It’s not an “old wives’ tale” after all — a spoonful of honey at bedtime really does help children to stop coughing and get a good night’s sleep. Given the recent alarms about the use of over-the-counter cold medicines for young children, this comes as welcome news to parents.
According to a study reported in this month’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a spoonful of honey taken 30 minutes before bedtime was as effective in easing cough and cold symptoms in small children as treatment with DM cold medicines, and significantly more effective than giving the child no treatment at all. (It was noted that honey should not be given to children under 1 year of age, because of a rare but serious risk of botulism.)
There is increasing concern about the use of over-the-counter medications to treat symptoms of upper respiratory infections (URIs) in young children. This study randomized 130 children aged 2 to 18 years with cough due to URIs to receive either dextromethorphan, buckwheat honey, or placebo before going to sleep. Honey provided the greatest relief in cough symptoms, and both children and their parents in this group slept better compared with the other groups. Buckwheat honey, but not dextromethorphan, was better than no treatment in relieving nocturnal symptoms associated with URIs.
The study, headed by Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine, looked at cough frequency, cough severity, the bothersome nature of the cough — and the quality of sleep enjoyed by both the child and the parent.
See:
Effect of Honey on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality in Children
Ian M. Paul, MD, MSc; Jessica Beiler, MPH; Amyee McMonagle, RN; Michele L. Shaffer, PhD; Laura Duda, MD; Cheston M. Berlin Jr, MD
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Vol. 161 No. 12, December 2007
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(12):1121
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