Cough, cough, cough . . .

I have had a cough for about a month now, and it just seems to be getting worse.  I'm not really sick, just sick and tired of coughing.  The doctor even wanted a chest x-ray, but all is well, lungs are clear.  My temperature is only 97.1, pulse is a little high for me, but still, only 75, blood pressure is surprisingly low, only 125/80.

Anyway, I won't have it much longer, because at market today, everyone had a story about what to do to cure a cough.  Here are a few of my favorites.

1. This one is ayurvedic.  Put a cup of organic whole milk and a fourth cup of water in a saucepan.  Add 1/2 tsp. of freshly ground organic pepper into it.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and keep on the heat until it is reduced to one cup total.  Sip a little three times a day.
2. This is cough syrup.  Into a saucepan, put a pint of water, a few tablespoons of honey, horehound drops (a whole bag of them), peppermint drops (a whole bag of them).  Bring to a boil, then simmer until the candies are all melted.  Then add a half cup of whiskey.  Drink a small cup of it while it is still very hot.  When you are ready for your next dose, be sure to heat it until it is steaming hot.
3. Make a poultice of sliced onions.  Put them in a small cloth bag, then put the bag into a dry skillet and heat, being careful not to scorch the bag.  Put a towel on your chest, then the poultice, then another towel and keep on chest until cooled off.  In the meantime, start a second poultice so it is hot when the first one has cooled down.  Do this continuously for several hours.
4. Fill a large bowl with chopped fresh onions.  Cover it completely with honey.  Let sit for 24 hours.  The honey will draw the juice out of the onions.  Take a spoon of the juice several times a day (don't eat the onions).  Repeat as needed.
5. Make very hot and very strong peppermint tea.  Sip as needed.

Well, surely ONE of these things will work!  I'm going to start with the milk one, just because I have everything I need handy.  Kind of hard to believe that dairy will make congestion clear up, but the woman who told me about it swears by it.