar, so the tincture needs a gentle shake before dosing.


i have used this formula reliably with a bag of 'the hermit' night time tea
for people who caught a respiratory bug and never fully recovered.
they had a long, drawn out, wheezy, half recovery.
you can also develop what we would consider 'deficiency asthma' in holistic medicine
that's when you need a deeper boost and a well tailored lung remedy together
to fully kick the bug and restore normalcy. i use the hermit or deep immune support with slippery elm + mullein for this. i like reishi specifically for a deep vitality boost and i prefer tea to tincture for this purpose.
so please keep that in mind if you got rid of most of your chest cold, but still feel like you're not 100%
it's normal. it happens. it's resolvable. you need a couple moving parts to make it work.

feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if want to chat about it first. i'd be so glad to help.

here are a handful of other considerations with some more specific indications for your consideration.
they're all on the shop.

i mentioned the white pine needle + twig tea at the top. that rocks.

anise hyssop is great for colds and lingering colds.
it's a pungent mint family remedy that is specific to the sinuses and to the throat.
but it also helps you sweat, clear phlegm from the lungs and supports the stomach.
i like it for bad BO and bad breath. it helps you clean it out of your system and skin.

rabbit tobacco is very specific to wheezing and asthma that is rooted in bronchiole spasm.
it works promptly and is safe to take by the dropper full. it has mild pain relieving properties,
is great for tension and kinks in the nervous system.
i use it for asthma, for some migraine regimens and in trauma recovery regimens.
it's also great for grief that manifests in lung imbalances, which is very common.
the native americans used it as a sacred ancestor work remedy.

bee balm is good for certain patterns of asthma. it's another native mint family remedy.
the native americans used it extensively. it has a lovely smell and is specific to
bacterial or fungal imbalances. that can quietly tie into some other issues (like asthma)
in ways you may not expect. it offers prompt relief for wheezing.
the flowers are very pretty and smell wonderful, but seem to quickly/easily look a bit chewed up.
i specifically like to use it for people who look a bit worn out and unwell.

wild cherry bark is a great specific for a dry hacking cough that often feels like throat irritation.
it has some mild pain relief properties and will help clear some phlegm from the lungs,
though on its own it is not a go to for particularly phlegmy situations.
it soothes the belly and helps to tone things up in the body at large.
you don't want to take it at stiff doses for more than a couple weeks, but don't usually need to.
once again, if you need help getting a full recovery check out reishi or one of my reishi based teas.
the hermit, deep immune support, the star etc.

mullein is a great and safe expectorant. a lot of people are familiar with it, which rocks.
i will say that it's almost impossible to find in quality bulk and low-quality mullein really sucks.
i do not use it at all. it can be uncomfy/harsh or cause sleep disturbances.
i grow my own mullein to ensure top quality.
it's in the hermit, which is an all time best seller and also a core formula for my practice.
it's in the deep immune support VAR 2 with slippery elm + mullein leaf.
i use it extensively for joint/spine and pain support. i use it for certain kinds of bowel support.
it's an important remedy to know how to use masterfully. it's a great beginner's forage.
it's so easy to grow in most zones.
grow your own my friends or wild forage enough for you and your peeps.
i have gotten great quality from small herb farms. just take care to source it well.

white horehound, plantain leaf/root, marshmallow root- you really do have options.
keep it quality, minimal and intentional my friends.
there are many options so that you are likely to have something near at hand.
nature is like that. it conspires for your benefit.
let me know if you need any help contemplating meaningful solutions!

safely packaged

cool room temp. tinctures in tincture bottles will stay fresh + potent for a few months.
if you want to keep it fresh more indefinitely, please put it in a well sealed jar.

instructions included.
i like 5-10 drop doses for adults
1-3 drops for children
followed by a hot mug of water
nice to take before a hot shower or bath