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Zion has had a productive cough for the past week or so and although I’m really thinking it’s just allergy issues, or post-nasal drip…I’ve now developed a cough as well, which is kind of weird.  There are no other symptoms though, so I certainly don’t feel the need to run out and buy a medicine just to make us stop coughing.  At the same time, poor Zion told me he’s tired of coughing and I’m feeling the same way already!

Enter this amazing and ridiculously simple homemade cough syrup made from just two natural ingredients: red (or purple..I say purple just because) onion, and sugar! 

Last year we were having similar cough issues and I took Zion to the pediatrician to see if there was any underlying reason behind his persistent cough.  She told me it was most likely allergies and nothing to worry about…and then proceeded to change my life by giving me these simple instructions:

Dice up a purple onion, put it in a bowl and cover it completely with sugar.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours.  When you check it, the sugar will have drawn out the juice from the onion and created a syrup.  Give 1 teaspoon of the syrup every 15 minutes till the coughing subsides, and then once every couple hours after that.

It’s as simple as that folks!  I would make my own tutorial, but I still don’t have a way to take pictures…so I just borrowed a couple images of an onion and brown sugar (all I have on hand at the moment, you can use whatever sugar you prefer, or even honey!). 

I did a little research via Google this evening and I found out there are several different variations on the onion/sugar cough syrup mix.  Some people like to slice the onions and layer the sugar between the slices.  I don’t need to be that fancy, so I just dice and pour the sugar on top and kind of stir it all together.  You can also choose to pour off the syrup from the diced onion and save it in a little bottle in the fridge.  It will stay good for up to a month.  I usually make a little at a time and just keep it in a covered bowl.  I gave the children’s dosage above, but my pediatrician said adults can use 1 tablespoon with the same timeframe as the children’s dose. 

The syrup surprisingly tastes very good, so no worries about an onion-y aftertaste or breath!  You can actually eat the raw onion if you choose to though, as there are many benefits in doing that as well (Vitamin C being one!).  I found this statement somewhere on the web, and while I couldn’t find a direct source for it, it popped up enough on the internet that it seems legitimate:

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and to prevent atherosclerosis. In addition, onion extracts are recognized by WHO for providing relief in the treatment of coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis. Onions are known to decrease bronchial spasms. An onion extract was found to decrease allergy-induced bronchial constriction in asthma patients.

So there you have it!  A very simple, cheap, all natural way to get some relief from your coughs this fall and winter…it’s working for us tonight!  Hope you find it helpful :)