Home Remedies - Cough

• To cure a cough quickly, make a paste of basil leaves and honey. Have a teaspoon of this. Or alternatively boil basil leaves in some water. Strain and add a little honey. Give this mixture to the child.
• To keep throat infection and cough at bay, drink basil water daily.
• Mixture of honey and ginger juice is good for sore throat. Drink one teaspoon of ginger juice mixed with an equal quantity of honey. Follow it up with a glass of warm milk.
• Mix 1 tsp of Honey with ½ tsp of grated ginger. Give this mixture to the child to get rid of a sore throat.
• For a wet cough heat ½ tsp honey and a pinch of turmeric. Let cool and then give it to the child.
• To cure a cough boil ajwain leaf for 20 minutes in some water (just enough to last for 20 minutes). Strain and give the thickish liquid to the child. 
• Roast besan (gram flour) and ghee. Add this to glass of milk. This is an ideal drink to fight cough and cold. 
• Apply 'throat paint' to get rid of a stubborn cough. On a thin stick wrap cotton wool. Dip this in glycerine. Ask the child to keep his mouth open and now use this 'brush' to paint the child's throat from inside. 
• Soak 5 almonds overnight. To the soaked and peeled almonds add 1 peppercorn (preferably the white variety), 1 green cardamom (choti elaichi) and 1 tsp sugar. Grind to a paste and give to the child to eat.
• Steam is excellent for opening blocked nasal passages. Use plain water. Do not add anything to it as Vicks and other such additives just block up the passages more.
• To give steam to a very small child you can use one of these methods -
  ² Hold the child in your lap and cover both of you with a towel to retain the steam inside. Be careful of the hot utensil and the boiling water especially for active toddlers!
  ² Close all windows and doors of the bathroom. Turn on the hot water tap. Keep the child inside the bathroom for some time. You could play with the child to keep him occupied!