cough recipe

I *think* this works... at least, it seems to, or maybe I'm not
extremely sick so it's only coincidink.

Tight chest, bronchial intermittent cough with post nasal drip, one of
those coughs that hurts while being only slightly productive... I hate
them, because it sounds like I've got bronchitis but for such a minor
irritation it's overkill. Anywho, I discovered that this concoction
may hold it at bay:

One crushed clove of garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne
About four cloves with stems, whatever that turns out to be - crush
them coarsely
Some powdered fennel, garlic powder, salt (it was an existing blend I
had for cooking)
about 1/2 tsp mustard seed, crushed or not... I suspect crushed is
better
1/2 tsp vinegar
1-2 tsp honey
6 oz hot water

Place all of the above into a cup and stir together. Let sit about 15
minutes. Take a few sips, then sip every time you feel a cough coming
on or right after coughing. It seems to loosen the plegm a bit and
make new coughs more productive for a while, and open up airways. It
also seems to stimulate mucous. Finally, I haven't yet noticed a very
sore throat just yet from the coughing, just a bit of itchiness.
While I'm most definitely sick, it seems that it's not as bad as it
could have been.

I have a few theories as to why this recipe seems to work. First,
Cayenne Pepper improves circulation, makes your (or at least my) nose
run a bit, and is supposed to be good for mucous production overall
anyway. Garlic is an antibacterial, strengthens mucous membranes, and
overall has been a "healthy" herb anyway. Cloves have a numbing agent
in them as well as antibacterial consituents. It's long been used for
toothaches. Vinegar is another cure-all, honey is also antibacterial;
in the past I've used them half-and-half to dampen or prevent a sore
throat (burns like hell but it works if done right away).

Not sure what fennel and mustard seed do, but salt is a good cleansing
agent and helps clear the slime out of your mouth when you're sick. I
didn't want to mess with a recipe I believe works, so I left the
ingredients intact.

I figure the garlic, vinegar, honey, and cayenne are working on the
bug I've got, and the cloves and vinegar and honey are helping to keep
my throat from getting sore. The cloves, I discovered, have an added
benefit - they keep you from "tasting" the crap in the cup. I noticed
this because this last time, I didn't crush them much at all and the
stuff burned like holy ol' - well, you get the idea. Then I chewed on
a clove for a bit and next thing I knew, I couldn't taste _anything_
anymore. :D

So I stayed home from work today, I may be well enough to be there but
I don't feel very rested and I do feel irritable and by God, I bet no
one would want me around with the garlic smell anyway so I decided to
stay home and read in bed all day. It's not like I'm crucial
anymore... it's a new job where I haven't made myself totally
invaluable yet so I think I can be easy on myself just this once and
do what I'd tell anyone else who was sick. STAY HOME.

~nv