Honey Might Be The Best Cough Treatment
Just in time for the impending flu season, a freshly published research reveals the safest way to deal with cough symptoms.
Key points:
- British researchers proved honey is a cheaper and safer alternative to antibiotics when treating upper respiratory tract infections.
- Switching to honey as a cough remedy helps prevent misuse of antibiotics, which may pose future health obstacles.
Honey has been used as a cough remedy for centuries. Indeed, it has antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford, England, proved it’s not only effective at treating cough symptoms in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), but also a significantly better alternative to antibiotics.
The team reported on their results, saying, “Honey was superior to usual care for the improvement of symptoms of URTIs. It provides a widely available and cheap alternative to antibiotics,”
They discovered that after carrying out a systematic review and meta-analysis of previous findings from 14 studies, most of which compared the effectiveness of honey and more conventional treatments like over-the-counter medicines.
Honey might be a better choice, because the misuse and over-prescription of antibiotics, which is widespread nowadays, is causing antibiotic resistance. This condition makes it much harder to treat infections, leading to higher medical costs and longer hospital stays.
Of course, treating cough with honey may not suit everyone. It’s always better to get approval from your physician first.
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