Remedy

Cold, onset

Rest, steam, hot drink, honey if they are over one. Herbs here are comfort. They do not replace a day in bed.

A stiff neck, purple rash, short of breath, or a baby who will not wake is not a tea. See First aid → Illness.

Do this

1.Stop working. A cold you walk through in August becomes a chest in January.
2.Hot spicebush or thyme tea. Elder syrup if you made it.
3.Steam the face over thyme or mullein. Sleep in a cool room under enough blankets to sweat a little, not a lot.
4.Salt-water gargle or sage gargle if the throat started it.
5.Garlic in the soup. Water, not just tea.

Elderberry syrup

The jar you reach for at the first scratch in the throat. Cooked, honeyed, shelf-stable enough for a cellar.

Elderberry tincture

When you want a dropper in a coat pocket, not a sticky syrup bottle.

Thyme (or garlic) honey

Herb steeped in honey. Spoon for a cough, or into hot water for a sore throat.

Peppermint or spicebush tea

Queasy, gassy, or a tension head. Mint from the bucket, or spicebush twigs from the hollow.