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Supersaturated potassium iodide, or SSKI, is a safe, effective cough expectorant routinely prescribed by doctors in the last century to open up the airways in the lungs to help clear deep coughs. It was also used for minor cases of asthma. Conventional medicine has all but forgotten about it because it is inexpensive to make with no opportunity for exclusive patenting rights. It is a natural alternative to toxic over-the-counter options for loosening deeply rooted phlegm to rapidly clear hacking coughs.
When my Dad graduated from medical school in the 1950s, the go-to cough expectorant that was prescribed by physicians at the time was SSKI, super saturated potassium iodide. Some physicians refer to it as pima syrup. This is not to be confused with regular KI solution at the health food store.
SSKI was an inexpensive and highly effective tool for deep-rooted congestion that was beyond the reach of the cilia, the tiny hairlike projections that line the upper half of the lower respiratory tract, gently sweeping debris and mucous out of the lungs.
Old-time pharmacists regularly filled prescriptions for SSKI although today, most pharmacists less than about 60 years old would likely scratch their heads should such a script be requested.
SSKI works spectacularly well for thinning and clearing mucous deep inside the lungs so that it is more easily coughed up. This function is very beneficial because when mucous is rooted deep inside the lungs, coughing is the only way to get it out.
How to Use SSKI
When I was a child, my Dad would give us 4-5 drops of SSKI in a small glass of water or juice at breakfast time. It was only used if we were coughing and had lung congestion that needed to be cleared. The result was truly magical.
Within a few minutes, he would instruct us to take a couple of deep, slow breaths. This would immediately trigger a very productive coughing spell that cleared out the trapped congestion.
SSKI works very very fast to thin the mucus and acts as a natural cough expectorant. As a child, I noticed that it would only take a few minutes and the ease of coughing up any mucous was very noticeable.
4-5 drops per day could be continued for a week or at most two with no ill effect. If a cough was severe, 4-5 drops twice a day could be used for up to a week to clear very thick, infected mucous.
Sometimes, after a few days of using SSKI, I would notice a bit of a metal taste in my mouth. This was the signal to reduce the dose a bit or taper it off if my cough had resolved sufficiently. It goes away immediately when the dosage is reduced or stopped.
Natural Cough Expectorant
For the past 3 decades since leaving my parent’s home for college, I have always kept a small bottle of SSKI in my medicine cabinet. One bottle lasts for 10 years or more. No kidding. I’m literally on only my second bottle since I graduated high school!
You can get it at a compounding pharmacy or order it online here. Use coupon code HealthyHome and get 10% off your order.
Even though I didn’t eat very well in college and throughout my 20s, I credit use of this age-old remedy for keeping me med-free during any bouts with colds or flu.
Other more expensive cough expectorants on the market which contain the drug Guaifenesin don’t work nearly as well as SSKI in my experience. Another downside: these over the counter medicines are loaded with additives and other undesirable chemicals.
SSKI, on the other hand, is just a simple compound consisting of two elements that are actually nutrients too: potassium and iodine.
Nothing else is added!
Where to Find this Old Time Remedy
Next time you need a cough expectorant, why don’t you try SSKI? You can order it online here and get 10% off with coupon code HealthyHome.
It is even more effective when you combine it with elderberry syrup, a scientifically proven remedy for reducing the symptoms and severity of coughs.
No doubt, when you ask your doctor about this simple traditional remedy, you will get a very quizzical look! He/she will likely have no idea what it is if under the age of 70.
It’s time to bring back into popularity some of these old-time remedies that work great, are very inexpensive and have no nasty additives – wouldn’t you agree?
Lugol’s or (KI) Potassium Iodide is NOT SSKI
It is important to note that Lugol’s or the potassium iodide (KI) liquid that you can order online or get at the health food store IS NOT THE SAME THING as SSKI.
It is best to get it at a compounding pharmacy or from a functional physician who can write prescriptions. If your insurance doesn’t cover visits to this type of doctor, consider switching to healthcare sharing.
Alternatively, you can order SSKI kits online here and get 10% off with coupon code HealthyHome.
References
How to Make and Use an Onion Poultice for Congestion
Natural and Effective Sinus Infection Remedy
Doctor Prescribed Treatment for Healing Croup Naturally
Pottenger’s Remedy for Respiratory Illness
Fast Tip to Prevent Sinus Infections
Power Shot: Best Green Juice for Nasal Congestion
Where is the best place to get this? Thank you! Never heard of it.
I’d never heard of SSKI, so this is great info. I don’t generally see doctors, but the one i use might be willing to write for this. I do have friends who are severely reactive to iodine, however, so i don’t think everyone could use it (folks with shellfish allergies would have to be careful).
My favorite go to for coughs is Manuka Honey. You need a high “active” number. This kills MRSA (when almost nothing else does) so it is good to use as a dressing on cuts and scrapes. It also kills h-Pylori bacteria (that has been found to cause ulcers but is implicated in other problems). It also helps heal canker sores quickly.
When i get a cough, i take 1/2 teaspoon every time i start to cough. Cough resolves quickly. I had had a deep, painful cough on and off for 30 years. Nothing the doctors gave me would do much at all. This resolved that cough (when it became acute) in about 3 weeks (normally i would have had a couple of months of deep coughing). Since i took this 18 months ago, i have had only a couple of bouts of cough, quickly resolved by taking the honey again. It is like a miracle to me.
All natural honeys (what you buy in the grocery is not likely to be real honey) have anti-bacterial properties. Manuka is made from bees in New Zealand from the tea tree blossoms and has found to have wonderful healing properties. They use it in hospital in NZ, Australia, and England to combat MRSA (antibiotic-resistant staff infection).
Neat idea. I did not know about that. I’ve been using fenugreek and slippery elm, and have thought about wild cherry bark, because these help in a similar way (thinning mucus, increasing production, increasing how easily it is cleared from the body). It’s been pretty effective for us so far!
We love the Honey Garden Apitherapy Wild Cherry Bark Cough Syrup! It’s incredibly powerful and helped us knock out some respiratory stuff this winter in 1-2 days.
Please please please tell me you don’t need a prescription to get this! I need this for my 3-yr-old who has this persistent phlegminess deep in his chest! He hardly coughs it up, and I tried mucinex but doesn’t seem to be effective. He’s had this since last October and I’m desperate to clear it up! Please tell me where I can get this!
Thanks!
Have you consulted a homeopath?
Hello,
Thank you for this informative post!
I would have gladly purchased through an affiliate link if you had one 🙂
Regards,
Lea Ann Savage
Please shop through my Amazon link in the “Shop” part of the header of this blog 🙂
It is very expensive to run this blog (many hundreds of dollars a month as I have to get high traffic volume site hosting), so buying through Amazon with my affiliate link is very helpful. Thankis.
Thanks.
Sarah – I wish I’d known this before. But now that I do, I’ll definitely use Amazon via your link.
Hi Sarah,
Could you post a link for your amazon affiliate site where the SSKI can be purchased?
Thank you
Sorry Sarah, but I don’t see a place where I can order through Amazon anywhere on your blog here. I moused over all the headers at the top and nothing says “shop”. I would like to purchase some though if you can show me where on your site to link to Amazon. Thanks.
me too, can’t find the shopping link. Could it be because I’m in the UK? I found SSKI on amazon/ebay, but it was pricey, $30 plus p&p for 50ml.
The ‘metallic’ taste – indicates your system has sufficient iodine, that’s why you decrease immediately you detect it.
I don’t think you need a prescription. Ask a pharmacist that does compounding and they should be able to make it? What are the ratios on the mixture?
You can purchase it online
Liquid KI is NOT the same thing. It has to be SSKI.
could you tell me the pharmaceutical difference between SSKI and liquid KI, and the importance of it? thanks. gene
Gene,
SSKI stands for a saturated solution of potassium (K) Iodide (I). A saturated solution has as much of this salt (KI) dissolved in it as possible without having any solids in suspension. If you add anymore KI (potassium iodide) in SSKI it would no longer dissolve and you would have a “suspension.”
is there any data on possible side effects? can the KI build up in your tissues?
Sure, you can take too much which is why you only take it for a week or so max.
Is Lugol’s the same?
No, not the same.
Okay, thanks.
I’ve literally called three doctors in my area and none will prescribe this!! What is the problem?!
Calling probably won’t do any good. Do you have a doctor you see regularly or even occasionally? A doctor will want to examine you before you get the Rx and then will want to keep track of how you’re doing.
I’d love to arm my medicine cabinet with this, but I am doubtful my dr. would know what it is :/
Get a new doc? 🙂
I would love to try this, but do not know where to order it from?
I feel the same way. But I really feel like this is what mt little one needs.
How many drops a day can adults take?
Thanks!