DIY Cough Syrup

Hello! I'm usually fortunate in that I rarely getting sick, even when I've been exposed to people all around me coughing, sneezing and wheezing with whatever's going around. 

But suddenly this past weekend I woke up with nasty chest congestion and achiness all over; I'd been fine at bedtime the night before! Guess I'm not invincible after all, darn it. I attributed this sudden sickness to the overall stress of the home repair/remodeling I've been overseeing for about a month now, plus I've had the added "fun" of  painting the parts of the dining room and kitchen not covered by our insurance claim: sizable amounts of trim, plus doors, a china cabinet, cabinets and shelving units. 

I don't generally like to take a lot of medicines, but I did succumb to some aspirin to help with the overall achiness. Unfortunately, I then developed a cough, which is a drag when you're trying to sleep. Had no cough syrup on hand, but was curious to see if I could find an all-natural version online to make with ingredients I had on hand. 

Came across an easy one via Pinterest - all it has in it is honey (raw preferred) apple cider vinegar (an organic one like Braggs preferred), ground ginger, cayenne and water. I confess that although I had Braggs ACV in my pantry, I had to settle for - gasp - commercial honey. 

I didn't take a photo of the concoction, but basically it looks like a watery reddish-brown solution. It tastes plenty peppery, so if you have a low tolerance for spicy foods it may be hard for you to swallow. I'm of "the more heat the merrier" mindset when it comes to hot peppers, though, so it tasted good to me! And darned if it didn't calm that nasty tickle in my throat.

I can't say whether this will hasten my cold's departure or halt the coughing once and for all, since I took my first dosage only about 20 minutes ago. However, there's a lot of praise for the recipe on the website, found HERE.  So, it looks like I'm in pretty good company by giving it a chance. 

Hope this helps anyone out there! And I also hope I'm spared any more colds this fall and winter.