Asthma folk lore remedies

We found this information in a Tommy Bass book; Mountain Medicine, By, Darryl Patton. This book is part of my studies for my Naturopathy Degree.

Horse Mint that is dry or cut over land is good for allergy symptoms. Some call it horse mint and others call it mountain mint. It has a strong smell like camphor. It is good for the sinuses especially for allergies that you get in the fall of the year. It can be smoked like tobacco or put in boiling water and inhale the steam. It is a temporary relief. It can be put in cough or cold tonic for relief.

The Asthma remedy is as follows; Herbs: Wild Plum, wild Cherry, Sweet Gum (use as an additive to other ingredients in a cough formula).
Wild Plum—One teaspoon of the herb steepin in one cup of hot, but not boiling, water. Drink one cup of cold tea during the day.
Wild Cherry---One cup of the innter bark to one-half gallon boiling water. Boil on medium for 20 minutes. Strain and sweeten. Drink one cup twice a day.

this was a quote from Tommy, “For asthma, the herbs recommeded would be rabbit terbakker and horse mint. Use the two together, and one way to use it is to just put it in the sink and run hot water over it. Use something like plumbark of the tree and take a teacup full of bark and boil it in a quart of water for about 25 minutes. Strain it and add a pint of honey or two pounds of sugar and then put it back on the stove and boil it real fast for about 10 minutes. You want to take about a tablespoon full of it as often as neede. There’s no harm in it, but you have to watch it or it’ll take your breath. I’d recommend thata big handful and put a big towel over your head and inhale it. It gives temporary relief. Yeller you add to this formula about a half a teacup full of apple vinegar. That’s real good for asthma and for sinus drainage. The rabbit terbakker, now, is wondful for the sinus.”

The mentioned plants are all good for deep cleansing of the lungs. They can be used by themselves or they can be combined. A combination of the three dry ingredients listed above can be added to one gallon of wather and boiled for 20 to 30 minutes. A dose would be one cup twice a day.

Another remedy: Take either a white onion or turnip, cut a plug from it and fill the cavity with a spoonful of sugar. Next, replace the plug and bake in the oven until the onion or turnip has turned translucent and fall apart. Squeeze the pulp through a clean wood sock or a piece of muslin and take a spoonful of the liquid as needed. This is especially good for asthma and tickly coughs that seem to persist for long periods of time.

Those who are susceptible to cronic bronchitis and pneumonia will find these plants particularly useful. Don’t overlook using the bark of the wild plum. It will give the other herbs a run for their money and in many ways is better for conditons such as asthma. Try taking a large double handful of the innter bark or fruit and boild down into syrup just as in making a fruit syrup. Take a spoonful of this syrup as needed. In a short while you find the nagging coup relieved.


Another old remedy to try is to make a tea or cough drops out of the mint known as horehound. It is still possible to find horehound cough drops today.