Effect of honey on nocturnal cough among children in Taif city

Authors

  • Hanan Al-Juaid Department of Family Medicine, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • Aljwharah AlJuaid Department of Family Medicine, King Faisal Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • Walaa Abuharba Department of Family Medicine, King Faisal Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • Ayman Abouhamda College of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20180402

Keywords:

Honey, Nocturnal cough, Children, Taif, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Nocturnal cough is a common disturbing symptom that affects children during upper respiratory tract infections and can have a major negative impact on child and parents’ sleep quality. Many pharmaceutical medications, herbal regimens, and non-pharmaceutical advice are prescribed to reduce nocturnal cough.  The aim of this research was to study the impact of honey on nocturnal cough in children.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 226 children in Taif city, KSA using a pre-prepared questionnaire to assess the cough severity and response to honey in comparison to other treatment modalities.  Data collected were then analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: The study was conducted on 226 children (51.77% were females). Children who used honey were significantly older (mean age 7.64±3.8 years) than those who used medications (mean age 6.98±60) (p=0.025). Children who used honey had a higher prevalence of headache (p=0.001) and malaise (p<0.001) than children who did not receive honey. The use of honey was also significantly associated with high cough severity scores. The use of honey seemed to significantly reduce both the cough severity score and combined severity scores, with odd’s ratios of 0.46 and 0.19, respectively (p=0.020 and <0.001). However, it was associated with fewer satisfaction rates and fewer intentions to re-use in next attacks (p=0.025).

Conclusions: Honey has a beneficial effect on treating nocturnal cough in children. It decreases the severity of cough as well as the frequency of cough. It is commonly used among older Saudi children who have cough associated with malaise and fever. However, it is not satisfactory for patient and parental relief in Taif city because it doesn’t improve the sleep quality of patients or parents. 

References

Cohen HA, Rozen J, Kristal H, Laks Y, Berkovitch M, Uziel Y, et al. Effect of honey on nocturnal cough and sleep quality: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Pediatrics. 2012;130(3):465-71.

Sung V, Cranswick N. Cough and cold remedies for children. Australian Prescriber. 2009;32(5):122-4.

Ziment I. Herbal antitussives. Pulmonary Pharmacol Therapeutics. 2002;15(3):327-33.

Kwakman PH, Zaat SA. Antibacterial components of honey. IUBMB Life. 2012;64(1):48-55.

Wahdan HA. Causes of the antimicrobial activity of honey. Infection. 1998;26(1):26-31.

Lusby PE, Coombes AL, Wilkinson JM. Bactericidal activity of different honeys against pathogenic bacteria. Arch Med Res. 2005;36(5):464-7.

Schramm DD, Karim M, Schrader HR, Holt RR, Cardetti M, Keen CL. Honey with high levels of antioxidants can provide protection to healthy human subjects. J Agricultural Food Chemistry. 2003;51(6):1732-5.

Tonks AJ, Cooper RA, Jones KP, Blair S, Parton J, Tonks A. Honey stimulates inflammatory cytokine production from monocytes. Cytokine. 2003;21(5):242-7.

Gheldof N, Wang XH, Engeseth NJ. Identification and quantification of antioxidant components of honeys from various floral sources. J Agricultural Food Chemistry. 2002;50(21):5870-7.

Paul IM, Beiler J, McMonagle A, Shaffer ML, Duda L, Berlin CM, Jr. Effect of honey, dextromethorphan, and no treatment on nocturnal cough and sleep quality for coughing children and their parents. Arch Pediatrics Adolescent Med. 2007;161(12):1140-6.

Grogan SP, Egitto EA. Honey for Acute Cough in Children. Am Family Physician. 2016;94(1):20-1.

Nitsche MP, Carreno M. Is honey an effective treatment for acute cough in children? Medwave. 2016;16:e6454.

Cox N, Hinkle R. Infant botulism. Am Family Physician. 2002;65(7):1388-92.

Oduwole O, Meremikwu MM, Oyo-Ita A, Udoh EE. Honey for acute cough in children. CDSR. 2014(12):Cd007094.

Ayazi P, Mahyar A, Yousef-Zanjani M, Allami A, Esmailzadehha N, Beyhaghi T. Comparison of the Effect of Two Kinds of Iranian Honey and Diphenhydramine on Nocturnal Cough and the Sleep Quality in Coughing Children and Their Parents. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(1):e0170277.

Allan GM, Korownyk C, Kolber M. Do cough suppressants or honey help pediatric cough? Canadian Family Physician. 2011;57(4):435.

Ashkin E, Mounsey A. A spoonful of honey helps a coughing child sleep. J Family Practice. 2013;62(3):145-7.

Cohen HA, Hoshen M, Gur S, Bahir A, Laks Y, Blau H. Efficacy and tolerability of a polysaccharide-resin-honey based cough syrup as compared to carbocysteine syrup for children with colds: a randomized, single-blinded, multicenter study. World J Pediatrics. 2017;13(1):27-33.

Waris A, Macharia M, Njeru EK, Essajee F. Randomised Double Blind Study To Compare Effectiveness Of Honey, Salbutamol And Placebo In Treatment Of Cough In Children With Common Cold. East African Med J. 2014;91(2):50-6.

Mulholland S, Chang AB. Honey and lozenges for children with non-specific cough. CDSR. 2009;2(2): CD007523.

Ahmed N, Sutcliffe A, Tipper C. Feasibility Study: Honey for Treatment of Cough in Children. Pediatric Rep. 2013;5(2):31-4.

Warren MD, Cooper WO. Honey improves cough in children compared to no treatment. J Pediatrics. 2008;152(5):739-40.

Downloads

Published

2018-02-24

How to Cite

Al-Juaid, H., AlJuaid, A., Abuharba, W., & Abouhamda, A. (2018). Effect of honey on nocturnal cough among children in Taif city. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(3), 922–928. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20180402

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles