A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports of their children's symptoms.

The folk remedy did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison. Honey may work by coating and soothing an irritated throat, the study authors said.

"Many families are going to relate to these findings and say that grandma was right," said lead author Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine.

The research appears in December's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

Federal health advisers have recently warned that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines shouldn't be used in children younger than 6, and manufacturers are taking some products for babies off the market.

Three pediatricians who read the study said they would tell parents seeking alternative remedies to try honey. They noted that honey should not be given to children under age 1 because of a rare but serious risk of botulism.

For the study, researchers recruited 105 children with upper respiratory infections from a clinic in Pennsylvania. Parents were given a paper bag with a dosing device inside. Some were empty. Some contained an age-appropriate dose of honey-flavored cough medicine containing dextromethorphan. And some contained a similar dose of honey.
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Gee, I've only been doing this for...years. Maybe they need to look again at the old remedies.

Honey mixed apple cider vinegar is all I ever used. Honey is also anti-bacterial so it will help kill the germs causing the sore throat and cough.


Lapiche

That's right, that is why the ancient Egyptians used it for putting on sores and injuries. I think there are tonnes of natural healing agents that have been long forgotten or ignored.

Glory i've been telling people on here and off line, to take honey, we have people who are allergic to pollen and one of the best ways to build up your immune system is to give young children, over the age of 12 months a small amount of honey a few times aweek, but the honey needs to be from a hive within 5 miles of your home so over time the child is exposed to pollens in their enviroment and they shouldnt develope allergies to pollen,

The Best honey you can get is the natural stuff, its still hard and white, not goldern and runny, piney, you know the apple cider vinegar raises the PH of your bowel, which creates an environment that helps stop the likes of salmonella, ecoli and others getting a foot hold, your natural bacteria are unaffected by the raise in PH and infact they'll fluorish in the conditions,

Garlic raw and crushed is brilliant for the allicicn it produces, Onions Cooked are great as well, Honey raw/not heated up is brilliant, and Probiotic drink,

This is good common sense and i agree! People have become too dependant on pharmaceuticals these days as an answer to everything! And when it comes to kids, that can often lead to more allergies and a compromised imune system!

Honey does work for coughs and sore throats. We use it. Plus it tastes soooooo sweet!. The squeezy stuff doesn't seem to do the job as well as the jar stuff...

When we are sick we drink a lot of hot lemon and honey, it tastes great, it's like hot lemonade, and then the kids get a boost of vitamin C. Another great cold trick is to make tea out of cinnamon sticks. It helps with the respiratory system. I have been trying all natural for years,a nd the doctors used to look at me like I was a wacko....now they are recommending a more natural "medicine" . Goofy doctors.

And Stevewinn, garlic is a natural antibiotic, so, it's really gross to some people, we make a 'soup' out of it when we are really sick, and the next day, you feel a tonne better. Just hot water, garlic, salt and pepper, crackers (butter is optional). It works. And the allergies are just out of control in kids, which contribute to the cases of asthma. Maybe the more people who stop filling the pharmaceutical coffers, the more that humans will cut out most of these diseases and illnesses.

Hear, hear!

been doing this remedy for almost 6years already. and it works.

I get really bad coughs, due to my asthma. I have always drank honey and lemon instead of any other drink when I am sick. My mom and ad gave that to us when we were really little and it stayed with us. It's great to see so many others who believe in a more natural 'medicine'. we just need to get more people paying attention to this.

yeah! agree! and synthetic / man made medicines are expensive. xD

I remember as a kid my mom always giving me honey and tea for a sore throat...Natural honey has the best ingredients for your diet including vitamins, minerals, amino's and organic acids...I also remember my mom putting it on any kind of a burn to stop infection and pain....Now as for garlic...Well, being Italian I don't have to say anymore...

I know! Bloody ridiculous!

Yeah, I come from Ukrainian stock and my grandma would put garlic in EVERYTHING-but she was hardly ever sick!

Another benefit of Honey is that it practically never goes bad... it just sort of crystalizes instead. It can last for hundreds of years (wow I think that's even longer than a Twinkie) but I think the recommendation is to only keep a jar of honey around for 2 years then throw it away.

It never lasts that long in our house! LOL