Can eating honey really relieve children’s cough?

When influenza is prevalent, many children will be "infected", and the cough that comes with it is the most difficult "complication" or "sequelae" of the cold. When children keep "coughing, coughing", their pitiful appearance always makes parents worry.

Among the various "secret recipes" circulating on the Internet for relieving cough symptoms, "eating honey" is always on the list.

Is there any evidence that honey can relieve cough? Why can honey relieve cough? At what age can children eat honey when they have a cough? How to eat it? How much to eat? What should be paid attention to? Li Wei, a pharmacy expert, will answer them one by one.

Modern medical research evidence on honey relieving cough

The "Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cough in Children in China (2021 Edition)" states: The effect of honey in relieving cough may be comparable to that of antitussive drugs.

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) concluded after studying the relevant treatments and drugs for common cold-associated cough (CACC) that honey is the only recommended drug for treating common cold-associated cough.

The results of a 2012 controlled study in Israel showed that honey can indeed reduce the frequency and severity of coughing in children.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK recommends using honey water to relieve cough in its 2018 guidelines for the treatment of cough in children.

It can be seen that eating honey to relieve cough has scientific basis.

Why can honey relieve cough? How old can children eat it?

Honey contains a lot of fructose and glucose, which can cause a large amount of saliva and respiratory mucus secretion, which is equivalent to covering the respiratory tract with a protective film, thereby relieving cough. In addition, sugar can also reduce the sensitivity of cough receptors to a certain extent, making the receptors dull and no longer prone to causing cough reflexes.

It should be noted that children over 1 year old can eat honey to relieve cough, but babies under 1 year old cannot eat honey. This is because the intestines of babies under 1 year old are not fully developed, and honey may contain botulinum toxin and its spores, which may cause botulism poisoning in babies under 1 year old.

How to eat honey? How much to eat?

Based on the current experiments, giving children honey directly may have better effects.

If it is difficult for your child to eat honey directly, you can also try diluting it with warm water before feeding it to your child, and then letting your child drink additional milk or water half an hour after eating the honey.

Since honey is not a medicine, there is no consensus on how much honey should be taken to relieve cough. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children aged 1 to 5 years old should be given 2.5 ml each time as needed; 5 ml each time for children aged 6 to 11 years old, and 10 ml each time for children over 12 years old.

If the child only coughs more severely at night, then it is enough to take it once before going to bed; if the child continues to cough and feels very uncomfortable, it can be given 2 to 3 times a day. It is generally believed that taking it for 3 consecutive days may have a better cough-relieving effect.

How to choose honey?

In fact, the nutritional differences of various honeys are not that big, so whether it is imported or domestic, Manuka honey or acacia honey, they can essentially relieve coughs, and parents can choose according to the taste their children like. Rather than worrying about the variety of honey, it is more important to purchase qualified products from regular channels.

What else should I pay attention to when eating honey?

A small number of children may be allergic to honey or the pollen in honey. Therefore, when eating honey for the first time, you should take a small amount and observe whether the child has allergic reactions such as redness around the mouth, rash, vomiting, etc. (most food allergic reactions occur within a few minutes to 2 hours of eating). Continue to eat after there are no problems.

It is recommended that parents use mouthwash and brushing to clean their children's mouths every time their children eat honey and their coughs are relieved. Honey has a relatively sticky texture, so the surface and gaps of the teeth should be carefully cleaned to reduce the risk of tooth decay.

However, we should not think that drinking honey can definitely relieve cough.

Various foods or medicines, including honey, can indeed relieve and improve coughs, but they cannot eliminate the causes of coughs, such as inflammation, infection, allergies, foreign body stimulation, drug factors, etc. Therefore, for chronic coughs lasting more than 4 weeks, or coughs that continue to worsen and cannot be relieved on their own, it is recommended to see a doctor in time, identify the cause, and use regular and symptomatic medications. Do not use medications at will.