Dec 10, 2014 3 min read

In a ranking of least favorite cold symptoms, cough ranks number one.*

*This study contained one participant.

I can’t be alone, though.

Coughing so hard you run out of air. Coughing so hard you nearly vomit. Sore muscles. Sore throat.

The unpleasantness of a cough is magnified only by the wait at the pharmacy counter and need to present your driver’s license just to purchase cough syrup (because of the active ingredient’s use as a recreational drug) whose taste generates symptoms all its own and works only kinda-sorta.

Oh, and costs $8.

With their proverbial superhero capes waving in the wind, natural cough remedies have proven, in some cases, to be very effective. By “proven”, I don’t mean the remedies show up on an unsourced hippy website, though you can find the info there, too.

A 2007 study that appeared in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine compared honey, dextromethorphan (the active ingredient in most cough suppressants and the reason you must present your drivers license) and no treatment. It looked at 500 children ages 2 to 18 with upper respiratory tract infections. Parents rated the plain-old-honey most favorably for the relief of cough, and resulting sleeping difficulty.

A 2012 study looked at children ages 1-5 years. These honey-using parents reported less coughing, less severe coughing and a decreased loss of sleep for parent and child.

Let’s be specific about what is meant by honey.

Honey is 100 percent honey, which requires peeking at the label. Believe it or not, many bottles of honey found at a grocery store are actually honey mixed with high-fructose corn syrup; so, take a second to carefully read what you’re buying.

(There is also the issue of raw vs. pasteurized honey, but we’ll save that for another day.)

Specifically, the 2007 study used buckwheat honey, which is a darker variety believed to contain more antioxidants due to the compounds that give the goop its color. The 2012 study used eucalyptus, citrus or labiatae honey. However, the effects probably are not limited to these varieties.

Why does it work? The viscous (thick and goopy) and sugary nature of honey helps to coat, soothe and break up mucous in the back of the throat. In addition, honey has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

These studies looked at children no younger than 1 for a very important reason. Honey contains botulism spores, which more sophisticated, healthy immune systems defend against easily; however, that “sophistication” doesn’t exist prior to age 1, and rarely causes infantile botulism.

So, no honey for children less than 1 year.

For those who’d rather avoid pharmaceuticals when they can, honey is a remedy backed up by both science and your Mama.

Abigail Mackey is a registered nurse and lover of alternative medicine. For more quips and tips, follow her on Twitter at @AbigailMackeyRN.