How To Get High Off Cough Syrup

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When cold season rolls around this year, you may want to avoid expensive over-the-counter treatments that can cause unpleasant side effects such as drowsiness or hyperactivity. Although homemade cough syrups don't treat all the symptoms of a cold, they can often effectively ease the extent of your coughing when taken regularly. This article includes various recipes that you can easily make at home.

Ingredients

1½ tablespoons of lemon zest, or the zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup peeled, sliced ginger, or ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
1 cup of water
1 cup of honey
½ cup of lemon juice

1 qt. filtered water
¼ cup chamomile flowers
¼ cup marshmallow root
¼ cup fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup honey

1 tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ cup of honey
A dash (about ⅛ teaspoon) of fresh grated horseradish root

1/4 teaspoon of butter
1/3 cup of milk
1 garlic bud/clove
1 to 2 teaspoons of honey

1
Combine the lemon zest, the ginger, and the water. In a small saucepan, combine the first three ingredients of the recipe.^[1]
- If you decide to use fresh ginger in the recipe instead of ground ginger, you can peel it with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler.^[2]
2

Bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, simmer it for five minutes.

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3
Strain and transfer the mixture into a measuring cup. Use a fine strainer or cheesecloth to strain the mixture to remove the ginger slices and lemon zest. Since the mixture will still be warm, it's best to transfer it into a heat-proof container or a measuring cup.
- A glass container with a secure lid or a large canning jar works well.
- Cheesecloth can usually be found in grocery and hardware stores.
- After this step you can discard the remaining zest and sliced ginger in the strainer because you've infused the water with these ingredients.
4

Rinse the saucepan and add the honey. After rinsing the saucepan out, add the honey to the saucepan and warm it over low heat. You don't want to boil the honey.
5

Add the strained lemon ginger water and lemon juice to the warm honey. When the honey is warm, you can pour in the strained lemon ginger water as well as the lemon juice.
6

Stir the mixture until it turns into a thick syrup. Once it is thoroughly mixed, pour the syrup into a clean jar or bottle with a secure lid.
7
Take the syrup to relieve your cough. Follow the dosage guidelines listed below:^[3]
- Adults and children 12 years of age and older should take 1 to 2 tablespoons of the syrup every four hours.
- Children ages five to 12 can be given 1 to 2 teaspoons of the syrup every two hours.
- Children ages one to five can use ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon every two hours.
- Children under the age of one should not be given honey, because of the risk of infant botulism poisoning.^[4]
8

Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to two months. This syrup keeps well in the fridge, and you will probably run out before two months has passed.

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1
Purchase chamomile flowers and marshmallow root at a local tea or herb shop. You can also order them online. The rest of the ingredients for this recipe can be found in a supermarket.
- Chamomile flowers can soothe your throat and help you sleep.^[5]
- Marshmallow root coats the throat and reduces mucus.^[6]
- If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not take anything with marshmallow root before talking with your doctor.^[7]
- If you have diabetes, you should also talk with your doctor before consuming marshmallow root since there is some evidence that it might interfere with blood sugar levels.^[8]
2

Wash a bottle or canning jar. You will use this bottle or a canning jar to store the syrup.
3

Pour the filtered water into a saucepan. Pour the filtered water into a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the saucepan to medium high heat.
4

Add the marshmallow root and chamomile flowers to the water. Measure and add the appropriate amount of marshmallow root and chamomile flowers to the water in the saucepan.
5
Grate the ginger root. A microplane grater works well to quickly grate ginger. It's best to grate across the grain of the ginger fibers.^[9]
- If you want to peel the ginger first, you can use a paring knife or vegetable peeler before grating.
6

Add the cinnamon, and bring the mixture to a boil. Now that the marshmallow root, chamomile flowers, ginger root, and cinnamon are in the water, bring the mixture in the saucepan to a boil. Then, simmer it until the total volume is reduced by half.
7
Place a layer of cheesecloth over the mouth of a large canning jar or a wide-mouthed bottle. Pour the liquid in the saucepan through the cheesecloth to strain out the herbs.
- Cheesecloth can usually be found in grocery and hardware stores.
- You can also use a fine strainer instead of cheesecloth.
8

Wait for the liquid to cool slightly before adding the honey and lemon. Once the mixture has cooled and is lukewarm, stir in the honey and lemon.
9

Cover tightly with the lid and shake the mixture thoroughly. This will help combine all the ingredients.
10

Take 1 tablespoon several times per day to treat a cough. For children, 1tsp. is the recommended dosage.^[10]
11

Store in the refrigerator for up to two months. While you can store the mixture in the fridge for up to two months, you might need to shake the mixture before each use to incorporate the ingredients that may have settled on the bottom.^[11]

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1
Wash a bottle or canning jar. You will use this bottle or canning jar to mix up the cough syrup, but also to store the syrup in the fridge. Using one jar or bottle makes clean up easier.
- It's helpful to use a bottle or jar with a secure lid so that you can mix the ingredients in the jar without spilling them, but also to store the syrup without worrying about it making a sticky mess in your fridge.
2
Add the apple cider vinegar, honey, water, ginger and cayenne pepper. Carefully measure these ingredients and add them to the jar.
- If the honey is solid, place it in the microwave or heat it in a water bath for a minute or two, to make it easier to evenly combine these ingredients. Depending on your microwave wattage, you might need to do this at a lower power level so you don't boil or burn the honey.
3

Secure the lid and shake well to combine. After you've added the ingredients, place the lid on the jar or bottle and shake it vigorously to combine all of the ingredients.
4
Administer up to 3 teaspoons at a time to adults as needed to relieve your cough. You can take this syrup more often than typical cough medicine because it does not contain any ingredients that would cause drowsiness.^[12]
- This syrup can also help with congestion and clear your sinuses.
5
Shake well before each use. The syrup can settle in the fridge, so shake well before each use to fully incorporate the ingredients. You might have to warm it up before shaking since the honey solidifies in the fridge.
- Remember, you might need to use a lower power level setting when microwaving.
6

Make a new batch every few days. The honey will solidify in the refrigerator, and the spices will lose some of their potency, so the syrup will be more effective if you make it every few days.^[13]

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1

Select fresh horseradish root at a grocery store or market. Fresh horseradish is much more potent than the prepared horseradish you can buy in a jar, and it will be more effective in this recipe. Look for a root that feels firm, but is also clean and unscarred.
2

Wash a small bottle or canning jar. You can use the bottle or canning jar to mix up the cough syrup, and also store it in the fridge.
3

Measure the honey and pour it into the jar. Add the specified amount of honey to the jar so it is ready to be mixed with the the horseradish.
4
Peel and grate the fresh horseradish root. After washing the horseradish root in water, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer layer of the root, and then rub the peeled horseradish against a grater.
- A microplane grater that finely grates foods will work well for horseradish.
- It's a good idea to grate the fresh horseradish in a room that is well-ventilated since it has strong fumes. As a precaution, you can also wear food-safe gloves. Preparing horseradish can make you tear up the same way you do when chopping an onion.
- Store the unpeeled horseradish root in a plastic bag in your fridge.
- Although it might be tempting to add more horseradish in the hopes that it will help clear up your cough faster, a little goes along way. Large amounts of horseradish can upset your stomach.
5
Add the dash of horseradish to the honey in the jar, and allow the mixture to sit for several hours. This will increase the potency of the syrup.
- Stir the mixture before consuming the syrup to ensure the horseradish is evenly incorporated into the honey.
6

Administer spoonfuls of the syrup as needed. Take a few spoonfuls of the syrup as needed to relieve your cough.
7
Store the syrup in the fridge. This recipe does not produce much syrup, but keep in the fridge since the horseradish loses its potency at room temperature.
- You might need to gently warm the mixture in the microwave since the honey solidifies in the fridge.
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This is an unverified reader recipe.

1

Add butter in the pot and put on the stove.
2

Turn the stove on and wait until the butter melts.
3

After the butter has melted, add milk.
4

Once the milk has started to boil, add the honey and garlic, then mix.
5

After all ingredients have mixed thoroughly, let sit on the stove for two to three minutes. Then, take the pot off the stove and let it stand for another two to three minutes.
6

Take the garlic out. Pour and drink.
7

Finished. With luck, the cough will be lessened and your throat will feel smoother.

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Canning jars work well for mixing and storing these cough syrups.
Homemade cough syrups often need to be stored in the fridge to maintain freshness, and they should also be shaken or mixed up before taking doses since some of the herbs, spices, or ingredients tend to settle at the bottom of the container or jar.

Don't add essential oils to your homemade cough syrups because they can cause liver problems when ingested.
Children under the age of one year should not consume honey because of the risk of infant botulism poisoning.
Talk with your pediatrician about the safety of these home remedies before administering them to a child.
Raw honey should not be given to people with a known allergy to bees or a sensitivity to pollen.
If your cough is not improving after several weeks, is accompanied by a fever, or you are coughing up green or yellow-colored phlegm, it's best to seek medical attention.^[14]