Use Honey To Kill A Cough
By Raychelle Burks
Today we prefer pharmaceuticals to old-fashioned cures, but when it comes to treating kid’s coughs a dollop of honey will do the trick. Medical researchers say that honey beats the common cough medicine dextromethorphan in combating a child’s cough. (But see here why their results are bunkum.)Honey, long considered by the World Health Organization as a cheap and safe treatment for kid’s coughs, lacked scientific credentials. But now Pennsylvania State University researchers say they’ve got the data to take honey from folk remedy to proven treatment for cough caused by respiratory tract infection.
Coughing kids were given buckwheat honey, honey flavored medicine, or nothing as part of the study. Statistical analysis of parent feedback showed honey was the winner. “Parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief of their child’s nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty,” write the researchers in their new Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine article. Dextromethorphan was rated better than nothing, but not by much.
The drug, found in the popular brands such as Robitussin® and Vicks®, “continues to be used very frequently … despite numerous studies, evidence-based reviews, and policy statements describing its lack of efficacy,” stated researchers. Looks like all a parent might need is a spoonful of honey. Researchers and pediatricians caution against honey for tiny tots, only kids of two years and over were part of the study.
Find out more about honey's ancient uses in our article Curious Cures from History or get more of Raychelle's wonderful words.
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Image: Mateusz Atroszko
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