Homeopathic Remedies for Coughs: Four Remedies Compared
Listen to the cough
Ask a homeopath about a cough and the first thing we will do is, well, listen. Is it a dry bark that seems to come from nowhere? A loose rattle with very little coming up? A string of fits that leaves you gagging and red in the face? To a homeopath, those differences matter just as much as the cough itself.
That is why there is no single “homeopathic cough remedy”. Instead there are pictures, and four of the best known are Antimonium tartaricum (often called Ant tart), Drosera, Ipecacuanha (Ipecac) and Spongia. They can sound confusingly similar on paper, so in this post we’ll put them side by side.
Important note
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. Coughs can be a sign of conditions that need medical care, particularly in babies, young children, older people and anyone with a heart or lung condition. If you take prescribed medication or have an existing health condition, please speak to your doctor first.
First, the sensible bit: when a cough needs a doctor
Most coughs come with a cold or a bug and clear up by themselves. But please see a doctor, or seek emergency help, if:
the cough has lasted more than three weeks
there is breathlessness, wheezing, noisy or laboured breathing, or chest pain
you are coughing up blood, or phlegm that is persistently green, rusty or foul
there is a high fever, or you feel very unwell
lips or skin look blue or grey
a baby or young child has a cough with fits, a whooping sound, vomiting after coughing, or any difficulty breathing. Whooping cough can be very serious in babies.
there is unexplained weight loss or night sweats alongside the cough
If you are ever unsure, ask. A cough in a baby or an older person can change quickly.
Simple comforts that are worth a try
Warm drinks and plenty of fluids
A spoonful of honey, or honey and lemon in warm water (not for babies under one year)
Extra pillows to prop up the head if lying flat sets it off
Keeping away from cigarette smoke and other irritants
Rest, which is underrated and often skipped
Four coughs at a glance
Antimonium tartaricum: loose, rattling, a chest full of phlegm but very little coming up, with weakness and drowsiness
Drosera: spasmodic fits one after another, ending in gagging or vomiting, often worse after midnight
Ipecacuanha: a wet, rattling cough with nausea that doesn’t go away, even after being sick
Spongia: dry, barking and sawing, with hoarseness, worse in dry cold air and often before midnight
When homeopaths tell these apart, they listen for four things: dry or loose, the time of day it is worst, whether nausea is part of it, and how strong the person feels.
Commonly used homeopathic remedies for coughs
These are traditional remedy pictures described in homeopathic materia medica. They are not a suggestion to treat a serious cough at home.
Antimonium tartaricum (Ant tart)
Made from tartar emetic, Ant tart is associated with a chest that sounds full of mucus, yet very little is brought up. The person tends to be weak, pale, drowsy and sweaty, with a cough that is worse lying down and eased by sitting up. Nausea and gagging may be part of it.
Traditionally it is linked with the very young, the elderly and those who are worn out. Which is exactly why a rattling chest in a weak, drowsy or breathless person needs medical attention, not a remedy.
Ant tart may be considered where a rattling, phlegmy cough brings up little and comes with weakness and drowsiness.
Drosera
Drosera, made from the sundew plant, is the classic spasmodic cough. Fits come in rapid bursts, one after another, from a tickle in the throat, often ending in gagging, retching or vomiting. It is typically worse after midnight, when lying down, and with talking, laughing or drinking, and the voice may turn deep and hoarse.
It is the remedy picture homeopaths most often connect with whooping-type coughs, so please remember that persistent coughing fits in a child need a doctor.
Drosera may be considered where dry, barking, spasmodic fits come in bursts and end in gagging, and are worse after midnight.
Ipecacuanha (Ipecac)
Ipecac is made from the root of a South American plant used traditionally to make people sick, which gives you a big clue to its picture. The cough is wet and rattling, yet little is coughed up, and the standout feature is persistent nausea, with gagging or vomiting during the cough, that does not ease.
The chest may feel tight and wheezy, and the tongue is often clean rather than coated.
Ipecac may be considered where a wet, rattling cough comes with constant nausea and gagging.
Spongia tosta
Spongia is made from roasted sea sponge. Its cough is dry, hard and barking, often described as sawing, with a hoarse, burning or tight throat. It is usually worse in dry cold air, with talking, and before midnight, and eased by warm drinks.
This picture is the one traditionally linked with croup-like coughs. If a child has a barking cough with noisy breathing or is struggling to breathe, that is an emergency.
Spongia may be considered where a dry, barking, sawing cough comes with hoarseness and is worse in dry cold air.
Using homeopathic remedies sensibly
Remedies are chosen for the whole person, not the cough alone, so a remedy that fits one person may not fit another
For babies, children, or any cough that is persistent or recurring, please speak to a qualified practitioner as well as a doctor
Tell your doctor and your homeopath about everything you are taking, and never stop or change prescribed medicines without medical advice
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, speak to a qualified practitioner first
If symptoms continue, change or worry you, seek medical advice
Related information
Coughs often travel with other upper-respiratory complaints, so you may like my posts on Homeopathic Remedies for Sinusitis and Homeopathic Remedies for Tonsillitis. For the everyday remedies homeopaths often keep to hand, see A Homeopathy Home Kit: Ten Remedies Homeopaths Often Talk About.
Individual Support
A cough is a good example of why homeopaths ask so many questions. A consultation gives us time to look at the cough in the context of you, not just the sound it makes.
In a first consultation, I would explore:
When the cough began, and what was going on at the time
What it sounds and feels like: dry or loose, barking or rattling, in fits or constant
What makes it better or worse, including time of night, warmth, cold air, lying down and talking
What comes with it: nausea, breathlessness, fever, thirst, tiredness
How often you get coughs and chest troubles, and how you recover
How it all fits together as one whole-person pattern
If you would like to talk it through, I offer a free online intro call, with no obligation.
This article is for general educational purposes only and describes how remedies are understood within homeopathic philosophy. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a claim that any remedy treats or cures a cough or any other medical condition. If you are concerned about your health, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Sharon McAllister — UK-qualified homeopath, former Registered Nurse of 35 years, and former Vice Principal of a homeopathy college.
