Lippia

Persistent, dry, hard, ringing or resonant bronchial cough that lingers after acute infection has passed

Hoarse, barking, or metallic-sounding cough with irritation felt in the larynx and upper trachea

Overview. Lippia mexicana is a small aromatic shrub of the verbena family native to Mexico and Central America, where its sweet-tasting leaves have long been used both as a folk sweetener and as a remedy for coughs and sore throat. The dried aerial parts are the part used, prepared as a tincture, fluid extract, or infusion. It entered nineteenth century eclectic practice in the United States as a specific remedy for hard, dry, ringing coughs confined to the respiratory tract, and it retains a small niche in Western herbal medicine today as a gentle antitussive and demulcent for irritated airways.

Clinical Notes. This is a narrow-spectrum remedy: the old eclectic writers were emphatic that its use is limited to the air passages, and it is chosen specifically for the dry, hard, ringing or metallic cough rather than for productive, loose coughs where an expectorant of a different type is wanted.

Therapy. It is useful in asthma and chronic bronchitis. It is peculiarly sedative to the entire mucous surfaces of the post-nasal region and bronchial tubes. It is soothing, expectorant, and relieves irritability of these surfaces.