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Okay. I've had a cough for about two weeks now and it's not going away. Whenever I try to breathe deep, a wheeze suddenl comes out. I've been using Tylenol Cold once a day and drinking fluids, but it won't go away. What am I doing wrong?

I'm with 'Rin. Natural remedies are all fine and good, but with a rattle or a wheeze, and it hasn't gone away, get yourself to your doc. Take the antibiotics, and use natural remedies to help your body recover from the 'biotics. (like eat yogurt every day while you're on the meds.)

One of the best things for a cold is zinc. Studies have shown that taking zinc when a cold first begins can reduce the time it lasts and make it go away faster. People seem to always think of vitamin C first when they think of colds, which is good, but zinc is really important too. Sometimes a deficiency in zinc can cause, among other things, recurrent colds and flu. If you don't want to or can't buy zinc in the store it's found naturally in the following foods - brewer's yeast, dulse, egg yolks, fish, kelp, lab, legumes, lima beans, liver, meats, mushrooms, oysters, pecans, poultry, pumpkin seeds, sardines, seafood, soy lecithin, soybeans, sunflower seeds, torula yeast, and whole grains.

Cat's Claw/Una de Gato is good for easing cold symptoms, it's a really strong immune booster, just make sure it's Uncaria tomentosa, the peruvian/south american cat's claw. There's a kind of cat's claw that comes from mexico that I believe causes diarhea, very bad if you are sick.

Elderberry is useful in fighting upper respiratory infection and cold headaches. You'd probably want to buy it in capsule form and follow the directions or have it as a tea a couple times a day.

Ginger tea is also useful for colds or I'd imagine just ginger (maybe if you like it with sushi or in ginger dressing on your salad that would be good.)

Wild cherry bark is well known for it's use in fighting colds (the reason most cough syrups, at least when I was a kid, were cherry flavored.) However, I would recommend buying a commercial preparation and NOT stripping the bark from any local cherry trees. The leaves, bark, and fruit pits of wild cherry trees contain hydrocyanic acid, which can be poisonous. I suppose the roots and inner bark might be safe but I don't know enough about cherry trees to say, which is why I recommend a commercial preparation.

Hot liquids also help, whether it's soups, broth, or teas. Even though it's probably not as good I always drink hot chocolate when I have a cold. But then again, chocolate is a natural painkiller so maybe I'm doing myself a favor.

.... ah, we've missed you. heart

Drinking your raspberry tea? ^_^

I know a great laryngitis cure! Make a tea/tisane of sage leaves and thyme and let is steep with a drop of lemon essential oil. Steep about 10 minutes and drink 'er down! It cured mine in one night combined with resting the throat. (talking kept to a minimum. For a child, it might be fun to make them a chalkboard they can write messages to you on so they dont' get frustrated.) However, laryngitis isn't connected to the chest and respiratory systems, it's all about the larynx....My tea there might help out with the laryngitis, but not the deeper chest cough. Good luck!

1tsp sage (dried or fresh)
1stp thyme (dried, not ground spice)
1 drop lemon essential oil (do not over use)
honey to taste