Lung clearing homemade herbal steam

By Sari Huhtala

Last fall, I made the mistake of sweeping old hay remnants off the floor of my barn without wearing a mask. What followed was a winter of nighttime wheezing due to hay mold exposure. Conventional medical interventions, inhalers, helped with the chronic nighttime wheezing, but nothing helped eliminate the problem. Then one morning in April, my lungs felt so heavy and full, and my breathing so laboured, that I became concerned I now had a secondary bacterial pneumonia infection, so I took matters into my own hands, and in three days I cured myself.

The day prior to feeling like my lungs were heavy and full, I had a head cold. My sinuses were stuffy. Overnight, it seemed like it all dropped into my lungs. Even walking a short distance while carrying a bucket of water caused my breathing to be intensely laboured. So, here’s what I intuitively did.

Herbal steam recipe (for lung and sinus congestion)

I filled a cooking pot with about five to six cups of spring water. I added about ½ cup of my dried, organic garden herbs of both oregano and thyme (if using store bought oregano and thyme, reduce to ¼ cup as it is more finely ground). I chose oregano and thyme because both have powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties.

I added about 10-15 drops of rosemary essential oil and 10-15 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to the spring water (distilled or filtered water is okay as well. Avoid steam inhaling chlorinated water as any residues of chloroform in the water will evaporate as steam, which you then inhale. Inhaling chloroform can never be good.)

I put a lid on the pot and brought the water to a simmering boil over medium to low heat. Then turned off the stove once it started boiling. I let the herbal steam infusion sit covered for about 10 minutes before using it.

I created a steam tent with a towel over my head and inhaled the steam for about 5 minutes, removing my face temporarily if it felt too hot. CAUTION: keep your face at least 10 to 12 inches away from the water to avoid risk of scalding or burning yourself. Do not use this method for children due to a burn risk. Instead, create a large tent that they can sit in, with your supervision, and use a gentle, steam for inhaling.

After five minutes of inhaling the herbal steam, I felt my lungs loosening, and managed to cough up phlegm. The heavy feeling in my lungs was lessened. I covered the herbal steam mixture and set the pot aside for reuse.

I reheated the herbal steam in the evening and repeated the procedure. I continued reheating the herbal steam and reusing it for three days every morning and evening. You can’t imagine how much garbage, aka phlegm, came out of my lungs. By day three, all the nighttime wheezing had disappeared and I’ve not had any issues since.

Note: Please do not hesitate to seek medical intervention if the herbal steam provides no relief. Had the herbal steam not provided any relief after the first session I would have sought medical help due to the laboured breathing I was experiencing. Having grown up with asthma I know what it feels like to not be able to breathe, so I would not leave it unaddressed. Interestingly, the asthma disappeared around the age of 30 after I eliminated milk, cheese and yogurt from my diet – all of which are very mucous forming.

On another note, I shared this herbal steam information after my neighbour told me his sister started experiencing similar breathing problems and was seeking medical intervention. After multiple tests it was diagnosed as a fungal infection. Prior to the breathing issues, she had been in the forest, handling damp wood. She ended up developing pneumonia, and recently passed away.

(This information is not intended to replace medical advice and treatment from a health care practitioner).

Sari Huhtala is the creator, publisher and editor of Alive and Fit Magazine, which was created in 2007. She has over 25 years of experience in journalism and over 15 years of experience as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, and is a holistic chef, offering holistic cooking and edible wilds workshop, and My Farmacy workshops. She is an organic farmer, wild-crafter and grandmother, who has spent over 20 plus years navigating a holistic, healthy path for her family. Reach her at friends@thelaughingforest.ca