Honey Treats Children’s Cough

Honey Treats Children’s Cough

Parents, you should really pay attention to this study.

Scientists recently set out to test the effects of several honey products on the night time cough and resulting sleeping difficulties in children with Upper Respiratory Infections.

The scientists compared the effects of a single nighttime dose of 3 honey products (eucalyptus honey, citrus honey, or labiatae honey) to a placebo.

A survey was administered to parents on 2 consecutive days, first on the day of the presentation when no medication had been given the previous evening, and the following day, when the study preparation was given before bedtime.

This was done based on a double-blind randomization plan (the gold standard of studies that ensures accurate results).

Participants included 300 children aged 1 to 5 years with URIs, nocturnal cough, and illness duration of more than 7 days from 6 general pediatric community clinics.

Eligible children received a single dose of 10 grams of eucalyptus honey, citrus honey, labiatae honey, or placebo administered 30 minutes before bedtime.

The scientists set out to measure cough frequency, cough severity, bothersome nature of cough, and child and parent sleep quality.

What they found was that in all 3 honey products and the placebo group, there was a significant improvement from the night before treatment to the night of treatment. However, the improvement was greater in the honey groups!

Parents rated the honey products higher than the placebo for symptomatic relief of their children’s nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty.

So next time your child, or heck – even yourself, come down with a chest cold, reach for a bottle of any of our honey varietals.  The 10 gram dose used in the study and found to be effective would be roughly one heaping tablespoon.

The full study can be found in the journal Pediatrics, 2012 Aug 6.