{"id":1293,"date":"2020-02-27T12:41:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T17:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/?p=1293"},"modified":"2020-11-13T12:05:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T17:05:25","slug":"try-this-alternative-cough-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/try-this-alternative-cough-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Try This Alternative Cough Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most\npeople know honey as the delicious extra ingredient to add to a peanut butter\nsandwich. Many have also claimed other helpful properties of honey, including\nbeing a good source of antioxidants, having antibacterial and antifungal\nproperties, healing wounds, providing phytonutrients and helping with digestive\nissues. One of the better-researched benefits of honey is its ability to help\nsoothe a sore throat and cough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTC\nCough Syrup Doesn\u2019t Always Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Coughing<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Parents\neverywhere desperate for a good night\u2019s sleep have tried over-the-counter cough\nmedicine for their children, but studies show that the ingredients in many of\nthese cough syrups are not very effective for kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to pediatrician Jennifer\nShu, M.D., spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, cough syrup for\nkids is more about marketing than medicine. \u201cIf you make it, some people are going\nto buy it. That’s why you see lots of products on shelves that may not be\nnecessary or even safe for kids,\u201d she explained<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cough medicines usually contain dextromethorphan or an antihistamine, and according to Dr. Shu, studies have shown that these ingredients often aren\u2019t effective for kids<\/a>. But they do have a host of side effects, including \u201cincreasing your blood pressure, making your heart rate go up or suppressing the drive to breathe \u2014 and that’s definitely something we don’t want for kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies\nShow Honey Can Be an Effective Remedy <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Researchers in Israel conducted a\nrandomized controlled trial and asked parents to give their coughing children\neither honey or a placebo that looked and tasted like honey and found that the\nhoney group reported less coughing and improved sleep after just one night of\nhoney. Parents who administered the placebo saw no difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another study found that honey worked\nabout as well as dextromethorphan but did not have the risks of side effects.\n(Note: Honey is recommended for children over the age of one. There is a small\nrisk of botulism in infants.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does\nHoney Help? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The way honey works to quiet a cough\nis not totally clear, but there are some hypotheses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHoney has some natural antibacterial\nand antiviral properties,\u201d said Dr. Shu. \u201cIt contains hydrogen peroxide, so\nthere is a theory that that’s why it might help fight a cold. But also the\nthickness of it helps coat the throat and makes it feel more comfortable so you\ndon’t have that dry, ticklish feeling that’s causing your cough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the risks\nand benefits of treating a cough with honey, schedule an appointment with\nHampton Roads ENT. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most people know honey as the delicious extra ingredient to add to a peanut butter sandwich. Many have also claimed other helpful properties of honey, including being a good source of antioxidants, having antibacterial and antifungal properties, healing wounds, providing phytonutrients and helping with digestive issues. One of the better-researched benefits of honey is its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"(757) 825-2500 | Honey has a lot of benefits. One of the better-researched benefits of honey is its ability to help soothe a sore throat and cough.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-throat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1293"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2035,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions\/2035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamptonroadsent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}