BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Allergies & Colds Herbal or natural remedies for a cough?

I have a cold with a cough right now and was wondering if there are any herbal or natural remedies that will quiet a cough? Sleeping is hard since I spend so much time trying to fall asleep while coughing. I am trying to resist buying OTC stuff like Comtrex (which has been my drug of choice for years!)Sucking on a cough drop helps for a little while - but I would prefer not to have to eat them all night.
Please don't tell me about honey and lemon. My mom tried that on me as a kid and it was all I could do to keep from throwing up! To this day, I can't tolerate it.
So - got any suggestions?

If I get a cough, it's usually worse for me when I try to sleep. I keep a glass of water and several peppermint candies by the bedside to help quell my cough if it gets started. I also sleep propped up on several pillows or go to the living room and sleep on the recliner. A humidifier in your bedroom my help. I'll keep lots of water and peppermints handy during the day too. I also like drinking lots of herbal tea such as peppermint or licorice tea. I have found that if I have a cough that won't clear up or seems to be getting worse it usually means I have an infection and I need to see the doctor.

Here's a remedy I use for cold and coughs:

Warm lemonade knocks out colds and flu:

1 cup boiling water
Squeeze in the juice of 2 lemons
Honey to taste
2 dashes of cayenne pepper

Drink several times a day until your cold is gone or you have averted it.

Cayenne pepper will cut through the yuk in your throat and get rid of your cough. I also eat as many hot and spicy Doritos, with as hot a salsa as I can stand. This usually knocks out any sore throat or cough quickly.

Here are some more Immune Boosting Recipes

A teaspoon of honey before bed has now been proven to be more effective than cough syrup. (you can Google for articles from Dec. 2007)

I recently read in Prevention magazine that a little dark chocolate could calm a cough as well as codeine cough syrup. I tried it and it works! Dark chocolate is now on my list of natural cough remedies.

I'll try your dark chocolate remedy whether I have a cough or not!