Forget the Spoonful of Sugar AND the Medicine

Honey has now been proven to be better for a kid's cough than cough medicine. Dr. Ian Paul, of Penn State, was prompted to perform the study after finding in an earlier one that a placebo was just as effective as traditional cough medicines containing dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine.

Since it's cheaper and has no side-effects, it'd be pretty silly not to buy honey instead of cough syrup. You don't want people to say you're silly, do you? I know I don't.


From ABC News.com -

"The researchers enrolled 105 children, between ages 2 and 18, in their randomized, partially double-blind study. On the first night of the study, the children received no treatment. Parents then answered questions about their children's sleep and cough, as well as the quality of their own sleep. The second night, the children were given either honey-flavored cough syrup or honey -- or nothing at all. Parents then reanswered the questions in the survey.

Parents whose children received the honey rated their kids' sleep and symptoms as better -- and their own sleep as improved as well.

Healing Powers of Honey

Paul says that the type of honey plays a role in the treatment.

'Darker honeys have more antioxidants than lighter honeys, and we wanted the best chance to see improvements,' he says, noting that lighter honeys would probably also benefit kids. 'At least locally [buckwheat honey] is available. I can get it here at the local supermarket.'

Honey is also generally less expensive than over-the-counter medications, he says, and bring none of the side effects like dizziness or sleepiness."