Sprigy Remedies
Honey for a nighttime cough?
For children aged one and older, honey may ease a cough at bedtime.
Under 12 months? Skip honey.
Honey can cause infant botulism.
What changed at bedtime?
A Cochrane review brought together six trials involving 899 children with an acute cough. In the trials comparing honey with a placebo or no treatment, parents generally reported less frequent coughing after honey. Those are group averages. They don’t tell us whether an individual child will sleep through the night. Read the review.
What can one night tell us?
Most children in the trials received honey for just one night. That makes the findings most relevant to a familiar bedtime question: might tonight be a little easier? The evidence tells us much less about how a cough will feel several nights later. Study details.
Why the first birthday matters
Honey can contain spores that cause infant botulism. For babies under 12 months, skip honey completely, including honey mixed into food, water or formula. CDC guidance on honey.