Steaming water should only be used when its free of Chlorine and Fluoride. Steaming water with these type of contaminents in are like being in little concentration camps which get you over time.
The best thing to do is Drink Cayenne Pepper drinks just prior to inhaling anything. I would strongly suggest she inhales Himalayan Salt twice a day for a while. Put 1oz of Himalayan Salt into every 1 Quart of Boiling water. You may find shes caught this infection/bug which has been doing the rounds very mysteriously. I believe its yet another bio-attack like every year and these days throughout the year. I used Ozonated water in a Nebuliser and this worked the best for me!
If you have a zapper lying around then have this against the chest. I have a Terminator zapper and this worked brilliant for stopping the coughing whilst it was switched on.