Cough Relief: Have You Ever Had That Irritating Cough That Won't Stop?

You know how sometimes your body tells you you're working too hard? Mine does and when I do fall sick, it's always the same. It starts with fever/chills and then works its way to a runny nose and sore throat and cough. I can tolerate the fever/chills, running nose/stuffed nose and sore throat but it's the cough that agonizes me the most.

While I do use healing on myself, I sometimes crave for extra boost. I was having this annoying hacking cough that seemed to be worse at night when I lay down. There's a good reason for this. Our Lung Qi is not flowing smoothly hence the coughing gets worse at night. My husband says my coughing sounds like a scooter that cannot start!

I've always been afraid of coughs because coughs can linger for a week. Not good when I have to do stuff and I really find that post-covid, everyone is anxious about any flu not to mention coughs. I try to stay home for a good part of my flu but I am also impatient and start rummaging through my cabinet for something to help ease the awfulness of the coughing.

I found this Eu Yan Sang Cough Relief in my cabinet and thought, why not? It is a box of 10 sachets of 3g worth of powdered herbs with the instruction to take 3 times a day. Each sachet is to be mixed with some warm water and taken in between meals or before meals. It tastes mildly sweet. I did find that it did relieve some of my cough symptoms.

Another remedy is Tiger Milk Mushroom capsules that you can get from any pharmacy. My friend swore that it cured her teenage son of his persistent coughing. She bought a brand named PureMed from her neighbourhood pharmacy.

I have heard of Tiger Milk Mushroom prior to this as my aunt made a herbal tea with the actual mushroom slices. (By the way, Tanjung Sepat' Ganoderma Mushroom Farm does sell all kinds of mushrooms and also of late, the Tiger Milk Mushroom.) Tiger Milk Mushroom got its claim to fame during covid when it was touted as THE herb to restore respiratory health post-covid. This mushroom is grown in Malaysia so it's a Malaysian product.

Anyway, I'm also healing myself every 2 hours (healing my Solar Plexus, Lungs and Throat Chakra and Throat) while taking this cough relief powder.

I also swirl a tablespoon of coconut oil in my mouth for 5 minutes in the morning - it helps remove bacteria that cause dental caries and there are quite a lot of people who believe in oil pulling (I don't only do this when I have a cough but it helps especially when I have a cough). It's an Ayurvedic practice of Hindu origins and while many Western folks scoff at the idea of swishing oil to improve one's health (besides teeth and gums), I actually feel the soreness in my throat disappearing when I did oil pulling.

I did make some astralagus tea for myself one day and I felt it did help but it is also true that one shouldn't imbibe anything nourishing while recuperating. Wait until one is fully recovered before making nourishing broths or soups.

Unfortunately, I haven't been to the market in a while so I didn't manage to get fresh watercress. Watercress is still one of the best ways to heal a cough.

What have you tried for your own coughing?

Tong Sum and Red Date Tea

I caught an interesting cooking show on TV last night. On Astro's Asian Food Channel (Channel 703), I watched a show on TCM. It was a Taiwanese programme where the host and hostess spoke in Mandarin and sometimes a smattering of Taiwan Hokkien. The show featured 3 recipes each segment, using TCM herbs with the herbalist host explaining about the uses of the specific herbs. Then the lady hostess would cook up a dish, usually a main course, using the herbs. While I am not very interested in making dishes like prawn balls with Chinese herbs (it seemed just too much work!), I liked the 2 other recipes they showed. One was a milk beverage with herbs (I can't recall what now). But the other one was easy. A tong sum and red date tea. Tong sum or dang shen is a mild herb which resembles a dry, gnarled twig the size of a finger. It is called the poor man's ginseng in some instances because it shares similar properties with the more expensive ginseng. Dang shen is actually a root wh...

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal...

Snow Fungus, Longan, Goji Berry & Red Date Dessert For Lungs & Liver

Just last week I made this dessert because I was rummaging in my kitchen and found some snow fungus. This is a classic dessert that any Cantonese would know. I was just surprised at myself that I haven't made this dessert in a long time. Maybe because I didn't have the key ingredient - snow fungus - at hand! What is Snow Fungus? It is technically a fungus that grows on dead bark or tree stumps just like wood ear fungus. Snow fungus or silver ear, snow ear or white wood ear is known as Tremella fuciformis and yes, it is an edible fungus. The pleasanter term is mushroom if that makes you feel better. As most mushrooms go, they contain vitamin D, zinc, calcium, and folate. Benefits of Snow Fungus Snow fungus is said to have anti-ageing effects due to the presence of superoxide dismutase , an enzyme that acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. It is best known in TCM for nourishing the lungs and we know how important this fact is right n...

The Soup Queen

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