General

• Coughs are a common concern for many parents and a major cause of doctor visits. Coughs can impact quality of life, anxiety and affect sleep patterns for both parents and children.
• A few years ago, the FDA recommended not using over-the-counter (OTC) medications to treat coughs due to their side effects (e.g. dizziness, sleepiness), risks (since they can be toxic) and the little evidence available to prove cough relief.
• There is insufficient evidence to prove that honey is either good or bad for a cough in children. However, evidence is increasing in favour of its beneficial effects (i.e. honey is better than placebo or other cough medications) in providing relief of night-time coughs.
• Honey, as a treatment for coughs, is generally less expensive than OTC medications and poses no side effects.
• There are various types of honey available such as Eucalyptus, Buckwheat, Silan, etc. These are differentiated by factors such as color, type of flavour, the honeybee source and technique of fermentation. The taste of honey may vary from sweet to pungent while the variation in color is seen from black to white.

Honey Safety

• Honey is generally safe. It should be used in children that are older than 1 year of age due to the risk of botulism (i.e. a type of poisoning).
• Since honey is a type of sugar, excess use can affect teeth, weight and so forth. As such, honey must be used appropriately.

Honey as Relief

• Honey has well established antioxidants (which help with inflammation) and antimicrobial effects.
• Darker honey has more antioxidants than lighter ones (e.g. Buckwheat honey has a large amount of antioxidants).
• The sweetness of honey can also influence or cause stimulation in the receptors of the mouth that is close to nerve fibres related to the cough.