This herbal combination for lungs has been a lifesaver for one of my daughters. She began getting horrible coughs a few years ago on a repeated basis. The coughs were dry, had a ring to them and were happening too frequently. It seemed her lungs were weak: she would cough on and on if she was around a lot of dust outside or if she ran hard in the church gym. One of her coughs even turned into pneumonia. I knew I had to find something that would effectively target her easily inflamed lungs and draw out any mucus that needed removed.
I was so thankful when I found this formula in Dr. Christopher’s book, Herbal Home Health Care.
Giving my daughter just one cup of this tea when she has one of her coughing fits heals it the same day!
I also used this in tea form with my youngest last week. She woke up with a barking cough and constricted breathing. I made one cup of this tea and divided it throughout the day – it knocked the nasty cough out that day and she then had only an occasional, productive cough after that. {For my youngest, I added the tea with juice so she would readily drink it.}
DIY Lung Formula
Combine equal parts of the following herbs:
{Click each herb below to read more information about them!}
- Marshmallow Root – sooths irritated and inflamed mucous membranes
- Comfrey Leaf* – heals on contact internally and externally (optional. Do your own research)
- Chickweed Leaf– as a “drawing” herb it removes toxins and reduces inflammation
- Mullein Leaf – loosens, expels mucus and also calms spasms; reduces swelling in the glandular system.
- Lobelia Leaf– a strong relaxant, dilates the bronchial passages and relieves spasms
Mix all these herbs together and store in a bag or container.
There are 4 ways you can use these herbs:
1. Make a tea by combining 1-2 tsp. {I always use 2 when making medicinal teas} per cup of boiling water. Once the herbs are added to the boiling water, remove pan from heat, cover and steep 5-10 minutes, then strain. Adults drink 1 cup 3 times a day. Children drink half the amount. Since I use this formula for coughs and lung problems, I prefer to give a tea because there’s nothing like sipping hot tea to calm coughs, but the other methods below will also work.
2. Grind the herbs with a mortar and pestle, and place in capsules for convenience of taking. Capsules are easy to put together when using a capsule machine, but it can be done without one. Tea and tincture forms are the most potent, but capsules will work also for those that prefer them. For adults, give 2 capsules 3 times a day. Give children half the amount.
3. Grind the herbs with a mortar and pestle and sprinkle the powder on applesauce or yogurt. This is really convenient for children, but some adults may like this too! Give the same dosage as #2.
4. Make a tincture with the herbs. Administer 15-20 drops for adults and about 10 drops for children.
Do you have a favorite herb or herbal combination for healing the lungs? I would love to hear it!
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Wildcrafting Wednesday
Wonder if this would be safe while nursing?
Thanks
Renee
Yes this formula is something I would take while nursing. Thanks for the question, Renee! 🙂
Where would you suggest getting the herbs? My son has mild to moderate asthma & I feel this would help him.
I purchase most of my herbs from the Bulk Herb Store, but they don’t carry Chickweed as of now. You can click on the herbal names above and it will bring you to the websites I personally use. Thanks for the question! Keep me updated! 🙂
Find and support your local herb store, farmers market, etc.. you can also grow them. Fresh medicine is always more potent.
Great info to know! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday 🙂
I have terrible asthma since birth my mother gave me a lot of medicines but just temporary relief .Many times i was confined to the hospital when the attack worsened .One time I visited an herbalist who recommended me to try onion .Chop the small onion into small pieces and eat it raw followed by drinking water after each meal until my asthma subsides. It really works and since then my asthma is not that bad anymore
Awesome! Thank you for sharing, Alessandra!
Do you use equal parts of each herb? It says put each in a bag, so one cup of each?
Yes the instructions do say to use equal parts of the herbs, so if you want to make a large batch you can mix together a cup of each herb. If you want a smaller mixture on hand, you can mix 1/4 cup or a tablespoon of each herb. It just depends on how much you want to mix up at one time. Thanks for the question!
Thanks for making this lung tea mixture for me back when I had pneumonia Jill. (I am still using the bag you gave me with the 5 herbs listed.) A couple of weeks ago while working on a piece of property, having stirred up some moldy hay above a mulch pile among other things, I could feel a strange feeling in my chest, and this tea took care of it two different times. I even made a cup this afternoon, as I have been in some heavy dust situations the last several days and could feel the congestion in my chest.
You are welcome! I’m so glad it’s been a help to you!
Hi! I believe that I have bronchitis and I was wondering if the Dr. Christopher’s Lung health capsules would work to cure it. I tend to get bronchitis/sinus infections often and would appreciate any help in preventing/treating them! As soon as I get a cold, it always tends to go to my lungs. Thank you so much for your help!
His formula is great for any lung problem. The capsules work well too! I would use it anytime you feel something developing in your chest.
I’m wondering your thoughts on the internal use of comfrey. The Bulk Herb Store’s description of comfrey advises against it. Thanks!
The Bulk Herb Store says that there can be damage if used in excess internally. There was a scientific study done on comfrey, but it was very faulty in my opinion. That study has made some herbalists hesitant to recommend internal usage. Comfrey is not an herb I would take internally every day as a health supplement, but it has been used and recommended internally by herbalists all over. I have never known of anyone with bad reactions to comfrey, but if a person is uncomfortable taking it internally, they can leave it out of this formula. I know of those that have healed internal injuries by consuming comfrey smoothies, or taking an internal formula with comfrey, when nothing else would heal it. It is an AMAZING healing herb. I personally treat it like I would lobelia or wormwood – limited to sickness or injuries. And of course there may be some who could experience a negative side effect, but it’s the same with any herb or food. As I said, I’ve never known anyone that had a negative reaction, so I personally use it on occasion. Thanks for the question!
Thanks so much!! I will be trying this soon with the comfrey! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
Would we be able to grow some or all the herbs?
Thanks for sharing this!!
You should be able to, depending on where you live. I would get a good herb planting book {like Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung} and see what type of climate and soil the plants need. You can also search for good books on Amazon and other online resources. I have chickweed growing everywhere around me, and have plans to plant the other herbs this spring. Growing your own herbs is FREE medicine! 🙂
I just saw this from your asthma post (so glad she’s okay!) and am excited to try it with my three-year-old. Anytime she gets sick, a cough seems to settle in her lungs and I’d love to do something to strengthen her system!
I hope it helps as much as it helps us! I add the tea to some juice so that my girls drink it with no problem. 🙂
I had read that it was best to do a cold infusion of marshmallow. by pouring hot water over it will you be losing some of its effectiveness/\?
Never heard of a cold infusion. 🙂 Cold water would not pull the properties out well. You don’t want to hard boil the herbs, but pouring boiling water over them and removing it from from the heat will retain the properties well.
I think anyone uncomfortable with Comfrey could substitute Nettle. Great site Jill!
Thanks, Mike!
Also I would be careful with lobelia…can cause an allergic reaction. Do your research first
My stash of herbs arrived in the mail today to make the lung tea. Everyone’s cold free right now but when my 8 yr old gets a cold, he just coughs and coughs so I’m hoping this will help with that. Thanks Jill!
I hope it’s a help too! It always works wonders for us! Isn’t it so much fun to get a box of herbs in the mail?! It’s like Christmas for me. 🙂
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Thank you so much for this! My 9 month old had croup and the steroids given by the doctor didn’t help. Lung tea did though! God bless :).
PS: This is my old blog. My new one is in progress…
I used it for croup recently as well-knocked it out in no time! So glad it worked well for you, Amber, and be sure to share your new website when it’s finished. I would love to see it!
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Definitely :). Also I added elderberry to mine since lil man is still too small to have the syrup.
Perfect idea! I love throwing extra herbs into formulas!
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nice site!
Thanks!
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nice site! cool
Thank you!
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My 14 month old has bronchitis and potentially asthma as well. I was looking into purchasing Dr. Christopher’s Lung Plus Bronchial formula for her. Would you recommend that, especially considering how young she is? If so, what dosage would you recommend?
Hi, Corinne! It may be completely safe for that age, though I don’t remember giving it to mine for younger than age 2. I am so sorry that I don’t know for sure. I need to study up on the herbs that are safe for the younger years. I do know of a formula that is for sure safe! It’s called Herbal Respiratory. I would give 5-10 drops 3 times a day, or 5 drops hourly if she’s bad enough and would need it that often. I hope this helps, and that your sweetie is all better soon!
Here’s the link to the Herbal Respiratory: http://tinyurl.com/go5dmf4
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Jill, thank you very much! This helps immensely!
Glad it does! You’re welcome!
Thank you for a wonderful article addressing lung problems. I’ve ordered and have been using Dr Christopher’s tincture. I would like to buy the herbs for the tea but find that pretty much each one you list has a choice among leaf, root, flower and even seed. For people like me I think it would be helpful to add the plant part to the name of the herb when you are giving a mixture to prepare. So in this case, are all the herbs listed above to be the leaf? Thank you.
Great question! All of them are the leaf form except for the marshmallow, which is the root. Take care!
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I am going to check out if these herbs are safe for pet, and make a tincture for my little dog. She has asthma and is always getting sick. What are your thoughts on this for pets?
Mullein, chickweed, and marshmallow are safe, but lobelia and comfrey are not. Best wishes to your dog!
Julian from Eugene, Oregon. I was diagnosed of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in 2012 at the age of 63. I had been a heavy smoker, my symptoms started out with dry cough and shortness of breath, i ended up in the hospital, on a ventilator. I should have known it was coming, but like most smokers, thought it would never happen to me. My COPD got significantly worse and unbearable because of my difficulty catching breath. Last year, i started on a natural COPD Herbal therapy from NewLife Herbal Clinic, i read a lot of positive reviews from patients who used the treatment and i immediately started on it. I had great relief with this herbal treatment. I breath very much better now, no case of shortness of breath or chest tightness since treatment, my lungs condition is totally reversed. Visit NewLife Herbal Clinic website ww w. newlifeherbalclinic. com. This treatment is a miracle!!
Have just started reading your blogs and fine it very interesting
and like to know more about herbs. thx, mjs