Natural Treatments for Croup
Croup can be a really scary experience for many children and parents, but there are tried and true methods to get rid of croup naturally.My parents didn’t work with herbs. They stuck to the over-the-counter and prescription medications that the doctors recommended. I didn’t get to learn how to treat croup naturally until I became a parent myself. Now, I’m a grandparent and I keep learning more and more about what’s available in terms of home remedies for croup. In this article, I’ll share some of these remedies for parents who are tired of giving their kids another round of an antibiotic that isn’t destined to work.
It’s frustrating as a parent to go to the doctor and have them prescribe medications that either don’t work or worse...to have them not prescribe anything! Over the years, medicine has become infinitely more frustrating than it was when I was a kid.
How to Get Rid of Croup Naturally
N-Acetyl Cysteine or L-Cysteine
N-Acetyl Cysteine (also known as NAC) is one of the most important supplements for parents to know about if they have kids who suffer from chronic croup. NAC and L-Cysteine are similar products. Sometimes NAC is unavailable, but L-Cysteine is a good second choice. NAC works as a potent detoxifier that loosens mucus so that mucus can “flow” more easily. The more smoothly and easily mucus can flow, the easier it is for the lungs and airways to become clear.NAC provides a precursor molecule for glutathione, the primary detoxifying agent in the body. As such, taking NAC makes it easier for the body to produce glutathione and to thin down the mucus so that kids can cough up phlegm and clear the lungs properly.
NAC is a detoxifier and it’s not easy to overdose on it. The normal dose for an adult is 2400-3000 mg per day in divided doses of between 600-1000 mg each (administered 3-4 times per day to keep the lungs clear). If you have a young child with croup, start with a dose of 200 mg every 3-4 hours during the day. An older child ages 10-14 should start with a dose of 300-400 mg every 3-4 hours. Kids over the age of 15 can take the full adult dose.
Castor Oil Administered Topically
Administer hexane-free, organic castor oil topically over the chest to open the airways. The ricinileic acid found in castor oil is a lymphatic decongestant that removes waste from the lymph. Apply the castor oil (warm it first by putting it in a saucepan on the stove and then apply it to the chest. Remove from heat after the castor oil reaches body temperature.Apply the castor oil to the chest, throat, and back. If the child is not running a fever, put a piece of flannel over the castor oil. Add a bit more castor oil to the flannel and then put a heating pad over the flannel unless your child is running a fever. Don’t put a heating pad on your child if your child is running a fever. Don’t use a heating pad on an infant. Allow the castor oil “pack” to stay in place for up to an hour. Make sure the cord from the heating cord does not get wrapped around the child’s neck. Do not leave a child unattended with a heating pad.
Consider administering an oil infusion of castor oil and Lobelia inflata together as a powerful treatment for croup and cough. Lobelia inflata is a powerful herb that requires respect a little bit of learning, but it can’t be rivaled in terms of its effects as an herbal treatment for serious childhood diseases. Lobelia inflata is particularly valuable as an herbal remedy for diphtheria and whooping cough. Click here to read more about how to use Lobelia inflata as an herbal remedy for whooping cough and diphtheria.
Also note that castor oil works very well with Lugol’s iodine. Castor oil contains manganese and other trace minerals that enhance how well Lugol’s iodine is absorbed by the body. Both castor oil and Lugol’s iodine are safe for use even for newborn babies.
Click here to buy organic, cold-pressed, hexane-free castor oil.
Lugol’s Iodine / Potassium Iodide
Lugol’s iodine is a nutrient supplement that should be administered to all children daily at a dose of 1 drop for every year of a child’s age whether the child is sick or not. Iodine is a nutrient that has been systematically removed from the food supply in most developed countries. As a nutrient, iodine is usually in short supply in areas of the world that are not located right next to the ocean. The Japanese, for example, don’t often have to worry about iodine supplementation because they eat a lot of seaweed. But the rest of us must supplement with both molecular iodine and potassium iodide or we easily develop an iodine deficiency. Decades ago, the U.S. government fortified the food supply by putting iodine in bread products. That was back before Big Food and Big Pharma realized that if they worked together, they could make Big Profits at the expense of people’s health. Removing iodine from the food supply ushered in the Age of Obseity as well as the Age of Autoimmunity. Administering Lugol’s iodine daily can protect a person from many serious illnesses.Lugol’s iodine is made up of molecular iodine as well as potassium iodide. It’s important that the body has both of these nutrient forms of iodine. Potassium iodide is what keeps the lungs and heart healthy, for example, while molecular iodine feeds the thyroid gland. Every organ in the body needs one form or the other of iodine in order to function properly. That’s why you need Lugol’s iodine and not nascent iodine or some other type of iodine that does not consist of molecular iodine and potassium iodide.
Potassium iodide by itself can be administered as a medicine. It’s the same stuff that’s in Lugol’s iodine, but if you have a child that develops croup, for example, you can administer potassium iodide in high doses as an expectorant that works remarkably well. Iodine, after all, not only acts as a powerful natural antibiotic, but it also regulates bronchial spasming. Indeed, few people realize that iodine feeds the reproductive organs to keep reproductive hormones in balance. Even fewer people are aware that reproductive hormone level changes in the body govern over the bronchial spasms that occur in children and adults with asthma. Lugol’s iodine is a known cure for asthma in the scientific literature though few doctors today are aware of this fact. It works to cure asthma naturally by regulating reproductive hormone levels.
In a child with croup, administer Lugol’s iodine 2% at a dose of 1 drop for each year of the child’s age. The iodine drops can be administered either in drinking water or by placing the drops on the skin to allow them to soak in. Administer Lugol’s iodine first at this dose and if your child continues to have croup for longer than 3 days, consider getting potassium iodide to administer in addition to Lugol’s iodine at the dose recommended for children on the bottle. Newborn babies can be given Lugol’s iodine safely at a dose of ½ drop to 1 drop.
Click here to buy Lugol’s iodine.
Nebulize Saline
Saline treatments at 3% concentration are as effective as saline with epinephrine according to scientific studies, but saline at a 3% concentration is far less toxic than normal saline with epinephrine. A child can nebulize saline as a safe and natural treatment for croup at home. Infants can safely nebulize saline too. Obtain saline for a nebulizer at 3-7%. Children may not like the taste of the saline, but encourage them to keep their mouth closed for the first few minutes of the treatment if this is the case and instead breathe through the nose.It is safe to administer nebulized saline even in tiny infants. Babies often don’t mind the taste of the saline.
Administer nebulized saline for croup for 2 to 5 minutes at a time on an as-needed basis.
Click here to buy a portable nebulizer. This is one of my favorite nebulizers because it’s quiet and easy to administer almost anywhere.
Click here to buy a nebulizer that plugs into the wall. This nebulizer is not as portable and it makes a bit more noise than the nebulizer I link to above, but it is more durable than portable nebulizers.
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Lobelia inflata Infused Castor Oil
As noted above, castor oil is a valuable home remedy for croup. It works very well with Lugol’s iodine. If you have a child who has not been vaccinated against whooping cough or diphtheria, or if you’re concerned about having a powerful and effective home remedy for RSV (or other serious respiratory illnesses like COVID) on hand, make an oil infusion of Lobelia inflata and store in the refrigerator for up to a year.Below is a recipe for Lobelia inflata infused castor oil:
Ingredients / Materials
- Lobelia inflata (powdered) - 8.4 grams
- Castor oil (hexane-free, cold-pressed organic castor oil)
- 8-12 ounce mason jar
- Put the powdered herb in the mason jar.
- Cover the herb with castor oil. Fill the jar.
- Stir.
- Put the cap on the mason jar. Place the jar in a water bath in a crock pot. Put a rubber ring under the jar so that it is not in direct contact with the pot.
- Heat the water in the crock pot and the oil infusion for 3-5 days on the “warm” setting. Do not bring the water to boiling. Leave the lid off the crockpot, if necessary to keep the water at a lower temperature around 110 degrees.
- After 3-5 days, remove the jar from the crockpot.
- Store the oil infusion in a jar with a lid that is airtight. Put the jar in a cool, dark place. Mark it with the date and note that the expiration date is one year from the date it was produced.
- Mark the jar with lines so that there is a line delineating the top of the oil in the jar. Divide the oil into “quarters” for dosing. Very young children under age 5 years, should receive ¼ of ¼ of a dose (1/16th of a dose) as needed.
Click here to buy Lobelia inflata.
Garlic and Catnip Enema
This herbal remedy for croup can be administered either separately as just a garlic enema or as just a catnip enema or the two herbs can be combined into one enema. Essentially, you’ll make a garlic and/or catnip “tea” and allow it to cool completely.A garlic and catnip enema has the following health benefits in children:
- It can reduce fever quickly.
- Ite can relieves constipation.
- It treats and relieved diarrhea.
- It improves the child’s mood.
- It hydrates children who are dehydrated.
- It relieves croup.
Garlic and Catnip Enema Ingredients:
- 1 clove of garlic (organic, if possible) or 2 drops of garlic oil
- 1 teaspoon of catnip
- 2 cups of filtered water
If you are using a garlic clove, peel it and place it in a blender with the 2 cups of hot water. Then add the catnip and allow the entire mixture to steep for 15 minutes. Then allow it to cool to body temperature. Strain the garlic pulp out of the mixture before you administer this tea via the enema.
Heat the 2 cups of clean, filtered water to boiling. Pour into a glass container. Add garlic oil and catnip and allow it to steep for 15 minutes. Allow the “tea” to cool to body temperature. Administer using a bulb syringe / enema.
To administer the enema, put coconut oil or shea butter on the bulb tip. Communicate clearly with your infant or toddler (or older child) about what you’re going to do. Use calming tones. Tell them that this treatment might feel strange, but that they should try not to poop for just a few breaths after you put the enema into their bottom. When you sense that the child is going to poo, let them sit on the toilet or put a diaper on the baby quickly to catch the feces. Consider doing a child’s first enema in the bathtub or putting a towel down on the floor to prevent mishaps.
The child should curl up with knees bent and lay on their left side. Suction the tea into the bulb syringe, insert the tip of the syringe into the anus about ½ inch (after lubricating it with coconut oil) and then push the room temperature tea into the bowels slowly. Avoid pushing air from the bulb syringe into the rectum. Continue to squeeze on the bulb until you remove the tip from the anus to avoid suctioning the tea back out of the bowels which would contaminate the inside of the bulb.
Roll the child from his or her left side to his or her right side to ensure that the tea goes through the entire intestine.
If you administer an enema and the child doesn’t poop within 5-10 minutes, he or she is likely dehydrated. In that case, repeat the enema.
If the child has a fever, the fever will likely begin to break shortly after the child develops sweat on his or her upper lip. This often occurs shortly after the enema is administered. Children often wish to take a nap afterward.
Click here to buy a Bulb Syringe to use as an enema.
Other Home Remedies for Croup
- N-Acetyl Cysteine / NAC is a powerful nutrient remedy for croup. It is safe for use in children when you administer it as a powder.
- Administer cayenne oil with coconut oil as a carrier oil to the chest, throat, or back.
- Administer mullein oil on the chest and back.
- Rub garlic oil on the bottoms of the feet.
- Get a tent for the child’s bed and put a cool mist humidifier inside the tent.
- Administer peppermint tea to lessen coughing spasms.
- Administer Lobelia inflata internally to reduce coughing spasms.
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Resources:
• Khanal, A. et al. (2015). Nebulised hypertonic saline (3%) among children with mild to moderately severe bronchiolitis - a double blind randomized controlled trial. Retrieved January 20, 2024 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4644020/
• Zhang, L. et al. (2008). Nebulized hypertonic saline solution for acute bronchiolitis in infants. Retrieved January 20, 2024 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18843717/
• Real Food Recovery (2024). Stop a Fever (and more) with a Garlic Enema. Retrieved January 20, 2024 from https://www.realfoodrecovery.org/stop-fever-and-more-with-a-garlic-enema/
