Join Today & Get 4% Cash Back Then 6, 7...Up to 10% Off Reorders!

February 26, 2008, 11:59 am
Flag as Inappropriate MSeal  

I had heard honey was as affective as medication for relieving coughs in the news several times over the past few months, then today stumbled across this article and thought I would post it.

It is very interesting.

From:

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/APC0404/802230494/1890/APClife

When a child is sick, every parent wants to do whatever possible to help that young one feel better. That's perhaps most true with the common cold, which strikes with unfortunate frequency and often lasts far longer than we'd like.

That's led many a mom and dad to dose their children with decongestants, cough suppressants and the like, hoping to bring some relief.

But recent news around the safety of such over-the-counter medications has given parents pause. After reviewing reports of serious side effects, the FDA recommended in January that children under 2 not be treated with cough and cold medicines, and most manufacturers have pulled formulas marketed for that age group from store shelves voluntarily.

An FDA review of similar information for children 2 to 11 continues and likely will conclude with recommendations specific to older children sometime late this month.

Until then, what's a parent to do when treating children's colds?

Dr. Ann Jones, pediatrician with ThedaCare Physicians Pediatrics–Appleton, has been asked that question a lot lately. The answer, it turns out, varies by a child's age and with each doctor.

"Most of my patients over the past eight years have heard me say this 100 times: 'I am not a big fan of OTC cough and cold medicines in kids. They haven't really been proven to work, they don't get them better faster, and they have more side effects than good effects,'" said Jones, a mother of two.

Under normal circumstances, those side effects can include hyperactivity, drowsiness and irritability.

"Most kids under the age of 6 tend to get side effects without any benefit from it," said Dr. Christoffer Birn, pediatrician with Affinity Medical Group in Appleton. "So instead of having a sick kid, you wind up with a wired and hyperactive sick kid."

In rare situations investigated by the FDA, life-threatening side effects such as convulsions, seizures and rapid heart rate developed in children. A few deaths were reported as well in the under-2 age group.

It's important for parents to understand that most of those events were related to incorrect dosing, often resulting when an individual administering multiple OTC medications to a child inadvertently doubled up on a single active ingredient.

"Parents can accidentally overdose their children, which is where most of the deaths and bad effects have been seen," Jones said.

Another concern centers on knowing the correct dosage to give kids since OTC cough and cold medicines were never tested on children. Rather, dosages were extrapolated from adult studies.

"In older kids, I have seen them get sedated, hyper, have heart palpitations, even have hallucinations on normal doses of cold and cough medicines over my career," Jones said. "Although most do fine, that's definitely out there."

"There's still a gray area for kids 6 to 12. They may get some relief" when taking OTC cold medications, Birn said.

While not all pediatricians agree that OTC cold medications should be avoided altogether in children, most suggest that parents faced with an entire drugstore wall of OTC remedies decide carefully what to give their kids.

"If you choose to give your child something, choose a medication with only one or two ingredients, watch the dosing, and only give at night to help if the symptoms interfere with sleep," Jones said.

If the goal is restful slumber, alternatives to OTC medications may work just as well.

"Things a parent can do would include using a humidifier or vaporizer in the room, using saline drops or a saline nose spray for younger children or giving plenty of fluids to drink — water, Pedialyte or even good old children soup for older children," Birn said.

Jones also recommended warm lemonade or chamomile tea for that purpose.

Additionally, the December issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reported that a teaspoon of honey given before bedtime was more effective than dextromethorphan, a common active ingredient in cough syrup, in subduing nighttime coughing in children 2 to 18. Both Birn and Jones emphasized that honey should not be given to children under 1 because of the risk of botulism.

Parents interested in other natural cold remedies for their kids might consider replacing their tub of Vicks VapoRub with essential oils, according to Sandy White, owner of Botanical Indulgence in Neenah.

"A lot of parents don't realize that Vicks VapoRub is petroleum-based," White said. "Just using simple extra-virgin olive oil from the kitchen with a few drop of eucalyptus radiata will be more effective as a chest rub."

Ultimately, treating a child's cold is something parents should do with caution and care.

"In general, children have an average of six to eight colds a year," Birn said. "Most of these don't require any treatment beyond comfort measures, such as plenty of fluids, a humidifier and extra TLC."

Your title is very misleading. Nowhere in the article does it mention that honey is a more effective treatment than OTC cold medications.

The piece specifically recommends "using a humidifier or vaporizer in the room, using saline drops or a saline nose spray for younger children or giving plenty of fluids to drink — water, Pedialyte or even good old children soup for older children."

If anything, we can logically eliminate honey from the equation as it is not listed as an alternative.

My bad, your article was cut off. However, while honey might be a better alternative to dextromethorphan (common nightime cough supressant), this does not mean it's more effective at treating broader cold symptoms.

Here is another article which emphasises the actual study and its results.

http://www.library.nhs.uk/Default.aspx

You are right does not mean it's more effective at treating broader cold symptoms, that why I said COUGH medicine and not COLD medicine.

"You are right does not mean it's more effective at treating broader cold symptoms, that why I said COUGH medicine and not COLD medicine."

Ouch ;-p

When I have a cold I drink honey and lemon in hot tea. It seems to help me breath better and cough less. Just my experiences with honey and colds.

Cough medicines would be much more effective if they were used correctly. Wrong dosing is one problem. Another that's very common is for parents to give a drink to "wash the taste of the medicine" away. Unfortunately, most of the benefit of cough syrup is by coating the throat as most of the cough calming effect is directly on the tissues of the throat. You should not take or give a drink for 30 minutes after taking cough syrup.

As a dad and a doctor, I find this a very scary topic. I used to think that as long as my patient’s or I dosed the children’s cold & cough medications right, then everything would be OK. But when I researched this further, it turns out that children have died from “over dose” of ALL THE MAJOR CHILDRENS COLD AND COUGH MEDICINES even when given the correct dose (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/108/3/e52?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=cough+medications&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT).

Here are a few interesting facts:

1. Last October 2008, the drug companies promised the FDA that they would change all their labeling to say “do not use” for children under the age of 2, but I was just in the store last week, and a number of packages still had the old labeling!

2. The FDA reviewed safety and effectiveness data this last fall and its expert panel said that “right now the current cold & cough medications should not be given to children under 6.” Here is a link to the FDA’s minutes, “http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/07/minutes/2007-4323m1-Final.pdf”, see page 6. The FDA made a public advisory in January 2008 about never using it for children under 2, because the Drug companies are fighting them on the panels ruling to never use cold and cough medications on children 2 to 6. Since these drugs were previously allowed by the FDA, the FDA is forced to go though “due process” before they are willing to make an official public statement about never giving these medications to children 2 to 6.

3. The number of infant deaths attributed to cold and cough medicines is dramatically underreported. New research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrated that there were at least “10 unexpected infant deaths that were associated with cold-medication” in 2006 alone in the state of Arizona. Extrapolated over the US and Canadian population, that would be over 500 deaths a year associated with cold-medication! (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/122/2/e318)

The thing that the drug companies don’t want anyone to know is that these medications never underwent the rigorous safety and effectiveness studies modern medications have to go though, they we grandfathered in the early 1970’s because at that time experts felt like they seemed to work, and they seemed safe enough.

Interestingly, some researchers from Penn State have shown that Buckwheat honey is better then the OTC drugs for children’s cough. There is a web site that talks about this, and gives lots of research to help parents be better informed about how to help their kids. Check out http://www.honeydontcough.com/

-Daddydoctor

I personally would love to try children soup the next time I have a cold. MMM ...kids! It's what's for dinner. LOL I'm just teasing and yeah I'm sure everyone read that and thought a little haha thought... I'm the only one corny enough to say it I suppose : )

My daughter is 7 and has asthma associated with allergies and bowel issues that only get more irritated when she takes cold medicines so we don't do that anymore. We give her local honey made from wildflowers in some chamomile tea. Not only does it help her get ready for sleepytime but it soothes her throat and the local honey has helped her to get over her allergies..for the most part. There are still some days that are worse than others but the important part is that my sweet little faerie girl doesn't hack her head off all night. She gets to sleep and doesn't get OTC medicine induced tummy blockage anymore.

Here's a link with some useful info on honey and allergies http://www.pioneerthinking.com/to_honey.html