🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Cough
Cough is a primary symptom of pulmonary disorders, seen in various diseases. As stated in the "Huangdi Neijing": "All five zang and six fu organs can cause cough, not just the lungs." That is, although cough is primarily a lung disease, it is related to other organs. Commonly used effective folk remedies and secret formulas for treating cough include:
[Prescription One]
Perilla leaf, apricot kernel, ginger, rock sugar each 10g. Crush perilla and apricot kernel into paste, slice ginger, decoct together, strain, add rock sugar, simmer briefly until dissolved. Divide and drink 2–3 times daily.
This prescription disperses wind-cold and stops cough, effective for cough due to external wind-cold.
[Prescription Two]
6–10g bitter apricot kernel, 3 slices of ginger, 100g white radish. Crush all ingredients, add 400ml water, simmer gently to 100ml. Add a little sugar for flavor. One dose daily, divided into portions.
This prescription disperses cold, transforms phlegm, and stops cough, suitable for wind-cold cough.
[Prescription Three]
60g aged tangerine peel, 30g ginger, 250g honey. First, decoct aged tangerine peel and ginger in water, extract juice after 15 minutes. Add water again and repeat twice, combining all three extractions. Simmer over low heat until thick and sticky, add honey, boil until frothy, then store in bottles. Take three times daily, 3 tablespoons each time.
This prescription disperses cold, warms the lungs, transforms phlegm, and stops cough, suitable for wind-cold cough.
[Prescription Four]
10g ginger, appropriate amount of maltose. Wash ginger, slice, place in a porcelain cup, pour boiling water, cover and steep for 10 minutes, then add maltose, drink as tea, anytime, no need to sweat.
This prescription is suitable for wind-cold cough.
[Prescription Five]
5–10 stalks of scallion, 10g light soybean paste, 3g perilla stem or aged tangerine peel, appropriate amount of rock sugar. Wash scallions, take the white part, combine with light soybean paste and aged tangerine peel in a sandpot, decoct to extract juice, then add rock sugar. Divide and drink several times daily, as needed.
This prescription is suitable for wind-cold cough.
[Prescription Six]
4 fresh olives, 15g rock sugar. Wash olives, split open, add rock sugar and appropriate water, decoct until aromatic, drink warm once or in portions.
This prescription clears heat and stops cough, suitable for wind-heat cough.
[Prescription Seven]
20g honeysuckle, 5g mint, a little honey. First decoct honeysuckle, obtain about two small bowls of juice. Before removing, add mint and decoct for about 3 minutes. Store in a bottle, mix with honey and drink in portions.
This prescription is suitable for cough due to wind-heat.
[Prescription Eight]
10g clean loofah flowers, appropriate amount of honey. Place loofah flowers in a porcelain cup, pour boiling water, cover and steep for 10 minutes, then add honey. Drink warm in one go, three times daily.
This prescription is suitable for wind-heat cough.
[Prescription Nine]
Several geckos, 30g honey, appropriate amount of fresh radish. Bake geckos dry, grind into powder. Take 6g of gecko powder each time, mix with honey and radish decoction to drink.
This prescription nourishes yin and clears lung heat, suitable for dry cough due to fire-dryness injuring yin.
[Prescription Ten]
Each 30g fresh lily, loquat (seed removed), fresh lotus root (washed, sliced)
Combine lily, loquat, and lotus slices, boil into juice, add appropriate sugar. Better with rock sugar. Drink as tea, frequently.
This prescription is suitable for cough due to dry-heat injuring the lungs.
[Prescription Eleven]
Appropriate amount of yellow pear, several quantities of maltose. Remove core from yellow pear, crush into juice, mix with maltose, cook into paste. Take 2 tablespoons each time, three times daily.
This prescription clears lung heat, transforms phlegm, moistens lungs, and stops cough, suitable for lung-dryness cough.
[Prescription Twelve]
6–12g Sichuan Fritillaria (3–6g if using Sichuan Fritillaria), about 15–30g honey. Crush Sichuan Fritillaria, mix with honey in a steamer bowl, steam and consume in one dose.
This prescription is suitable for lung-dryness cough.
[Prescription Thirteen]
15–20g aged tangerine peel (30g if fresh), 50–100g glutinous rice.
First, decoct aged tangerine peel to extract juice, strain. Then add glutinous rice to cook porridge. Alternatively, dry aged tangerine peel, grind into fine powder, take 3–5g per dose, mix into boiling porridge, then cook together.
This prescription regulates Qi, transforms phlegm, suitable for cough due to phlegm-dampness invading the lungs.
[Prescription Fourteen]
500g small pork ribs, 30g ginkgo nuts, seasonings as needed. Wash pork ribs, add Shao wine, ginger slices, and sufficient water, simmer gently for 1.5 hours. Remove shells and red skin from ginkgo nuts, add to soup, add salt to taste, cook for another 15 minutes, add monosodium glutamate, sprinkle with green onion bits.
This prescription stops cough and relieves dyspnea, suitable for cough and dyspnea with abundant phlegm.
[Prescription Fifteen]
500g tangerine, 500g rock sugar. Peel and remove seeds from tangerines, place in a small pot, add 250g rock sugar, marinate for one day until flesh is saturated with sugar. Add sufficient water, simmer gently until syrup thickens, stop heating. Press each tangerine segment into a cake, add remaining 250g rock sugar, mix well, place in a tray, dry in a ventilated, shaded area. Store in a jar. Take 5–8 segments per dose, three times daily.
This prescription regulates Qi, dries dampness, transforms phlegm, suitable for cough due to phlegm obstructing the lungs.
[Prescription Sixteen]
30g Huangqin, 30g fresh Rehmannia, 50g glutinous rice.
Add both herbs to sufficient water, decoct for one hour, remove residue, add rinsed rice, cook until soft into porridge. Consume in portions throughout the day.
This prescription clears fire and nourishes yin, suitable for cough due to liver fire invading the lungs.
[Prescription Seventeen]
9g gardenia, 10g apricot kernel, 12g white mulberry bark, 200g pig lung. Cut pig lung into slices, wash thoroughly to remove foam from airways. Combine with gardenia, apricot kernel, and white mulberry bark in a clay pot, add water, boil, drink the soup and eat the lung.
This prescription clears liver fire, nourishes lung yin, used for cough due to liver fire invading the lungs.
[Prescription Eighteen]
Pinellia, Inula flower, sea clam shell, light bamboo shoot, aged tangerine peel, hematite, Coptis, mulberry leaf, Poria, sea stone powder, processed licorice each 60g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription is derived from the medical case of Qing Dynasty TCM master Zhang Qianli. Function: clears liver fire, calms the lungs, descends Qi, transforms phlegm. Suitable for cough due to liver fire invading the lungs.
[Prescription Nineteen]
Bupleurum, Pinellia, ginseng, ginger, softshell turtle shell, Platycodon, Citrus reticulata, Areca, Evodia each 150g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription comes from the "Journal of Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine." Function: soothes the liver, resolves depression, descends Qi, stops cough. Suitable for cough due to liver depression.
[Prescription Twenty]
Scrophularia, Ophiopogon each 60g, prune 24g, Platycodon 30g, licorice 15g. Select and remove impurities, dry and grind into fine powder, mix uniformly, package into packets of 18g each. Boil with hot water, drink as tea. One packet per dose, twice daily.
This prescription clears lungs and transforms phlegm, suitable for dry cough with little phlegm.
[Prescription Twenty-One]
Apple, ginger, white honey each as needed. Extract juice from apple and ginger, mix, add white honey and consume.
This prescription moistens lungs and clears heat, suitable for lung-dryness cough.
[Prescription Twenty-Two]
One pig lung, one pig stomach, one male duck, 30g Northern Sand-Participate, 30g Atractylodes macrocephala, 30g Cordyceps, 3g cinnamon, 60g ginger. Wash pig lung and pig stomach thoroughly, remove feathers and internal organs from duck, wash clean. Mix all herbs, pack into pig stomach, pig lung tube, and duck cavity. Place all three in a pot, add water, bring to a boil, simmer gently for four hours until tender. Remove and serve each in a bowl, eat slowly.
This prescription is suitable for cough due to deficiency of both spleen and lung.
[Prescription Twenty-Three]
200g red radish, 12 jujubes, add three bowls of water, boil down to one bowl. One dose daily, consume freely.
This prescription regulates Qi of the spleen and lungs to stop cough.
[Prescription Twenty-Four]
45g peanuts (without red skin), 30g yam, 100g glutinous rice, rock sugar as needed. Crush peanuts and yam, mix with glutinous rice, cook into porridge. When nearly done, add rock sugar, mix well. Eat as a meal.
This prescription is suitable for chronic cough due to deficiency of both spleen and lung.
[Prescription Twenty-Five]
100 sweet apricot kernels, 120g walnut meat, 120g pork fat, 120g maltose, 120g honey, 250g fresh pear juice.
Grind the first two ingredients into fine powder. Cut pork fat into chunks, fry in a pan, remove residue, leave oil. Fry apricot kernel and walnut powder until oil is absorbed. Add pear juice and ginger juice, stir well. Add maltose and honey, stir until all moisture evaporates, bubbles form, and aroma fills the air. Take one tablespoon per dose, once daily, dissolve in warm water and consume.
This prescription tonifies the kidneys and lungs, suitable for cough due to dual deficiency of lung and kidney.
[Prescription Twenty-Six]
15g apricot kernel, 15g walnut meat, 50g glutinous rice. First crush apricot kernel, grind into juice, mix with walnut meat and glutinous rice to cook porridge.
This prescription tonifies the kidneys and relaxes the lungs, suitable for cough and dyspnea due to lung and kidney deficiency.
[Prescription Twenty-Seven]
Cinnamon twig, aconite, cooked Rehmannia, Cornus officinalis, yam, Poria, moutan bark, alisma, ginseng, walnut meat, ginger. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription tonifies the lungs and kidneys, consolidates Qi, stops cough, suitable for cough due to lung and kidney Qi deficiency.
[Prescription Twenty-Eight]
Radix astragali, Radix codonopsis, Atractylodes macrocephala, processed licorice, Angelica, aged tangerine peel,升麻, Bupleurum each 70g.
Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription is the "Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang" from "The Theory of Spleen and Stomach," function: strengthens the spleen and lungs, regulates Qi, transforms phlegm. Suitable for cough due to combined spleen and lung deficiency.
[Prescription Twenty-Nine]
Adenosma root, Ophiopogon tuber, Polygonatum, mulberry leaf, licorice, Trichosanthes root, raw Lablab each 40g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription is the "Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang" from "Treatise on Warm Diseases," function: nourishes yin, clears lungs, transforms phlegm, stops cough. Suitable for cough due to lung yin deficiency.
[Prescription Thirty]
Scutellaria root, gardenia, Platycodon, Ophiopogon tuber, white mulberry bark, Fritillaria bulb, Anemarrhena rhizome, Trichosanthes seed, aged tangerine peel, Poria, licorice each 60g. Decoct and take orally, one dose daily, twice daily.
This prescription clears liver fire, moistens lungs, transforms phlegm. Suitable for cough due to liver fire invading the lungs.
[Prescription Thirty-One]
Processed ephedra 6–9g, raw gypsum 20–30g, apricot kernel, licorice, Scutellaria root, Zhebei each 6–9g, Houttuynia cordata 20–30g, fine cinnamon, Cinnamomum cassia (added last), purple perilla, winter flowering fritillary, processed loquat leaf each 6–9g. Soak in clean water, water level 1 inch above herbs, soak for 1 hour, then decoct. First decoct gypsum for half an hour, then add other herbs, add Cinnamomum cassia last 5 minutes before stopping decoction. Obtain one bowl of decoction, consume warm. Re-decoct after 6 hours, obtain another bowl, consume warm. Dosage may be adjusted according to age and constitution. One dose daily.
This prescription is a proven formula by renowned TCM physician Gu Minghao from Shanghai. Function: opens lungs, transforms phlegm, stops cough. Used for initial stage of external pathogen invasion into the lungs, phlegm blocking the airway, impaired lung clearance, severe cough, thick yellow phlegm, worse in morning and evening, seemingly phlegm-heat obstructing the lungs, actually due to latent cold.
[Prescription Thirty-Two]
10g dried loofah flowers, appropriate amount of honey. Place loofah flowers in a porcelain cup, pour boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, then add honey. Drink warm in one go, three times daily.
Effective for lung heat, sore throat, yellow phlegm, wheezing, chest pain.
Loofah flowers are sweet, bitter, cold, excel at clearing lung heat and detoxifying. Clinically applicable for acute and chronic pharyngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
[Prescription Thirty-Three]
500g four-cornered clam, 50g ham slices, 50g clear bamboo shoots, salt, wine, sesame oil, meat broth. Wash clams, place in a basin, pour boiling water over, remove shells and extract meat, wash clean. Add clam meat, ham, and bamboo shoots to a wok, sauté briefly, add wine, pour in meat broth, add salt, cook until clam meat is tender, drizzle with sesame oil.
This soup combines the salty-cold, yin-nourishing, diuretic, phlegm-transforming, and mass-dissolving properties of clam meat with bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots, as recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica," are said to "alleviate thirst, promote urination, benefit Qi, clear heat, transform phlegm, refresh the stomach." Thus, this soup is often used as a dietary remedy for lymph node tuberculosis, thyroid nodules, diabetes, phlegm-cough, and similar conditions.
Treatment for Cough