Infection: Throat, Chest & Lungs

Colds & Flu, Sore Throat & Strep, Laryngitis, Croup, Coughs, Bronchitis, Whooping Cough and Pneumonia

Part of the Infection series. This sheet adds what is special to the throat, chest and lungs. The core program (the two infection formulas, Echinacea, liver flushing and the five levels) is on the General Infection sheet. Start there, and use this sheet alongside it.

Understanding the Condition

One Airway, Top to Bottom

Air comes in through the nose and mouth, passes the throat and tonsils, goes through the voice box and down the windpipe, then into the bronchial tubes, which branch like an upside-down tree into the lungs. The whole way down, the airway is lined with a thin layer of mucus that traps dust, germs and irritants before they reach the delicate lung tissue. In a healthy body that mucus stays thin and is cleared without our noticing.

When the body is congested, the mucus thickens into old, hard debris that cannot be coughed out. That is where infection settles. A cold that is not cleared works its way down: a scratchy throat becomes a cough, a cough becomes bronchitis, and bronchitis can settle in the lungs as pneumonia. The lower it settles, the more serious it is and the harder the work, which is why the time to act is at the first scratch in the throat.

Diagram: the airway from the throat to the voice box and windpipe, the bronchial tubes and the lungs, with the infections that settle in each. — Each part of the airway, and the infections that settle there. Diagram drawn for H.E.A.L.

What Goes Wrong

Colds and flu take hold in mucus-rich tissue of the nose and throat. Caught at the first sign, they can usually be cleared quickly.
A sore throat or strep throat is inflammation of the throat and tonsils. The tonsils may swell from a clogged lymph system; strep forms pockets of pus on the tonsils and the back of the throat.
Laryngitis is inflammation of the voice box. The vocal cords swell, and the voice goes hoarse or quits altogether.
Croup is swelling and spasm in the voice box and windpipe of a young child, with a harsh, barking, crowing cough, usually at night. It is the spasm on top of the swelling that makes the breathing so frightening.
Coughs and bronchitis come from inflamed bronchial tubes. Left there, the thickened mucus keeps irritating the tubes, and an occasional cough becomes a chronic one.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection with coughing fits that go on, cough after cough, until there is no air left; the breath sucked back in makes the “whoop.” Babies under 6 months may not whoop. Once called the 100-day cough, it commonly takes six to ten weeks to clear.
Pneumonia is a swelling and infection of the lungs in which parts of the lung become plugged with a thick fluid. Breathing becomes labored and the fever climbs.
Pleurisy is inflammation of the lining around the lungs, making every breath painful. Dr. Christopher saw it settle where mucus collects in a weak area of the lungs, often from never breathing deeply.

Why the Bowels Matter

Dr. Christopher taught that constipation is one of the chief causes of bronchial trouble: “the bowels must be cleared and kept open.” Mucus has to leave the body, and the bowel is its main way out. When the bowel is not moving everything out, the body cannot send more mucus there, so it sits and thickens wherever it is, and it can fill the lungs. Keep the bowels moving two or three times a day with LBF all through this work.

Get Yourself to the ER

If you have any of these signs, get emergency care now, and keep your herbal work going alongside it:

Struggling to breathe, or lips or fingernails turning blue or gray
A child who can’t swallow, is drooling, or sits leaning forward to breathe
Croup with a high, harsh sound on every breath, even at rest, that steam and cool air don’t ease
A baby who stops breathing or goes limp after a coughing fit
High fever with fast breathing, chest pain or confusion
Coughing up blood
A throat so swollen on one side that the voice is muffled and the mouth won’t open
A cough that lasts for weeks, with night sweats and weight loss. Tuberculosis needs medical testing and treatment; it is contagious.

See the When Minutes Matter box on the General Infection sheet for the signs that apply to any infection.

The Emotional Side: the Energy Work

Healing the whole person. We are body, mind and spirit, and all three must heal together.

Louise Hay, in her book Heal Your Body, describes these patterns:

Throat problems: the inability to speak up for one’s self; swallowed anger; stifled creativity; refusal to change. Turn it around: It’s okay to make noise. I express myself freely and joyously. I speak up for myself with ease. I express my creativity. I am willing to change.
Sore throat: holding in angry words; feeling unable to express the self. Turn it around: I release all restrictions, and I am free to be me.
Tonsillitis: fear; repressed emotions; stifled creativity. Turn it around: My good now flows freely. Divine ideas express through me. I am at peace.
Laryngitis: so mad you can’t speak; fear of speaking up; resentment of authority. Turn it around: I am free to ask for what I want. It is safe to express myself. I am at peace.
Coughs: a desire to bark at the world: “See me! Listen to me!” Turn it around: I am noticed and appreciated in the most positive ways. I am loved.
Bronchitis (and croup): an inflamed family environment; arguments and yelling; sometimes silent. Turn it around: I declare peace and harmony within me and around me. All is well.
Lung problems: depression; grief; fear of taking in life; not feeling worthy of living life fully. Turn it around: I have the capacity to take in the fullness of life. I lovingly live life to the fullest.
Pneumonia: desperate; tired of life; emotional wounds that are not allowed to heal. Turn it around: I freely take in Divine ideas that are filled with the breath and the intelligence of life. This is a new moment.
Influenza: a response to mass negativity and beliefs; fear; belief in statistics. Turn it around: I am beyond group beliefs or the calendar. I am free from all congestion and influence.

Emotional patterns paraphrased from Louise Hay, Heal Your Body (Hay House). These are not faults to blame anyone for; they are places to look and let go.

Areas Affected & Opening the Way to Healing

Start the core program from the General Infection sheet at the level that fits. Herbal Aid 1 is the formula for the throat and chest: warming, it moves the blood and cuts through the mucus. Keep the bowels moving with LBF so what is loosened has a way out. Then work on the area.

Colds and Flu: Catch It at the First Sign

Herbal Aid 1 tea. At the first sign, I make a hot cup of Herbal Aid 1 with honey and sip it all through the day. I am usually on top of my symptoms in about 24 hours. Start Echinacea the same day.
The Flu Buster. 2 ounces of Echinacea and 2 ounces of Supertonic in 64 ounces of distilled water, sipped through the day. Do it for 2 to 3 days.
When illness is going around, take Lobelia, 1 to 2 dropperfuls 2 to 3 times a day, through the exposure window. My stories here are all the same: everyone else got sick, and the person on Lobelia didn’t.
Fever: help the fever do its work with the Epsom salt sweat bath; never sweat a small child. Both are on the General Infection sheet.

The Throat: Sore Throat, Strep and Laryngitis

Sip Herbal Aid 1. A hot cup of Herbal Aid 1 with honey, sipped slowly so it rolls over the sore spot.
The Ice Poultice. Wet a washcloth, fold it to fit around the neck, and freeze it until it is hard, about 20 to 30 minutes. Wrap it snugly around the throat, cover it with a hand towel, and fasten it with a safety pin. Keep the mouth shut: no talking, eating or drinking for about 45 minutes, until the body has warmed the cloth through. Then sip a second hot cup of Herbal Aid 1 with honey.
Swollen tonsils and glands: alternate two packs over the neck. An M&L pack: M&L Salve spread on a piece of flannel, wrapped around the neck and covered. And the Charcoal & Flaxseed Poultice over the swollen area. Do one one night and the other the next night, or one at night and one during the day. Either way is helpful. Keep going until the swelling is gone.
A tired or failing voice responds to the same Ice Poultice, done before you need to speak.

Why the Ice Poultice Works

The body senses that very cold spot and rushes warm, fresh blood, loaded with fresh antibodies, to the throat to warm it. That blood does the real work, clearing the inflammation and infection in the time it takes to warm the cloth. I have seen it take the pus pockets off strep throat in 45 minutes.

Croup

Antispasmodic first. Antispasmodic is my go-to for croup. It is made with lobelia seed and is much stronger than plain Lobelia, so only a few drops are needed: 1 or 2 drops for a newborn or young infant, and a bit more for older children. It relaxes the spasm that is closing the airway.
Steam. Run the hot shower and sink to fill the bathroom with steam, and hold the child upright in it.
Cool night air. Bundle the child up with a hat, blanket and slippers, and sit outside in the cool air for 5 or 10 minutes, breathing calmly. It cools the irritated bronchial tubes and calms the spasm.
M&L Salve rubbed over the chest and back.

Babies Need a Different Approach

Older children: Lobelia as needed for coughing spasms, dosed for size; propped up on pillows at night; steam, cool air, and plenty to drink.

Babies: a nursing baby gets the formulas through mother’s milk. In a serious case, 1 or 2 drops of Antispasmodic can be slipped into the baby’s mouth during a feeding, followed by milk. Hold the baby upright, pat the back firmly with a cupped hand, and use the steam. Gently suction the nose if it is needed.

Your calm voice matters more than anything. Talk the child through every fit.

Coughs and Bronchitis

Bronchial Support (formerly the Bronchitis Formula) is built to clear a cough that hangs on: it loosens the old, hard mucus in the bronchial tubes so it can be coughed out. ½ to 1 teaspoon every 3 to 5 hours.
Lobelia for coughing spasms: 1 full dropperful. It relaxes the spasm and also helps loosen the mucus, so it does not stop the body from clearing it.
M&L Salve massaged over the chest and back. This is my preference for the chest.
Onion and honey syrup. Dr. Christopher’s simple cough syrup: dice onions into a stainless steel, glass or unchipped enamel pan (never aluminum), pour honey over them until they are covered, and add nothing else. The honey draws the onion’s power out into a syrup. Take it by the spoonful. Keep it cool, or it will sour.
Lung Support strengthens the whole respiratory tract when it has been weak for a long time, or after pneumonia: 2 to 4 droppersful, 3 to 5 times a day. It works best used steadily over time, not just in an emergency.

A Note on Coltsfoot and Comfrey

Bronchial Support contains coltsfoot and comfrey, two traditional cough herbs. Use it while the cough is active rather than month after month. If you are pregnant or nursing, or have liver trouble, check in with me before using it.

Whooping Cough

A member who nursed her children through whooping cough wrote down what she did, and she put it together perfectly. Her three goals: keep the child rested, build the immune system, and get the mucus out regularly.

Stay calm. Your calm voice keeps the child from panicking. Remind them to open their mouth and breathe; children will try to suck in air through closed lips.
Lobelia at night. Every 2 hours, or whenever a child wakes coughing. It lasts about 2 hours, and it helps them sleep. During the day, give it only if they are miserable; let them cough some to loosen what is in the lungs. Give Echinacea and the infection formulas consistently.
Keep the mucus moving. Encourage them to spit out what they cough up. Plenty of water and herbal tea keeps the mucus thin. Superfood in juice or a frozen banana shake for extra nutrition. No white flour, dairy or fried food. And make sure the bowels move very well every day.
Garlic. Rub the juice of a cut garlic clove on the soles of the feet several times a day and put socks on. At night, rub it on the chest and behind the ears too.
Prop them up on pillows at night. Use steam and a cool-steam humidifier, with a little eucalyptus sprayed into the air, and the cool night air for a bad spell.
And pray. In the busyness of remedies and cleaning, don’t forget the greatest help for calming fear.
Everyone else in the house: the Preventive level, with Lobelia through the exposure window.

A Mother’s Garlic Goo: a Garlic Rub

Warm 3 tablespoons of coconut oil until melted, then add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Take it off the heat and add 3 tablespoons of fresh minced garlic. Blend on low, then on high for 2 minutes. Strain it well; chunks of garlic left in will burn the feet. Store it in a glass jar in the fridge; it turns into a soft paste in about an hour.

Rub it on the feet and ankles, and cover with socks. It is oily and messy, and the house will smell of garlic, but your body will be thankful.

Pneumonia: Garlic Paste to the Feet

Garlic paste to the feet is natural healing first aid for pneumonia. I have seen lungs clear overnight. The full directions are on the General Infection sheet, along with Reading the Paste, which tells you each morning how the body is doing. In short:

Press 6 to 12 cloves of garlic and mix 50/50 with Vaseline or a non-petroleum jelly. Oil the feet, then put on a layer of plain jelly.
Spread the paste ½ inch thick on the soles only, cover with gauze and a white cotton or wool sock, and stay off the feet 6 to 8 hours or overnight. The bowels must be open.
Adults: no more than two nights in a row if at all possible. Children: one night, unless it is extremely important. An infant does not have the body heat to pull the garlic in: dress the baby in a footed sleeper with a hot water bottle by the feet.
It can be done even in a hospital, if family can get in to put it on.

Run the program at the Intense or Intensive level with its ELFs, Bronchial Support for the cough, and Lobelia for spasms. Pleurisy is worked the same way. Afterward, Lung Support helps rebuild the lungs.

The Sick Room

A cut onion. Cut an onion in half and set it in a bowl by the head of the bed. I am not sure exactly what it does, but it absorbs something and makes a difference in a sick room. It is smelly, but helpful.
Clear the air. Herbal Air (eucalyptus and citrus oils; the recipe is on the Herbal Air sheet) sprayed into the room clears the air during colds and flu. Keep it away from cats.
Fresh air and sunshine, fluids, rest, and light, mucus-free food: juices, fruit, vegetables and Superfood.

Use distilled water for all teas, and when taking your extracts in hot water.

Level of Commitment

Gentle support. A cold, a sore throat, a simple cough: Herbal Aid 1 tea at the first sign, the Ice Poultice, onion syrup, and the Basic level for a few days.
Focused cleansing. Bronchitis, a cough that hangs on, croup, or whooping cough in older children: the Moderate level with its ELFs, Bronchial Support, Lobelia for spasms, and the bowels kept moving. Whooping cough takes six to ten weeks; be patient and keep the child rested.
The full program. Pneumonia, whooping cough in a baby, or anyone struggling to breathe: the Intense or Intensive level from the General sheet, with garlic paste to the feet, alongside medical care when the ER signs appear. A chest that has been weak for years: Lung Support steadily for months.

A Loose Healing Plan

At the first tickle: Herbal Aid 1 in hot water with honey all day, Echinacea, and Lobelia on hand. The Flu Buster for flu.
Sore throat: the Ice Poultice between two hot cups of Herbal Aid 1.
A cough: Bronchial Support, onion syrup, M&L Salve on the chest and back, and Lobelia for spasms. Antispasmodic, steam and cool air for croup.
Settled in the chest: step up the level, garlic paste to the feet, ELFs, and keep the bowels moving.
In the sick room: a cut onion by the bed, steam, cool air, pillows to prop up, plenty of fluids, light food.
All along: watch for the ER signs. Continue 3 to 5 days after every symptom is gone, then Lung Support to strengthen.

Stories from the Work

Dara’s Story: Razor Blades in My Throat

I woke up one morning with what felt like razor blades in my throat; swallowing nearly brought me to tears. I made a hot cup of Herbal Aid 1 with honey and sipped it slowly, letting it roll over the sore spot. While I drank, I froze a folded wet washcloth until it was hard, then forced it around my neck, covered it with a hand towel and pinned it. Mouth shut, no eating or drinking, for the 45 minutes it took my body to warm it through. When it came off, I drank a second cup of Herbal Aid 1. The pain was completely gone: about 90 minutes start to finish, though it was a long 90 minutes to live through.

Dara’s Story: The Minister’s Voice

A very sweet older minister could not get through a sermon; his voice would give out. When he did an Ice Poultice before he was to speak, he could talk freely.

Dara’s Story: The Cough That Wouldn’t Leave

One summer, in a vegan cooking class I was teaching, a woman couldn’t stop coughing. She had lived for years overseas and had had the cough for over five years; the climate had played havoc with her bronchial tubes. I gave her a bottle of Bronchial Support. By the next week the cough was gone, and it never returned.

A Member’s Story: A Mother’s Nights with Whooping Cough

“My children seemed perfectly normal during the day, but nighttime was always more intense. I brought them all into our bedroom to sleep around us on the floor, so I could hear everyone and get to them easily. I gave them Lobelia every 2 hours, or whenever the first one woke up coughing, and rubbed garlic on their feet, chests and behind their ears. During the baby’s worst week I slept sitting up with him in a chair. When he had a fit I patted his back all the way to the bathroom, filled it with steam, and gave him a few drops of Antispasmodic in breast milk; then he would nurse and fall back to sleep, until the next fit. His lips turned blue a few times, but he always took that breath. I was always so happy to see the sun come up in the morning!”

That baby is sixteen now.

A Story From the Work: The Baby Who Coughed Once

In 2010 there was a whooping cough epidemic in our area. One mother was working hard to keep it from her 3-month-old. He would have none of the Lobelia; it is made with apple cider vinegar, and to an infant that is too much of a change from mother’s milk. So we used the Antispasmodic instead. She slipped 1 or 2 drops into his mouth while he was nursing and squirted milk in after it. He looked at her as if to say “What did you just do?” but kept on feeding. She also rubbed garlic oil on his chest and back. He woke coughing only once, one night. The germs never got a foothold in him.

Dara’s Story: Sixteen Days Old

The youngest person I know of to have garlic paste on the feet was a baby just 16 days old, with pneumonia. I coached the family by phone. The baby was dressed in a bunny suit with a hot water bottle by the feet, because an infant does not have the body heat to pull the garlic in. The lungs cleared. The baby peeled a layer of skin from the feet, but there were no blisters, no tears and no upset.

Dara’s Story: The Death Watch

An elderly woman was in the hospital, and it was a death watch. The doctors would not let them do anything to help, except that they didn’t care if the family put garlic paste on her feet. They didn’t expect anything to come of it. The adult family pushed their way in, and I coached them on what to do. The next morning she was greatly improved. The doctors said they were glad the drugs had finally kicked in.

Dara’s Story: Reading the Paste

Some years ago my husband got the flu just as he started to give birth to a kidney stone. The pain made him throw up easily, and I could not get any herbs into him, so I just did the garlic paste to his feet, three nights in a row. The first morning the paste had turned a bright fluorescent green: we had pulled out live virus. The second morning it was partly bright green and partly brownish; his immune system was getting on top of it. The third day we soaked his feet in aloe vera gel to clear the burn, and that night we applied the paste for the last time. In the morning it was brownish to black. Each day around lunchtime his symptoms had improved greatly, and by noon on the third day he was nearly symptom-free.

From Dr. Christopher: Garlic for a Two-Year-Old

Dr. Christopher was called out in the small hours to a little boy, not yet two, with double pneumonia. The doctor had told the parents nothing more could be done and that he would be back in the morning to sign the death certificate. It was far below zero, fifty miles from an ambulance, and the plumbing was frozen, so Dr. Christopher could only oil the boy’s feet and put on the garlic paste. The next morning the doctor came back to find the boy sitting in his high chair, drinking juice and breathing normally. Nearly twenty years later, a young man came up to Dr. Christopher after a lecture to shake his hand and thank him for that night.

From Dr. Christopher: An Onion by the Bed

Dr. Christopher told of a medical doctor whose patient had strep throat that nothing would touch. The doctor tried an old remedy his grandfather had told him about: he diced a big onion, put it on a saucer, and set it on a table by the bed, where the man could only breathe it in. The next morning the strep throat was gone.

Watch

Natural Support for Laryngitis & Sore Throat.

Garlic Paste to the Feet.

Garlic Paste to the Feet (first video).

Classes & Further Reading

Lung Health Class
Lungs & Respiratory System Class
Colds, Flu, and Related Nuisances (Dr. Christopher)

More on the Throat, Chest & Lungs

This information is for education only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or replace care from a qualified health professional.