Why ASCOF Lagundi is a Natural Cough Remedy You Should Try

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Any parent knows that coughs and colds are a common occurrence in children and this is a normal rite of passage as their little bodies build the immune system to fight against viruses for the rest of their lives.

But what I didn’t realize till Fin had his first bad asthma cough experience when he was two is that the FDA strongly advises against the use of standard cough medicine use in children, and if absolutely necessary it must be under close pediatrician supervision. Many over the counter cough medications carry ingredients like codeine which suppress the symptoms of the cough, but don’t actually cure it. And these ingredients may actually even cause breathing difficulties in young children that could result in death!

With this warning deeply planted in my mind, I have never given standard cough medicine to my kids and have opted instead to look for more natural remedies like honey, lemon, oregano, and now Lagundi.

Lagundi Leaves (image from tanherbalplants101.wordpress.com)

Lagundi (aka Vitex Negundo) is a large shrub that grows in Southeast Asia. It has been used for its medicinal properties for centuries and is an important player in Ayurvedic medicine. What’s interesting is that the Philippine Department of Health invested its resources to conduct research and well documented studies for Lagundi which have shown that the Lagundi plant has a number of health benefits, one of which being a natural remedy for coughs.

I was recently introduced to ASCOF Lagundi and invited to try it for my family. ASCOF (which stands for asthma and cough) is manufactured by long trusted Pascual Laboratories (same makers of my favorite Poten-Cee Vitamin C syrup) and is the first FDA approved Lagundi syrup on the market.

It currently comes in two flavours for kids: strawberry and ponkan orange. There is also a menthol variety for adults, which I have yet to try.

It’s a dark green syrup that is exceptionally sweet and the kids LOVE it. No issues taking medicine here. It’s recommended that you take it as soon as you begin to feel a little tickle in your throat. I gave it to the kids while a cough and cold were running rampant in their school and it definitely cut their coughing time by a few of days of their standard. It even helped bring down Fin’s coughing asthma which he gets at least three times a year. I took it myself when I started to feel a cough coming on and the cough never manifested into anything! There are currently no known side effects to taking Lagundi and you can take it for as long as necessary. Some asthma sufferers are even known to take it as a maintenance medication.

The verdict: I now always keep a bottle of ASCOF Lagundi in the house as it has proven to be a very helpful remedy to the coughing symptoms of my family without any side effects whatsoever. My friend Patty even takes sachets of it with her when she goes travelling like you can see in this episode of the Baby Barangay!