Age old honey scores higher than cough medicines

London, Dec 4 (UNI) Since time immemorial honey is considered a traditional soother in India.

Now researchers worldwide have reiterated that the centuries-old remody of honey was still the best while helping a child fight off a cough.

The natural sweetener was a traditional soother and remained better than costly over-the-counter medicines, the study stated, adding a dose before bedtime easily outperformed a cough suppressant widely used in commercial treatments.

Honey was better at cutting the severity, frequency and disturbance from night-time coughs of those suffering upper respiratory infection.

The results suggested that parents may be wasting their money on expensive alternatives.

The research compared honey to dextromethorphan (DM), the active ingredient in many cough mixtures.

It was dicovered that DM made no significant difference to symptoms compared with having no treatment for the 105 children in the research.

They were divided into groups receiving honey, a honey-flavoured DM medicine or no treatment about 30 minutes before bedtime.

The researchers said honey offered a ''safe and legitimate alternative'' to DM, which can occasionally cause severe side-effects in children, including muscle contractions and spasms.

Honey's ability to help coughs may be due to the way it soothes on contact and stimulates saliva.

UNI