There are many folk remedies circulating online for treating coughs with garlic, but experts point out that not all coughs are suitable. Let's hear what the experts have to say:
Method 1: Holding garlic in the mouth
Peel a clove of garlic and hold it in your mouth. Gently bite it from time to time. Once the garlic flavor is released, swallow it slowly. This can soothe a scratchy throat and stop coughing.
【Expert Review】Garlic contains allicin, which has strong antibacterial properties. Theoretically, it is effective for a scratchy throat caused by bacteria. However, in clinical practice, a scratchy throat is often a symptom of chronic pharyngitis and can also be a local manifestation of certain systemic diseases, such as anemia, indigestion, chronic constipation, heart disease, bronchitis, asthma, liver disease, diabetes, and chronic nephritis. Therefore, it is best to use this folk remedy under the guidance of a doctor.
Method 2: Steamed garlic water
Take seven or eight cloves of garlic (reduce to two or three for children), crush them, place them in a bowl (with a lid), add water, and steam for 20-30 minutes. After it cools, drink the garlic water once or twice a day, or three times a day for severe cases.
【Expert Review】In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), garlic is considered warm in nature and enters the lung meridian. Folk remedies often use garlic to treat coughs and asthma. This remedy is somewhat effective for treating coughs and wheezing of a cold nature. However, it can be irritating for very young children, so it should be used with caution to avoid irritating the respiratory tract and worsening the cough symptoms. Furthermore, the effectiveness of allicin diminishes when heated, so one must pay attention to the heat and dosage.
Method 3: Garlic rock sugar water
Take 30 grams of garlic and 10 grams of rock sugar, add 200ml of water, simmer, and drink. Take three times a day for effectiveness to be seen by the next day.
【Expert Review】In TCM, rock sugar is believed to have the effect of stopping coughs and resolving phlegm. Adding garlic to rock sugar can enhance the cough-stopping effect, but it is only suitable for coughs caused by colds (wind-cold), and not for coughs caused by heat-type colds (wind-heat).