Homemade Decongestant Even the Kids Can Take {recipe} (2024)

Updated Sep. 6, 2019. Originally published Jan. 1, 2013.

A shot glass is just the right size for those 1-2 Tbsp. servings of decongestant! We like one like this because it has the measurements marked right on it.

UPDATE Note: There was a lot of great information in the comments, so I’ve compiled many of the best suggestions into a follow-up post: Homemade Chest/Nasal Decongestant, part 2.

It has been a long weekend at our house (New Year’s 2012-13). Our littlest came down with the flu (or some flu-like virus, anyway) – not such a big deal, except that she had a febrile seizure and momentarily stopped breathing, resulting in a 911 call and many hours at doctors’ offices/the ER. Then the eldest and hubby both came down with it. (Little one is doing much better now, by the way. And by “better,” I don’t just mean that she’s breathing! We’re back to normal temps, etc. and just a few residual sniffles.)

Anyway, this was a great opportunity for me to take some pictures of the homemade decongestant I’ve posted here before, and include an actual tutorial/instructions. Hubby calls this “radish juice.” It sounds like it would be disgusting, but it’s actually not nearly as bad as it sounds. (I don’t like radishes or onions, in general, and I find this tolerable, ‘though it’s definitely not a favorite. Hubby actually kind of likes it – especially if his nose is also stuffy so he can’t smell the onion as strongly.)

As long as they’re old enough to safely have honey, even the little ones can take this. (And I was surprised. Our almost-two-year-old, who has been protesting the cherry-flavored Tylenol, drank this voluntarily, and even got mad at me when I took it away out of concern that too much at once might burn her tummy. She did make some pretty funny faces, though.) The recipe came from a friend, and is good for breaking up the junk in your chest. Keep reading below the recipe for a full step-by-step.

Homemade Decongestant Recipe

Assemble the Ingredients

honey
lemon juice
garlic
red onion
radishes

The original recipe calls for freshly-squeezed lemon juice. This would probably be rather higher in vitamin C, which would be beneficial, but lemons are always super-expensive around here during flu season. And this time, I literally couldn’t find any at the grocery store. So I just used the jarred stuff (make sure it’s regular strength, rather than concentrated), and it works just fine. I virtually never make it with fresh lemons anymore.

This is the equipment I use:

Vitamix Standard Blender, BlackGood Cook Touch 8-Inch Strainer2 Qt. Glass Batter BowlBall Regular Mouth Jar Lids

Put Everything in the Blender

If you have a Vitamix or a good blender, you shouldn’t have to do a lot of prep. Wash the radishes, peel the garlic and onion, and cut off top and bottom edges. You might also want to cut the onion into 2-4 chunks. But you shouldn’t have to mince anything, etc.

Because the Vitamix container has measurements on it, I just use that for measuring the liquids, too. I pour in lemon juice to the 1-cup line, then pour in honey ’til it all reaches the 2-cup line, then toss in the veggies.

Blend It

Put the lid on (of course!) and blend everything up ’til it’s smooth. As you can see, it doesn’t look unappetizing at all. In fact, it rather looks like a strawberry-heavy fruit smoothie. (You could have some real fun with someone who can’t smell well! lol)

Strain It

Pour it through a wire mesh strainer. If your strainer is small (about the diameter of a mug, like you’d use for straining herbal teas), strain it into a quart jar, a little at a time. Stir it a bit with a spoon to get the pulpy part out of the way and let the liquid part run through. As each strainerful is done, scoop the pulp out into a separate bowl, to get it out of the way. This is how I did it in the beginning.

Then I got the larger strainer shown here, and it’s much easier. If your strainer is large, you can set it atop a bowl and pour all the decongestant through at once.

That’s It!

It’s done. Cap it and store it in the refrigerator when you’re not using it. I don’t know for certain how long it will “officially” keep in the fridge, but I wouldn’t keep it longer than about a week or so. As you can see, I still had some variation in the thickness/viscosity, even after straining it, so we shake it up before taking it. There’s a picture below you can print out if you want to use it as a label.

Notes

In case anyone asks…

• I wondered, myself, if this can be frozen and used later, or if it would completely lose its efficacy. (We rarely have these ingredients all on hand when everyone gets sick, so it would be nice to not have to head to the store.) Some readers tried it and shared their feedback. I haven’t found it to be practical to freeze it, myself (due to the honey, it doesn’t freeze as hard as you’d think), but I often freeze the solid ingredients in a Ziploc container so I have them on hand.
• What about the pulp? Usually, I just throw it out. If you want to be less wasteful, there are other ways to use it, since it’s all just food. I’ve frozen the pulp in an ice cube tray in order to use it in small amounts.I think one could probably use a little in soup, but I’ve never gotten around to trying that. I’ve also used it as a seasoning when sauteing vegetables.
• Is it okay for pregnant/nursing mamas? I don’t see why not. I’m pretty picky about what goes into my body when I’m pregnant, and I’ve definitely taken it myself when pregnant. All of the ingredients are things I eat as food, so I don’t think any of it is unsafe. The only downside I can see for nursing mothers is that the garlic and onion are pretty strong and some babies might not like the taste of the milk after mama takes it. I don’t think it would be harmful, though. This is just my educated opinion, though, and shouldn’t be considered medical advice. Do your own due diligence. 🙂
• What about babies? Honey should not be given to babies under a year old, due to the rare but serious possibility of infant botulism. I would guess that if you make it without the honey, you could add about 3 parts of the mixture to about 1 part of glycerin or sugar syrup or something and give it to a baby in small amounts. Again, though, this is not medical advice, just the educated opinion of one mom. Use your own judgment. (If you have a baby that young with respiratory issues, I hope you’re talking to someone with medical experience, anyway, and can seek their opinion.)
• Where did I get that lid? I love these one-piece lids for storage; they’re so much less of a pain than 2-part canning lids. You can get metal ones in the regular size, I think (but I haven’t found the wide-mouth size), but the plastic ones are easier to find and work just fine. I found them on Amazon here: regular / wide-mouth.

BTW, just for the legal cover-one’s-rear stuff: None of these statements are approved by the FDA. I am not diagnosing or treating any illness. I make no guarantees of anything, and cannot be held legally responsible for anything resulting from the use of this recipe or information. Your use of the recipe is at your own risk. In short, take responsibility for yourself and don’t try to sue me for anything, ‘kay?