4 all-natural recipes to help your cough

For that cough that just won't go away, you don't need to run to the drugstore for expensive medicines. Here are easy-to-make teas and medicines that you can make at home for just pennies.

Now that we know that those commercial cough syrups are pretty useless when it comes to most coughs, why waste your money? Here's a nicer, cheaper alternative.

• 4 fresh sage leaves or 5 ml (1 tsp) dried sage
• Boiling water

  1. In a standard teacup, steep the sage leaves in freshly boiled water for at least 20 minutes. Strain and drink hot or cold.

You will appreciate onions, garlic, ginger and honey all the more after they conspire to stop your coughing. And you don't have to worry about ingredients that your body doesn't need or that counteract the suppressing effect as you do with many commercial cough medicines.

• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) finely diced fresh ginger
• Honey

  1. In a small saucepan, combine onion, garlic and ginger. Add honey to cover and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Then mash together and let cool. Strain and store in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator.

  2. Take five millilitres (one teaspoon) every 15 to 30 minutes.

Sometimes an herbal steam treatment will do more to relieve a cough than any mentholated ointment you can buy.

• 945 millilitres (4 c) water
• 2 drops thyme essential oil
• 4 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 2 drops hyssop essential oil

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the water until nearly boiling (but don't boil). Pour into a heat-safe bowl and add the essential oils.

2. Hold your head about 20 centimetres (eight inches) above the water, drape a towel over your head and the bowl to make a tent and breathe in deeply until the water cools. Keep your eyes closed throughout.

Do a little steeping and straining, boiling and stirring, rolling and cooling. Voilà! Your very own cough drops at half the price and just as effective as commercial ones. You need a candy thermometer to make these.

• 60 g (2 oz) dried or 175 g (6 oz) fresh horehound leaves
• 800 ml (3 1/2 c) dark brown sugar
• 20 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 20 drops tea tree essential oil

1. In a saucepan, pour 700 millilitres (three cups) boiling water over the horehound leaves and steep for 30 minutes over low heat. Strain into another saucepan and add the brown sugar; stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil until it reaches 146°C (295°F) on a candy thermometer. Stir in the eucalyptus and tea tree oils. Let cool slightly, then, using buttered hands, roll into small balls and let the balls harden on wax paper. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and use as needed.