As the Winter approaches we become increasingly aware of the cold and flu season accompanied by a cough. Many of my patients will get the traditional flu vaccine. I do not discourage its use especially if the patient has received the vaccine in the past. I have utilized a homoeopathic flu vaccine that I have administered in my office for the last 20 years. I have never received a flu vaccine . There are many herbs I also utilize for cold and flu with a cough. I do not typically use the standard herbs you might know as Echinacea. I use Elderberry but not as often as you might think. I do use Elecampagne and Horehound.
There is another herb which I use which is not commonly discussed. This is Coltsfoot ( Tussilago farfara) You start to see the flowers of this Daisy Family plant when the snow is barely melted. I have always found it useful as a cough medicine. The flowers and the leaves are used. It has been used with great benefit in emphysema ( COPD) and another condition called silicosis. These conditions do have a persistent cough. I use Coltsfoot in these cases as well as inhaled glutathione. The cough of these conditions is usually in the morning. I ask the patients to take this coltsfoot tea before breakfast. There has been controversary of using this tea as when used in small animals it was found to have carcinogenic properties. This never bothered me as the prescriber, because it has never caused any harm to humans
My belief is this —harmful substances can be found anywhere in nature and harmful effects also occur with conventional medicines.
Until tomorrow…