Researchers have a honey of a solution for parents who are reluctant to give their children an over-the-counter medication for a nagging cough.
A new study finds that a single dose of buckwheat honey before bedtime provided the greatest relief from cough and sleep difficulty in children with upper respiratory tract infections compared with no treatment and an OTC medicine. The report was published in this month's issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Coughing accounts for 3 percent of all trips to the doctor, more than any other symptom, the study's authors noted. Until now, doctors have usually recommended dextromethorphan, even though its use is unsupported by the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American College of Chest Physicians. Recently, warnings about the use of OTC medications in children with colds have made parents even more wary.
So, a team of researchers at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey took 105 children ages 2 to 18 and treated them in one of the three ways: Either they received honey or dextromethorphan within 30 minutes of bedtime or they received no treatment at all. Parents then were asked to complete a survey assessing their child's cough and sleep difficulty.
Honey was found to yield the greatest improvement followed by dextromethorphan while no treatment showed the least improvement in cough frequency, cough severity and disruption of sleep. Honey, however, should not be given to children before their first birthday.
Belleville News-Democrat as reported on BND.com December 4, 2007 http://www.bnd.com/living/story/194519.html
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