Sam had a bit of a cough last week, he may have picked up RSV from his cousin. Thankfully, it hasn't been enough to keep him down, but just enough for him to have a bit of congestion in his chest and the occasional cough. I hated hearing that rumbly cough and the wheezy breathing down in his chest, even though he hardly seemed to notice.
Knowing that there was likely something in my cupboards that would ease the cough a bit, I turned to my herbal remedy book and decided to just brew up some thyme with honey. It was the simplest recipe and I had both ingredients on hand already. I just made an extremely strong tea (just a couple tablespoons worth) and mixed it with honey.
It probably would have been more efficacious with fresh thyme, but it seemed to calm his coughing for about twenty minutes at a time anyway. And he was nuts about it; honey it one of his favorite things, right up there with maple syrup. He probably would have drunk down the whole thing at once if he'd had his way. With some liberal dowsing in essential oils (an immunity blend and some tea tree oil) two nights in a row and the honey cough syrup the cold seems to have faded and he's back to his chirpy self. I love being able to take care of my family in simple, natural ways. It's amazing what you can do with a handful of items in your kitchen; garlic, herbs, vinegar... If taken early and often I find that we pretty much never have to resort to harsher medicine than those ingredients that also double as a salad dressing or herbal tea!

















