Do you know what a ‘hot toddy’ is? It would be my guess you are from the south if you answered yes. Or, you have relatives, very close ones at that, who are southern by birth and you probably have had a hot toddy or two during your lifetime.
A hot toddy was made for my siblings and me when we had a terrible cold accompanied by a body shaking, chest-rattling cough. The ingredients in the hot toddy depended on who made it and was taking care of us. If our parents or maternal grandmother were caring for us, it was a mild tonic. If we were being cared for by my maternal grandfather and step-grandmother, a secret ingredient was added. As we grew older, we could have all the ingredients in a hot toddy but only if we were sick with a cold. My brothers tried getting a cold very often because they loved those full strength hot toddies.
The key ingredient, no matter who made a hot toddy, was honey. A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children’s coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports of their children's symptoms.
The folk remedy did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison. Honey may work by coating and soothing an irritated throat, the study authors said.
I’ve explained my exasperating interest in far too many things. I have the curiosity of a child. I still believe in asking questions if you wish to know the answers. My grandparents were not medical doctors or even college educated. I have witnessed the recovery of each of their patients with a hot toddy.
As a matter-of-fact, the study’s lead author said: "Many families are going to relate to these findings and say that grandma was right." The lead author is Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine.
Federal health advisers have recently warned that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines shouldn't be used in children younger than six, and manufacturers are taking some products for babies off the market.
The Objectives, Results and Conclusions
Objectives: To compare the effects of a single nocturnal dose of buckwheat honey or honey-flavored dextromethorphan (DM) with no treatment on nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infections.
Results: Significant differences in symptom improvement were detected between treatment groups, with honey consistently scoring the best and no treatment scoring the worst. In paired comparisons, honey was significantly superior to no treatment for cough frequency and the combined score, but DM was not better than no treatment for any outcome. Comparison of honey with DM revealed no significant differences.
Conclusions: In a comparison of honey, DM, and no treatment, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief of their child's nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection. Honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection.
If you would like to read the study in more detail, click here. Although the study was funded by a grant from the National Honey Board, an industry-funded agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency had no influence over the study design, data or results, Paul said.
The National Honey Board could have asked me and my siblings if honey soothed or stopped coughing. Both tonics worked, one just made us sleep better.
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