How to Treat a Cough With Cherokee Medicine

Cherokee medicine is based on a spiritual and medical system carefully developed for over more than 4,000 years known as Nvwoti. Cherokee herbalist use Nvwoti to communicate with plants, which they call Green People, asking for nourishment and guidance. Cherokee people believe that ailments, such as a cough, can be treated by the Green People, which help the patient to connect with the Earth, or the Great Life, restoring balance and health.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Calm a cough with the natural expectorant, wild cherry, which is safe even for children. Harvest the bark of wild cherry in the summer months, boiling the bark until the water reaches a syrupy consistency, administering the juice three times a day as needed. Cherokee medicine uses wild cherry to soothe a cough due to any type of illness that causes lung congestion.
2. Make a tea from the inner bark of white pine. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over one tablespoon of the bark and drink the tea at least three times a day. Cherokee medicine uses white pine tea to treat a cough due to the common cold, flu and bronchitis. A natural expectorant, white pine bark increases circulation helping the immune system to repel the viruses and phlegm that cause a cough.
3. Drink sarsaparilla. Add 3 g of powdered sarsaparilla to juice three times a day, drinking daily until the cough subsides. Sarsaparilla is a common Cherokee medicine used to treat a variety of ailments. It is used for a cough for its anti-inflammatory and stimulating properties, soothing the lungs while helping to expel phlegm.
4. Take herbal supplements if tea and juice treatments aren't for you. Sarsaparilla and white pine are available in tincture and capsule form and can be found in most health food stores. Follow the manufacturer's directions for proper dosage information.

Tips & Warnings

• If fresh wild cherry is not available in your area, it may be purchased in your local health food store.