This stuff is pretty amazing. It doesn’t, per se, make the cold completely gone in an instant. But…let me tell you the story.
It was Monday night of Thanksgiving week. It was late, perhaps 11 or 12, and just as I was falling asleep, my 8-month-old woke up, coughing. It wasn’t the slight, dry cough that he sometimes does when he’s been asleep for awhile; it was the deep and barking. No…he can’t be sick! Not this week! We have too much going on!
I bundled us up and took him outside to sit. We watched the pretty snow that had just fallen. (Cold air reduces the inflammation in the lungs that causes that barking cough, which helps the child cough less.) He was miserable at first, coughing deeply, desperately wanting to sleep, but unable. After 15 minutes or so, he was coughing less and beginning to fall asleep, so I took him inside.
The next morning (tired as I was), I mixed up an herbal cold syrup using some of the herbs I’ve tried over the past year or so separately, hoping to make the Greatest Herbal Cold Remedy Ever.
That first day, I took it about every three hours (I wasn’t sick, the baby is exclusively breastfed). By evening, his cough was much less frequent and was productive. He didn’t sleep so well that night because the cough was so productive, actually. But it wasn’t deep and barking anymore.
I continued to take it 1 – 2 times per day. The following night, he didn’t really cough at all. After a few days, he still coughed rarely during the day, almost never at night, and had a hint of a runny nose — but that was it! Cold nearly gone in three days flat.
Awesome.
No one else got sick, either. Even more awesome.
Today I’m sharing this awesomeness with you. Please remember I am not a doctor, herbalist, or other health professional. This isn’t medical advice, and if you have any specific concerns, see a doctor. This worked great for us, so I’m sharing, but it’s for informational purposes only.
This post contains affiliate links.
Ingredients:
- 1 c. elderberries (dry; buy them here)
- 1/2 c. mullein leaves (buy here)
- 1 tbsp. fenugreek seeds (buy here)
- 3 tbsp. yarrow leaf (buy here)
- 2 c. filtered water
- 3/4 c. raw honey
- 1/4 c. acerola powder (buy here)
Directions:
Combine elderberries, mullein, fenugreek, yarrow, and water in a saucepan. Stir until the herbs are all moistened. Place the pan on the stove and turn on high, until it boils.
Boil the herbs for about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to sit and steep for 10 – 15 minutes longer.
Pour the herbs through a strainer or cheesecloth into a glass cup, jar, or bowl (I used a mason jar, but a measuring cup or something with a wider mouth would have been easier). Squeeze the herbs to get as much of the liquid out as possible.
You want about 1 c. of liquid left once you’re done. Add the acerola powder and raw honey and stir until dissolved.
Refrigerate and take up to 1 tbsp. every hour (adults) or 1 tsp. every 2 – 3 hours (children). Continue to take, less and less frequently (down to 1 – 2x a day) until symptoms are gone or nearly gone. It took us about 3 days.
Is this safe for pregnant or women Wii nurse. You may not be able to answer that question. Would you take it if you were pregnant or nursing?
I’m in the process of making some syrup from a mish-mash of recipes I found online. It has Elderberries, cinnamon sticks, star anise, mullein leaves, yarrow, ginger & astregula. It’s still simmering but the smell sort of reminds me of going to the horse barn when I was younger!! What do you think the culprit is? I’m really hoping once I add the honey it won’t taste like it smells!
Thanks! We need this right now 🙂 one question, is the timing on the steeping important? In other words if I get distracted and it is more than 15 mins is that ok?
Megan-It is safe for nursing moms, but for pregnancy you would want to leave out the yarrow and fenugreek.
I’m curious, when my elderberries were ripe this past summer I picked a bunch and put them in my freezer and I’m wondering if its possible to use the frozen ones (or even fresh when available) and if so do you think i would need to make any adjustments to the recipe? Thanks!
What are substitutes for the mullein leaf and yarrow leaves? i have everything else but our Natural Grocers didn’t have the mullein and yarrow leaves.