[chantald]

DS, age 1, has a terrible chest cold. The coughing is waking him. I am using a warm mist humidifier with camphor, euchalyptus and cedarwood in it.<br>
I am also applying an herbal chest rub from Kerry's Herbals.<br><br>
he is still coughing.. I read that honey was shown to be as effective as OTC cough stuff.. Do I need local honey or any honey will do? Honey is ok once they hit a year.. right?

 

[zen_monster]

I give my child honey- he is over a year- and he likes it in his tea.<br><br>
How long has your son had this cough for? Both my son and have had a deep, phlemy cough for the past 2 weeks. We finally went to urgent care this morning and it turns out to be bronchitis.<br><br>
If you child has had this cough for more than 10 days, you probably want to visit he doc.

 

[emelsea]

My sister was just reading me an article about using honey as a cough suppressent. It didn't say anything about what kind of honey. I'd just try whatever I had in the cupboard (which happens to be local honey, but only because one of my ex-boyfriend's parent's do (grow? make? raise? what is the right term?) their own honey and they continue to give me all I want. If not for them, I'd probably just buy a honey bear from the store).

 

[Eben'sMama]

We use the B&T Homepathic Child's Cough & Bronchial Syrup, which is in a honey base. It works very well. As for using straight honey, I think there may be some benefit to using local honey, and I'd definitely make sure it was organic.

 

[jennifercp8]

I gave DS some honey straight on a spoon, but he also liked it with a little warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice. It was a nice little refreshing drink for him.

 

[AEZMama]

If you have local honey available to you, go with that as it will have a homeopathic effect. When we travel I try to get a bit of local honey for us to get us acclaimated to the local pollens, etc. Something my dh swears by is a bit of cayenne pepper powder as well-I put it in soup and it's kept us free of cold & cough, but we are a bit phlegmy.<br><br>
I give ds tea with honey and lemon as well, or like pp just warm water, honey & lemon.<br><br>
You should also try a warm or cool mist vaporizer in you LO's room. You can put eucalyptus or lavender oil in with a sprinkle of salt which helps to loosen stuff up as they rest.

 

[chantald]

I gave some from the spoon, he loved it. Not sure it is doing much for his cough. poor kid. We were at the Dr yesterday.. but today he has a 102.. so we may be at the dr again tomorrow.. sigh

 

[seemfrog]

I have used this cough syrup recipe from "Healthy Healing" before and my boys have liked it and it's seemed to help some:<br><br>
Put 3 TBS thyme leaves in a quart jar, add 2 cups boiling water. Close lid to steep until cool. Strain off liquid, add 1 cup of honey, a 1" piece of ginger. Refrigerate. Take 1 tsp every hr as needed.

 

[catnap70]

We use local, raw honey. A lot of commercial honey is cooked in a way that is similar to pasteurization, which kills much of the good stuff in it. I don't know if it makes a difference for cough suppression in particular though.

 

[poetesss]

cnn link:<br><br>
honey helps kids' coughs: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/03/honey.for.cough.ap/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/03....ap/index.html</a><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">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.<br><br>
Honey did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison.<br><br>
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.</td>
</tr></table></div>
THis actually worked really well for me last night, even though I totally didn't believe it would do anything when I took it. I used raw honey.<br><br>
For my son when he's up for hours at night coughing, I actually go ahead and give him dimetapp if natural options don't work. Yes, I know the FDA says to use it no longer but sleep is a precious thing and there are really no other "approved" OTC options.<br><br>
I'd watch out though if he starts to wheeze or have difficulty breathing, don't hesitate to take him to the ER ... i've btdt with my ds, it's not pleasant but necessary if they can't breathe properly.