🌿 Folk Prescriptions

1. Radish and Green Onion for Wind-Cold Cough
Radish 1 piece, green onion 6 stalks, ginger 15 grams. Boil radish with three bowls of water until cooked, then add green onion and ginger, reduce to one bowl of soup. Consume the entire mixture at once. Promotes lung function, resolves exterior symptoms, transforms phlegm, and relieves cough. Treats wind-cold cough, abundant foamy phlegm, accompanied by chills, fatigue, and body aches.
2. Brown Sugar Ginger Date Decoction for Wind-Induced Cough
Brown sugar 30 grams, fresh ginger 15 grams, red dates 30 grams. Boil with three bowls of water until reduced by half. Drink all at once; sweating slightly indicates recovery. Expels wind and dispels cold. Treats wind-induced cough, stomach cold pain, postpartum diarrhea due to cold, and lochia retention.
3. Coriander Soup for Wind-Induced Cough
Coriander (Chinese parsley) 30 grams, maltose 30 grams, rice 100 grams. First wash rice, add water to boil into soup. Take three spoonfuls of rice soup, mix with coriander and maltose, steam for 10 minutes. Consume while hot, avoid wind and cold. Induces sweating and clears exterior. Treats cough caused by wind-cold common cold.
4. White Radish Honey for Wind-Cold Cough
Large white radish 1 piece, honey 30 grams, white pepper 5 grains, ephedra 2 grams. Wash and slice radish, place in a bowl, pour in honey, white pepper, ephedra, steam for half an hour, consume hot at once. Lie down and wait for sweat to appear to recover. Induces sweating, dispels cold, relieves cough and transforms phlegm. Treats wind-cold cough.
5. Lamb Honey Ointment for Deficiency Cough and Pulmonary Atrophy
Fried lamb fat 250 grams, fried lamb marrow 250 grams, white honey 250 grams, ginger juice 100 ml, fresh rehmannia juice 500 ml. Fry lamb fat until boiling; then add lamb marrow and bring to boil again; then add honey, rehmannia juice, and ginger juice, continuously stir over low heat until thickened into a paste. Take one spoonful daily on an empty stomach, mixed with warm wine, or used as ginger tea or porridge. Nourishes deficiency, moistens lungs, expels wind, detoxifies. Treats yin deficiency with fever, bone-steaming fever, weakness due to exhaustion, cough with pulmonary atrophy, and also moisturizes lungs and skin.
6. Fresh Pear and Fritillary for Cough and Lung Abscess
Fresh pear 500 grams, fritillary powder 6 grams, rock sugar 30 grams. Peel pear, cut open, remove core, fill with fritillary powder and rock sugar, close and place in a bowl, steam until cooked. Eat twice daily. Clears heat, transforms phlegm, disperses nodules, and resolves exterior. Used for cough or lung abscess, presenting chest pain, chills, cough, fever, dry mouth, sore throat, yellow and foul-smelling sputum, or bloody sputum.
7. Horse Milk to Clear Heat and Relieve Cough
Fresh horse milk 300 ml, rock sugar as needed. Boil horse milk; add rock sugar when drinking. According to <<Tang Bencao>>, horse milk "quenches thirst and treats heat," having benefits of blood replenishment, fluid generation, moistening dryness, and relieving cough. It serves as good auxiliary treatment for cough and tidal fever.
8. Rock Sugar Bird's Nest Porridge for Chronic Lung Deficiency Cough
Bird's nest 10 grams, rice 100 grams, rock sugar 50 grams. Soak bird's nest in warm water until soft, remove hair and impurities, then soak again in boiling water to expand further. Take out. Wash rice, place in pot with three large bowls of water, boil over high heat, then switch to low heat. Add expanded, clean bird's nest and cook together for about one hour, then add rock sugar until dissolved. Nutritive and moistening, relieves cough and transforms phlegm. Treats chronic lung deficiency cough and cough with qi deficiency.
9. Bird's Nest Pear Greatly Nourishes Lung Yin
Bird's nest 5 grams (soaked in water), white pear 2 pieces, fritillary bulb 10 grams, rock sugar 5 grams. Remove core from white pear, place the other three ingredients inside, cover tightly, tie securely, place in bowl, steam until cooked. Consume. Nourishes yin, moistens dryness, relieves cough and transforms phlegm. Treats long-term cough with phlegm, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
10. Radish and Pepper for Cough Relief and Phlegm Reduction
Radish 1 piece, white pepper 5 grains, ginger 3 slices, dried tangerine peel 1 piece. Boil together with water for 30 minutes. Drink the soup twice daily. Descends qi, eliminates phlegm. Treats cough with excessive phlegm.
11. Soy Milk Drink Moistens Lungs, Calms Cough, and Transforms Phlegm
Soybeans, rock sugar. Soak soybeans, grind into juice, boil, add sugar for consumption. Drink one bowl every morning on an empty stomach. Strengthens spleen, broadens the middle, moistens dryness, promotes urination; clears lungs, relieves cough, transforms phlegm. Treats malnutrition and weakness, lung heat cough, etc.
12. Tofu Sugar Relieves Cough, Transforms Phlegm, and Eases Wheezing
Tofu 500 grams, red sugar, white sugar each 100 grams. Hollow out the center of tofu, fill with red and white sugar, place in bowl, steam over water for 30 minutes. Consume in one go, repeat four times. Clears heat, generates fluids, moistens dryness. Treats cough with wheezing and phlegm.
13. Corn Silk and Tangerine Peel for Cough
Corn silk, tangerine peel, both in appropriate amounts. Boil together with water, drink twice daily. Relieves cough, transforms phlegm. Treats wind-cold cough with excessive phlegm.
14. Radish and Pig Lung Soup for Cough Relief
Radish 1 piece, pig lung 1 piece, apricot kernel 15 grams. Boil together with water for 1 hour. Eat meat and drink soup. Clears heat, transforms phlegm, relieves cough and wheezing. Treats persistent cough, excessive phlegm, and shortness of breath.
15. Sugar Water Stirred with Egg for Deficiency and Cough Relief
Sugar 50 grams, egg 1 piece, fresh ginger as needed. Beat egg in a bowl. Boil sugar with half a bowl of water, pour hot over egg, stir well, then add freshly squeezed ginger juice, mix thoroughly. Take twice daily, morning and evening. Nourishes deficiency. Treats chronic cough that fails to heal.
16. Sesame and Rock Sugar Water for Nighttime Cough
Raw sesame 15 grams, rock sugar 10 grams. Place sesame and rock sugar together in a bowl, pour boiling water over, drink. Moistens lungs, generates fluids. Treats persistent nighttime cough without phlegm.
Note: A handful of sesame, 50 grams of ginger, crush together, boil into juice, and drink—has similar efficacy.
17. Fried Sheep Liver with Sesame Oil for Chronic Cough
Sweet liver 60 grams, sesame oil 30 grams, salt a little. Slice sheep liver, heat sesame oil in wok until nearly smoking, add liver and salt, stir-fry until done. Moistens lungs, relieves cough. Treats chronic cough that won’t stop.
18. Steamed White Pear with Honey for Chronic Dry Cough and Throat Dryness
Large white pear 1 piece, honey 50 grams. Remove core from pear, fill with honey, steam until cooked. Eat one piece twice daily, continue for several days. Generates fluids, moistens dryness, relieves cough and transforms phlegm. Treats chronic dry cough and throat dryness due to lung yin deficiency, with hot palms and soles.
19. Bird's Nest and Tremella for Dry Cough and Night Sweats
Bird's nest 10 grams, tremella 15 grams, rock sugar as needed. First rinse bird's nest with clean water, then soak in hot water for 3–4 hours, remove hairs, then soak again in hot water for 1 hour. Place bird's nest, tremella, and rock sugar in a ceramic pot or covered bowl, steam until cooked. Consume. Nourishes deficiency, nourishes lung yin, reduces false fever. Treats dry cough, night sweats, or lung yin deficiency.
20. Yam Porridge for Strengthening Spleen and Lungs
Raw huai yam 30 grams, a little sugar. Grind yam into fine powder, mix with cool water, cook while stirring, boil for two or three bubbles, then add a little sugar for flavor. Consume. Strengthens spleen, stops diarrhea, tonifies kidney, consolidates essence. Treats labor-related cough and wheezing, spleen deficiency diarrhea, and all kinds of weakness and deficiency disorders.
21. Honey-Steamed Yam for Chronic Lung Deficiency Cough
Yam 1000 grams, honey dates 10 pieces, pork fat bits 100 grams, sugar 350 grams, osmanthus juice. Wet starch. Cooked lard a little. (1) Wash yam, place in pot, add water to cover, boil over high heat until soft. Remove skin, cut into 6 cm long, 3 cm wide rectangles, flatten. Cut honey dates in half, remove pits. (2) Rub cooked lard on the inside of a large bowl, arrange honey dates at the bottom, then layer yam, sprinkle sugar, pork fat bits, repeating until full. Sprinkle sugar on top, cover with lid, steam for about one hour. Remove, invert onto plate. (3) Heat wok, pour out broth from plate, add 100 grams water, 150 grams sugar, and a little osmanthus juice, boil, thicken with wet starch, pour over yam. Tonifies kidney and moistens lungs. Treats chronic lung deficiency cough, spleen deficiency diarrhea, fatigue, weakness, and long-term use strengthens kidney and body.
22. Pork and Apricot Kernel Soup for Itchy Throat and Cough
Lean pork 50 grams, apricot kernel 10 grams, northern sand ginseng 15 grams. Boil together to make soup. Drink twice daily. Clears lungs, transforms phlegm, generates fluids. Treats cough with little phlegm, thirst, dry throat, and itchiness.
23. Peanut, Date, and Honey Decoction for Cough and Phlegm
Peanuts, jujubes, honey each 30 grams. Boil until extremely soft. Drink the soup, twice daily. Stops cough and transforms phlegm. Treats cough, phlegm (emaciation, intestinal rumbling, distension in chest and ribs, dizziness, shortness of breath).
24. Peanut and Sand Ginseng Soup for Cough with Little Phlegm
Peanuts, ginkgo nuts, lily bulbs, northern sand ginseng each 25 grams, rock sugar as needed. Boil to extract juice, add rock sugar. One dose per day. Moistens lungs, transforms phlegm. Treats chronic cough with little phlegm, shortness of breath, dry throat.
25. Polygonatum and Rock Sugar for Cough and Wheezing
Polygonatum (herbal medicine) 30 grams, rock sugar 50 grams. Wash polygonatum, soak in cold water, place in clay pot, add rock sugar, add sufficient water. Place pot on stove, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until polygonatum is soft. Two times daily, eat polygonatum and drink the soup. Clears lungs, regulates spleen, enriches essence. Treats cough due to lung dryness and deficiency, dry cough without phlegm, difficulty expectorating, poor appetite, dry mouth, kidney deficiency, and essence depletion.
26. Lotus and Snow Pear Soup for Nourishing Yin and Moistening Lungs
Lotus bulb 25 grams, large snow pear 1 piece, rock sugar 20 grams. Soak lotus bulb in clean water overnight. Next day, transfer lotus bulb and water into clay pot, add over half a bowl of water, boil for 1.5 hours. When lotus is soft, add peeled and cubed snow pear and rock sugar, boil for another 30 minutes. Nourishes yin, moistens lungs, calms mind, relieves cough. Beneficial for those with chronic lung deficiency cough; healthy people also benefit lung and stomach health.
27. Tremella Duck Egg Soup for Nourishing Yin and Clearing Lungs
Tremella 15 grams, rock sugar 25 grams, duck egg 1 piece. Boil tremella and rock sugar together, once water boils, add duck egg. Take twice daily. Nourishes yin, clears lungs, quenches thirst, generates fluids. Treats cough with little phlegm, dry throat, and thirst due to lung yin deficiency.
28. Bamboo Juice Porridge for Clearing Heat and Transforming Phlegm
Bamboo juice 30 grams, glutinous rice 100 grams. First cook glutinous rice into porridge, just before serving add bamboo juice, stir well. Consume freely. Clears heat, removes phlegm, calms shock. Treats wind-heat phlegm-fire, lung heat cough, and yellow, abundant phlegm.
29. Monk Fruit and Persimmon Cake Soup for Clearing Lung Heat
Monk fruit half, persimmon cake 3 pieces, rock sugar 30 grams. Boil with two and a half bowls of water until reduced to one and a half bowls, add rock sugar, filter out residue. Drink in three portions throughout the day. Clears lung heat, removes phlegm-fire, relieves cough. Treats infantile whooping cough and phlegm-fire cough.
30. Fig and Rock Sugar Water for Lung Heat Cough
Figs 30 grams, rock sugar as needed. Wash figs, boil with water and rock sugar. Once daily, continuous use for 3–5 days yields significant results. Removes phlegm, regulates qi, moistens lungs, relieves cough, detoxifies, and lubricates intestines. Treats lung heat cough, hoarseness, dry throat and pain, constipation, and hemorrhoids bleeding.
31. Sugarcane Juice for Deficient Lung Heat Cough
Half a cup sugarcane juice, half a cup radish juice, wild lily 100 grams. First boil lily until soft, then mix in both juices. Consume before bedtime, once daily. Moistens lungs, relieves cough, generates fluids, alleviates dryness, calms mind and spirit. Ideal for deficient heat cough; best for those recovering from illness with tracheitis.
32. Milk Soup Hot Pot Fish for Cough Relief and Swelling Reduction
One live carp, ham slices, magnolia flower slices, shiitake mushroom slices, scallions, ginger, cooking wine, salt, vinegar, “milk soup” (soup made from chicken, duck wing tips, and bones), all as needed. Clean carp, scale and gut, wash thoroughly, cut into dice-like pieces, stir-fry briefly with scallions and ginger in oil, add cooking wine, salt, and other seasonings. Then add “milk soup,” boil, add ham, magnolia flower, shiitake mushrooms, simmer for about 3 minutes, serve in a hot pot. Light alcohol on the stove upon serving, enjoy with ginger and vinegar sauce. Relieves cough, reduces swelling, nourishes and strengthens the body. Suitable for patients with cough, wheezing, and chest fullness.
33. Long-Term Consumption of Peanuts for Cough Relief and Phlegm Reduction
60 grams roasted or boiled peanuts. Eat daily without interruption until cured, then stop. Moistens lungs, transforms phlegm. Treats chronic bronchitis in the elderly. Note: Avoid if suffering from real heat or internal fire.
34. Buckwheat Flour and Egg White for Cough and Restlessness
Buckwheat flour, egg white, both in appropriate amounts. Mix egg white with buckwheat flour into a dough. Apply firmly to the chest several times daily. Clears heat, descends qi. Treats chest fullness, abdominal distension, and restless cough.
35. Lily Honey for Lung Heat and Irritable Cough
New lily 200 grams, honey as needed. Mix honey with lily and steam until soft. Chew one piece at a time, swallow the juice. Clears lungs, calms mind. Treats lung heat, irritability, and cough.
36. Charcoal-Charred Rice Candy for Chronic Cough with Excessive Phlegm
Rice candy, charcoal-ash from pine wood (made by burning oily old pine into ash), both in appropriate amounts. Burn pine wood as charred as possible. Consume the ash and candy together as much as possible, continue for 3–4 days to recover. Moistens lungs, relieves cough, transforms phlegm, and eases wheezing. Treats chronic cough with excessive phlegm and shortness of breath.
37. Sword Flower Soup for Phlegm and Pain Relief
Two sword flowers boiled into soup or drunk as tea. Regulates qi, relieves pain, stops cough, transforms phlegm. Treats cough, excessive phlegm. Note: Sword flower is the blossom of the cactus-type climbing plant, the dragon flower, mainly produced in southern regions. From May to October, it blooms with large white flowers, each over one palm-length. Harvest, cut open, dry in sun, becomes a fine dried vegetable, delicious when boiled into soup.
38. Autumn Pear Paste for Cough and Phlegm Relief
20 autumn pears, 1000 grams red dates, 1500 grams fresh lotus root, 300 grams fresh ginger, 400 grams rock sugar, 400 grams honey, honey as needed. Crush pears, dates, lotus root, ginger, extract juice, heat and concentrate into paste, dissolve rock sugar, then finish with honey. Can be consumed anytime in the morning or evening. Clears lung fire, relieves cough, transforms phlegm, moistens dryness, generates fluids, relieves irritability and thirst, eliminates alcohol toxicity, and promotes health. Treats deficiency cough, dry mouth due to fluid loss, deficiency irritability and thirst, and alcohol poisoning.
39. Bird's Nest and Ginseng Soup for Lung Benefit and Cough Relief
Bird's nest 5 grams, American ginseng 5 grams. Soak bird's nest in clean water until soft, remove feathers and impurities, wash, pat dry, place with American ginseng in a porcelain bowl, fill with eight-tenths full of boiling water, cover, steam over water for over 3 hours. Drink. Nourishes yin, moistens dryness, lowers fire, boosts qi. Treats dry cough, hemoptysis, tidal fever, night sweats due to lung and stomach yin deficiency. Especially suitable for cardiovascular disease patients with cough and wheezing.
40. Sugar-Pickled Orange Peel for Cough and Phlegm Relief
Orange peel, rock sugar, both in appropriate amounts. Fresh orange peel or softened dried peel, wash, cut into strips, place in aluminum pot, add about half the weight of the peel in rock sugar, add water to cover the peel, boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat until nearly dry. Remove peel, place on plate, cool, then add about half the weight of the peel in rock sugar, mix well. Consume. Moistens lungs, dries dampness, transforms phlegm, generates fluids. Treats cough with excessive phlegm.
41. Honey-Preserved Pomelo Meat for Wheezing and Phlegm Relief
Fresh pomelo meat 500 grams, honey 250 grams, baijiu (white liquor) as needed. Remove seeds from pomelo, cut into chunks, place in jar, pour in baijiu, seal tightly, let sit overnight, then transfer to aluminum pot, boil until nearly dry, add honey, mix well. Cool, store in bottle. Moistens lungs, relieves cough, transforms phlegm. Treats cough with excessive phlegm or elderly wheezing.
42. Honey-Preserved Double Nuts for Kidney and Lung Nourishment
Sweet apricot kernels 250 grams, walnut kernels 250 grams, honey 500 grams. First stir-fry sweet apricot kernels until golden yellow (do not burn), place in aluminum pot with water, boil for 1 hour, then add walnut kernels, reduce until nearly dry, add honey, mix well, boil again until ready. Take 3 grams each time, twice daily. Moistens lungs, nourishes kidneys. Regular consumption treats chronic cough and wheezing due to dual lung-kidney deficiency.
43. Pork Fat and Honey Ointment for Deficiency and Lung Moistening
Pork fat 100 grams, honey 100 grams. Simmer each ingredient separately over low heat until boiling, turn off heat, cool slightly, mix thoroughly. Take one tablespoon each time, twice daily. Moistens lungs, relieves cough, nourishes deficiency. Treats lung dryness cough.
44. Garlic Paste for Cough Relief and Cough Suppression
One head purple garlic. Peel garlic, mash into paste. Before bed, after washing feet, apply to both foot soles at Yongquan acupoint (apply petroleum jelly first), cover with gauze. Remove when strong stimulation is felt. If no discomfort, apply for 3–5 consecutive times. Detoxifies, suppresses cough. Treats wind-cold cough, dry cough, and infantile whooping cough.
45. Broad Bean Flowers and Rock Sugar Water for Hemoptysis
Broad bean flowers 9 grams, rock sugar as needed. Boil together with water. Take twice or thrice daily. Has astringent effect. Treats hemoptysis.
46. Amaranth and White Radish Juice for Hemoptysis
Amaranth (also called hollow stem vegetable) whole plant with roots 2 plants, white radish 1 piece, honey as needed. Wash amaranth and radish, crush together, squeeze juice into one cup. Mix with honey and consume. Treats hemoptysis due to lung heat.
47. Honey and Stemonopsis Decoction for Blood in Phlegm
Honey 20 grams, stemonopsis 25 grams, white hair 20 grams, trichosanthes 25 grams. First boil the first three ingredients, strain, take juice, then mix in honey, stir well. One dose daily, divided into two servings. Moistens lungs, relieves cough, clears heat, stops bleeding. Treats blood in phlegm and chronic cough due to tuberculosis.
48. Sour Pomegranate for Tuberculosis Cough and Wheezing
Sour pomegranate (sweet ones ineffective) 3 grams. Extract seeds, crush, squeeze juice. Take before bed each night, or chew seeds and swallow juice. Pomegranate seed juice has mild toxicity—do not drink excessively. Clears heat, constricts lungs. Treats tuberculosis cough and wheezing, insomnia, and chronic bronchitis in the elderly.
49. White Radish Seed for Phlegm Accumulation
White radish seeds (also called mustard seeds) 15 grams each raw and cooked, raw hematite powder 9 grams. First crush white radish seeds, boil into a large bowl of soup, take with powdered raw hematite. Half an hour later, repeat the dose. Eliminates accumulation, transforms phlegm. Treats phlegm accumulation syndrome. According to <<Medical Reflections from Chinese and Western Medicine>>, a young man with excessive phlegm suffered external infection, causing phlegm and mucus to accumulate in the upper abdomen, blocking food intake. After using this formula, he immediately felt the upper abdomen open up, allowing normal eating.
Note: According to <<Shi's Prescription Studies>>, simply boiling crushed mustard seeds to resolve retained phlegm and stagnant fluids is highly effective. Grinding mustard seeds into powder, mixing with warm water, drinking plenty of hot water, and inducing vomiting with finger probing can expel phlegm and stagnant fluids—same effect as decoction.
50. Steamed Fritillary Softshell Turtle for Nourishing Yin and Strengthening Lungs
Sichuan fritillary bulb 5 grams, softshell turtle 1 piece (~500 grams), chicken clear soup 1 kg, scallions, ginger, Sichuan pepper, cooking wine, salt, all as needed. Kill turtle, remove head and internal organs, cut into pieces. Place turtle pieces in steaming bowl, add fritillary bulb, salt, cooking wine, Sichuan pepper, scallions, ginger, steam for about 1 hour. Consume while hot. Nourishes yin, clears heat, moistens lungs, relieves cough, reduces fever. Treats yin deficiency cough, wheezing, low-grade fever, night sweats.
51. Mustard and Ginger Soup for Phlegm Removal and Cough Relief
Fresh mustard greens 80 grams, fresh ginger 10 grams, salt a little. Wash mustard greens, chop into small pieces, slice ginger, add four bowls of water, boil down to two bowls, season with salt. Take twice daily for three days, noticeable improvement. Promotes lung function, relieves cough, dispels wind, and removes cold. Treats wind-cold cough, accompanied by headache, nasal congestion, and limb soreness.
<Cough Treatment Remedies>