We've just returned from a great road trip up to Ketchum, Idaho, also known as Sun Valley. It's an incredibly beautiful place surrounded by majestic mountains and raging rivers.  It was the maiden voyage in our new camper, now the standard for comfortable family camping. We loved getting away from the dry heat of the sunny Southwest, and revelled in the cool, even downright cold, mornings and nights. The whole experience was idyllic, despite the nasty cough that both my kids picked up. Swimming in snow melt might have had something to do with it.  Now with school just a few days away, it's time to hit the herb cabinet with a vengeance.

I have a plethora of options for coughs in the medicine cabinet, but it still seems like each cough is kind of unique, requiring just the right mode of attack.  Number one ammunition - colloidal silver. I find it very effective as an anti-viral.  Next up, honey loquat syrup, an excellent Chinese herbal cough syrup.  I also am giving the boys an echinacea/elderberry tincture that also is anti-viral and is particularly effective for all respiratory conditions.  Kids love the chewable Vitamin C to fortify the immune system, so I pulled those out and call them special treats.  My older son can swallow pills so he's also taking beta-glucan, which is one of my very favorite immune system boosters.  Before bedtime, I also give them a homeopathic cough syrup.

As soon as a phlegmy cough shows up, all the dairy products in the house go into hiding. Phlegm is classified as a Kapha substance, so according to Ayurveda all Kapha type foods should be avoided when a Kapha imbalance strikes.  Sugar, wheat, dairy and fried foods become taboo if the cough is wet. I had to say no to the pizza at Whole Foods despite much persistent begging.

I know it sounds like a lot, but with kids I don't want to mess around with this cough for too long. There's nothing worse than sleepless nights because somebody is up coughing and keeping the whole house awake. And my younger one's very first day of school EVER is 2 days away.  We can't miss that, so I'm pulling out all the big guns to beat this cough. I'll be keeping the kids warm and out of the wind. Even though it's still summer, Kapha can still sneak in.  It's a good thing I've programmed them from the beginning to be good herbal medicine swallowers, because I can really dish it out.