Soothing Kids' Coughs and Improving Sleep With Honey

A pediatric study found buckwheat honey more effective than honey-flavored dextromethorphan (DM) or no treatment for relieving kids' cough and improving sleep impaired by colds. Honey showed no harms unlike DM in medications like Mucinex, Robitussin, Vicks Formula 44.

Coughs caused by colds disrupt sleep for millions of children every year. And parents desperately search drugstore aisles for anything to ease their miserable kids’ symptoms. Many reach for dextromethorphan (DM), the active ingredient in over-a-billion-dollar cough syrup industry across brands like Mucinex, Robitussin, Vicks Formula 44.1 But research shows popular OTC cough and cold meds barely beat placebos at best2 and may cause harms like toxicity, bleeding, seizures and death.3  

Seeking safer alternatives, Pennsylvania researchers tested buckwheat honey against honey-flavored DM and no treatment in a pediatric trial.4 Their results suggest parents stick to sweet relief straight from the hive.  

In the study, 105 children aged 2 to 18 with upper respiratory infections received a single bedtime dose of 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of buckwheat honey based on age, honey-flavored DM containing 15-30 mg DM, or nothing. DM doses well exceeded typical formulations.5 After treatment, parents rated their kids' cough frequency, severity, bothersomeness and impact on sleep, along with their own sleep difficulty.  

Across all outcomes, honey outperformed both DM and no treatment. For example, parents scored their kids’ cough frequency 1.89 points better after honey, 1.39 after DM and just 0.92 with no treatment. Comparisons of honey to no treatment showed significant benefits for cough frequency and overall symptoms. Meanwhile, DM showed no statistical advantage over nothing at all. Neither honey nor DM caused serious adverse effects in the study.  

Given the frequent harms of DM in products flying off shelves, chocolate-flavored medicine may no longer go down easy for worried parents. Honey’s antioxidant compounds and demulcent coating of throats likely explain its time-tested soothing powers. And as pleasantly sweet DM syrups fail to beat placebos in study after study, perhaps honey's effectiveness relies partly on a natural form of placebo effect. Regardless, for parents seeking safe symptomatic relief for miserable kids overnight, dipping into honey first makes senses. Skipping the costly medications that don’t work anyway brings welcome peace of mind along with sweet dreams.