The name says it all. Consisting of a throat spray, a cough syrup (children’s and adult versions), and a chest rub, this accomplished trio covers all the bases. In fact, they make for an ideal trifecta of products when it comes to fighting back vigorously against all the debilitating symptoms of colds and flu.

Stop It Cold^® Throat Spray
It all started with our Throat Spray. It’s one of our bestselling remedies, and small wonder, too, as it significantly reduces the symptoms that accompany sore throat, while at the same time diminishing the intensity and duration of colds, flu, and upper respiratory infections. Antimicrobial and analgesic in its action, it’s perfect for children as well as adults.

Echinacea is the centrepiece of this well-knit formula and has benefits that escalate in combination with its companion herbs. Sage, licorice, echinacea, and propolis are all anti-infective. The anti-infective properties of these herbs are improved and reinforced by their synergistic interaction with one another. Propolis and sage have the added benefit of analgesia. Hence its utility for easing the pain of sore throats. Marshmallow and licorice provide a critical demulcent edge to this combination. While soothing and anti-infective in their own right, sweet fennel and licorice both confer the benefit of good taste.

Stop It Cold^® Cough Syrup
Studies show that pharmaceutical cough syrups do not outperform the rich storehouse of nature. Enter St. Francis Herb Farm’s all natural, certified organic cough syrup. Drawing on nature’s healing power, our cough syrup is available in both adult and children’s versions. Like echinacea, elderberry is a classic antiviral and antibacterial and an essential component of this formula. Rich in flavonoid compounds, elderberry occurs in this syrup with wild cherry bark, which has been used over the ages by many indigenous peoples for its anti-inflammatory properties. Also featured in this formula is marshmallow, an effective herb for soothing mucous surfaces such as inflamed and irritated bronchial passages. Supplementing these flavourful herbs are essential oils of lemon peel and cinnamon bark. The base of this formula is a foundation of honey. Besides adding sweetness and taste, honey is a well-established anti-infective, antioxidant agent that alleviates inflamed membranes. In the adult version of this formula we have included lobelia, long acknowledged as a calming agent that soothes the spasms associated with coughs.

In the kids version of this syrup, we have removed the lobelia and replaced it with thyme, catnip, and anise, all of them herbs chosen not only for their excellent flavour profiles, but for their medicinal qualities as well. We’ve also added slightly more honey.

Stop It Cold^® Chest Rub
Essential oils have been used in some way or other in almost every major world culture from ancient times. These days, a growing body of research has prompted a dramatically heightened interest in the use of essential oils as agents of healing. Which makes for a compelling reason for our introduction of this formula.

While certain essential oils can to some extent be used orally or internally, their most typical route of absorption is by inhalation or topical application. As a person can tell from its very name, it’s the topical route that defines our Chest Rub.

The largest organ in the body, the human skin is an exceptionally complex and many-faceted membrane. In modern medicine, up until relatively recently, there has been a tendency to believe that the skin functioned exclusively as a barrier and that the body could not absorb medications topically. Studies have established that this is far from being true. Medicinally active substances can actually penetrate through the top layer of the skin, which is a heavy, thick protective aggregation of dead cells known as the stratum corneum, down into the viable epidermal layers below. It has now become commonplace, in fact, to administer a number of conventional drugs transdermally (e.g. nicotine patches, antianginal drugs, hormones etc.).

Chest rubs were widely used by both practitioners and everyday folk even to the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. For some reason, after that, this whole approach fell into disuse. This is now changing. A recent study shows, for example, that topically applied essential oils reach deep into the lung tissue and have an antimicrobial action.

Our Chest Rub represents therefore a return full circle to the traditional wisdom on the absorption of medications through the skin.

About the Author: St. Francis Herb Farm

St. Francis Herb Farm has been formulating herbal remedies of the utmost quality and integrity since 1977—remedies rooted in the traditions of herbal folklore and supported by latest science. Learn more about St. Francis Herb Farm at stfrancisherbfarm.com.