No one likes having a cough.
What’s even worse – seeing a family member, especially a child, suffering from one.
In this post, I’ll go over some DIY homemade remedies for coughs. These recipes make use of a variety of essential oils, all of which have proven to be powerful decongestants and cough/cold remedies.
These recipes are also extremely easy to make and can be stored in your medicine cabinet for later use.
Now, not all coughs are the same. Some are super phlegmy while others are dry and itchy. The sections below reflect these different cough varieties and offer solutions for each type.
Hopefully, there’s a remedy for the type of a cough you or a loved one is dealing.
All right, on to the remedies!
Essential Oil Inhalation Blend for Coughs
Ingredients:
- 45 drops marjoram essential oil
- 30 drops benzoin essential oil
- 15 drops helichrysum or hyssop essential oil
Directions:
- Combine oils in a (5 mL) glass dropper bottle.
- Mix well.
Applications:
Inhalation
- Place 25 drops of the inhalation blend in a small non-reactive bowl
- Place the absorbent wick of your essential oil inhaler in the bowl, allowing it to fully absorb the oil mixture
- Insert the which into your inhaler tube, sealing it with the cap
- Inhale often, as desired
As an Air Spray
- Combine 1 tsp of vodka with 75 drops of your inhalation blend in a 4 oz spray bottle
- Fill the remainder of the bottle with filtered water
- Shake to blend
- Spray as desired
Related: Essential Oil Based Remedies for a Sore Throat
Multi-use Essential Oil Blend for Coughs
Ingredients:
- 36 drops eucalyptus EO
- 24 drops cedarwood EO
- 12 drops pine EO
- 8 drops myrtle EO
Directions:
- In a 5 ml glass dropper bottle combine eucalyptus, cedarwood, pine and myrtle essential oils
- Shake to mix
Applications:
Massage:
Directions:
- In a small non-reactive bowl add 4 tsp of your favorite massage oil (argan, coconut, sesame, sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed, macadamia)
- Add 8-12 drops of the multi-use blend for coughs mixture
- Mix well
- Massage over chest, throat, and back when needed
In an Inhaler
Directions:
- Place 24 drops of the multi-use blend for coughs in a small non-reactive bowl
- Put the wick of your essential oil inhaler inside the bowl, allowing it to absorb up all of the oil
- Once the mixture has been fully absorbed take out the wick out of the bowl and places it in your essential oil inhaler tube, closing the cap once finished
- Inhale when needed
In the Bath
Directions:
- In a small non-reactive bowl combine 1 tsp milk and 6-8 drops of the massage blend for coughs.
- Fill your bathtub with water
- Add to mixture from bowl into the bathtub, dispersing it into the water as you add it in
- Soak for 30 minutes or more in the tub
- When you see floating oil droplets just massage them into your skin, preferably the neck or chest area
In an Airspray
Directions:
- Combine 1 tsp of vodka with 80 drops of the multi-use blend in a 4 oz spray bottle
- Fill the remainder of the bottle with filtered water
- Shake to blend
- Spray as desired
Honey drink for mucus/phlegm driven a cough
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 drops eucalyptus EO
- 1 drop thyme EO
- 1 drop tea tree EO
Directions:
- Mix your 2 drops of eucalyptus, 1 drop of thyme and 1 drop tea tree essential oil with 2 tablespoons of honey
- Mix thoroughly with a toothpick
- Take 1 teaspoon of this combination and mix into a glass of warm water to dilute
- Sip slowly
Dry Coughs
Dry coughs sometimes require a different approach than their stuffy, congested counterparts.
Warm Honey Drink for Dry Coughs
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 drops eucalyptus EO
- 2 drops lemon EO
Directions:
- Mix your 2 drops of eucalyptus and 2 drops of lemon EO with 2 tablespoons of honey
- Mix thoroughly with a toothpick
- Take 1 teaspoon of this combination and mix into a glass of warm water to dilute
- Sip slowly
Chest and Back Massage Blend for Dry Coughs
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon massage oil (argan, coconut, sesame, sweet almond, jojoba, grapeseed, macadamia)
- 3 drops eucalyptus EO
- 2 drops thyme EO
Directions:
- Take a teaspoon of your favorite massage oil and add eucalyptus and thyme oils drop by drop
- Slowly massage mixture into chest and back when symptoms are present
Steam Inhalation
Inhale lavender essential oil using your preferred inhalation method. I recommend steam inhalation, as it’s both enjoyable and effective. More information on inhaling essential oils can be found here.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, you’ve found some useful remedies in this post.
If you have any comments or recommendations of your own, feel free to leave a comment below!
5 thoughts on “Relief! 5 Essential Oils Based Remedies for Coughs”
Everything I read says not to Injest eucalyptus oil, yet many of your recipes calls for it to be mixed for coughs????
In small enough amounts the ingestion of eucalyptus oil is therapeutic and non-toxic. Though the dosage must be strictly adhered to!
Read more below in my response to the related comment by Grace.
You have eucalyptus in your honey recipe for ingestion. Eucalyptus oil can be fatal if ingested!
Hi Grace.
Yes, in higher doses Eucalyptus can be toxic. The 2 drops of oil that are recommended in the mentioned recipe are well within therapeutic recommendation.
Some more info:
“… Home-made oral preparations containing pure eucalyptus oil are not recommended unless the measurement of the amount of eucalyptus oil used is very accurate. The highly respected and authoritative German Commission E monograph on eucalyptus oil under ‘Dosage’ states, for internal use, a daily dose of 0.3 to 0.6g. It is acceptable to take eucalyptus oil orally provided the dosage is kept within this use range. It is not advisable to take eucalyptus oil over a long period (a year or more) as it may cause liver damage. The acute oral toxicity LD50 of eucalyptus oil for rats is 2.48g/kg body weight. Evidence indicates the LD50 for humans is probably about the same. There have been no reported deaths due to the ingestion of eucalyptus oil in the past 50 years.”
Where can one get the inhaler over mouth like the one in the photo with the guy inhaling from? I couldn’t find it on Amazon.