Herbal Remedies For Cough

In my clinic, I use herbal remedies for cough that match the type of cough and symptoms my patient is showing.

These remedies are from Oriental medicine and are very effective for most of my patients.

To determine which type of herbal remedy is appropriate for you, we first decide whether your cough is a...

• Dry and non-productive cough (not coughing up phlegm)
• Painful and barking cough without much phlegm
• Acute, productive cough with yellowish phlegm
• Chronic, productive cough with white or clear phlegm

Got that? O.K., if you have a...

Dry Nonproductive Cough, And...

... it's happening during the early stage of a cold, the formula we use is Sang Ju Yin Wan (or Sang Chu Pian / Sang Chu Tablets). Several companies make it. I prefer Plum Flower Brand or Herbal Times Brand.

...the cough is weak, you may have coughing with blood, dry sore throat, difficult breathing and low grade fever that comes and goes, and not much phlegm, the herbal remedies for cough I use are Lilium Teapills (a.k.a. Bai He Gu Jin Wan) available from different brands.

...hoarseness and dry lips, nose and throat, the herbal remedies for cough used in my clinic are Eight Immortals Teapills (a.k.a. Mai Wei Di Huang Wan) or Gu Ben Wan,

Painful barking cough (not "rattling") with very little phlegm...

...my patients use Ching Fei Yi Huo Pian ("pian" means tablets) or Li Fei Pian.

If there's also bleeding, we use Shi Hui San (from Herbal Times Brand).

Acute cough with considerable phlegm (may be barking or rattling)...

...we use Pinellia Root Teapills, Qing Qi Hua Tan Wan or San She Dan Chuan Bei Ye, all available from different brands.

Chronic cough with considerable white or clear phlegm...

...my patients have good results from Er Chen Wan or Pinellia and Magnolia Teapills (a.k.a. Ban Xia Hou Po Wan).

Note - All remedies on this page are available at Chinese markets or from a variety of online vendors. Acu-market.com is a good resource. Typically, a bottle only lasts about 1 week so it's wise to purchase at least 4 at a time.

Avoid these (and in my opinion, all) herbal remedies during pregnancy.