Castor oil chest rub

3 homemade cough remedies

When you feel a sore throat coming on, raid your pantry instead of your medicine cabinet to prepare affordable all-natural cough remedies that really work

By Morella Aguirre

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2. Castor oil chest rub

The mixture:
Start with a half a cup of good quality, cold pressed castor oil. Crush one or two cloves of garlic and stir them into the oil. Add a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, three or four drops of eucalyptus oil and about half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Rub on chest. 

Why it works: 
Castor oil is well absorbed by the body and helps to increase circulation, which stimulates our immune response. The ginger and cayenne pepper also help warm the body, stimulate circulation and dilute mucus. The garlic and eucalyptus oil are added for their antimicrobial properties. 

Tip: 
“This is a very messy paste,” warns Dr. Solomonian. She recommends putting on an old T-shirt directly over the chest rub and wearing your pajamas over that. The extra layer will help trap added warmth.