Honey As Medicine
by Brenna Leah Cashman, BHSc., RNCP
A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but a spoonful of honey may actually be the medicine.
According to a new study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, honey is an effective alternative to common over-the-counter cough suppressants. This is good news for parents who have been avoiding cold and cough medications following the FDA’s new recommendations that they not be given to children under the age of six years old.
Now parents can turn to an age old remedy, one they’ve probably been using already. Adding honey to a cup of tea to sooth a sore throat or cough seems like a natural thing to do. And in many cultures, honey has long been recommended for everything from sunburn to indigestion. Western medicine is finally catching up and recognizing its value as well.
Seeking to investigate whether honey could act as an effective remedy for coughs and sore throats, researchers enrolled 105 children, between the ages of 2 and 18 in the randomized, partially double-blind study. Children were not given any treatment on the first night, after which, parents answered questions about their children’s sleep and cough. On the second night, children were given either buckwheat honey, honey-flavoured cough syrup, or nothing at all. Parents were then asked to fill out the survey again.
The kids who received the honey before bed slept better and coughed less than those who had received the cough suppressant or nothing at all.
Honey may be effective in relieving sore throats and coughs because of its demulcent property. Demulcents soothe irritated mucous membranes, thereby reducing the need to cough. The researchers choose to use buckwheat honey, as darker honeys contain more antioxidants which they thought might be beneficial as well.
Parents who are excited about the prospect of using a readily available kitchen staple may also want to investigate using honey to make their own cough syrups. While a spoonful of honey is certainly the simplest option, the addition of certain herbs can help boost the healing action of honey. Herbal syrups are fairly easy to make and can also be found in herbal dispensaries and health food stores.
One safety consideration that should be kept in mind is that honey is not safe for children younger than one. Botulism spores found in honey can harm infants. By the age of one, children usually have enough beneficial bacteria in their digestive tracts to prevent these spores from taking root.
So the next time your child has a cough, feel free to sweeten the day with a little honey. And remember to put some in your own cup of tea too – its soothing effect will help you cope better with your sick child!
Honey as Medicine
A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but a spoonful of honey may actually be the medicine.
According to a new study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, honey is an effective alternative to common over-the-counter cough suppressants. This is good news for parents who have been avoiding cold and cough medications following the FDA’s new recommendations that they not be given to children under the age of six years old.
Now parents can turn to an age old remedy, one they’ve probably been using already. Adding honey to a cup of tea to sooth a sore throat or cough seems like a natural thing to do. And in many cultures, honey has long been recommended for everything from sunburn to indigestion. Western medicine is finally catching up and recognizing its value as well.
Seeking to investigate whether honey could act as an effective remedy for coughs and sore throats, researchers enrolled 105 children, between the ages of 2 and 18 in the randomized, partially double-blind study. Children were not given any treatment on the first night, after which, parents answered questions about their children’s sleep and cough. On the second night, children were given either buckwheat honey, honey-flavoured cough syrup, or nothing at all. Parents were then asked to fill out the survey again.
The kids who received the honey before bed slept better and coughed less than those who had received the cough suppressant or nothing at all.
Honey may be effective in relieving sore throats and coughs because of its demulcent property. Demulcents soothe irritated mucous membranes, thereby reducing the need to cough. The researchers choose to use buckwheat honey, as darker honeys contain more antioxidants which they thought might be beneficial as well.
Parents who are excited about the prospect of using a readily available kitchen staple may also want to investigate using honey to make their own cough syrups. While a spoonful of honey is certainly the simplest option, the addition of certain herbs can help boost the healing action of honey. Herbal syrups are fairly easy to make and can also be found in herbal dispensaries and health food stores.
One safety consideration that should be kept in mind is that honey is not safe for children younger than one. Botulism spores found in honey can harm infants. By the age of one, children usually have enough beneficial bacteria in their digestive tracts to prevent these spores from taking root.
So the next time your child has a cough, feel free to sweeten the day with a little honey. And remember to put some in your own cup of tea too – its soothing effect will help you cope better with your sick child!
