LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Dr. Ian Paul, a pediatrician from Pennsylvania State University in Hershey says that coughs are usually one of the most common reasons kids go to the doctor. "The therapies for cough and cold symptoms . have problems in that they're not very effective or not effective at all, and they have the potential for side effects."

In addition, many over-the-counter cough and cold products have a "do not use" warning for kids less than four years of age. One of the concerns with the medications is parents accidentally giving kids too much, or kids getting into the drugs themselves.

"As opposed to many of the other things we give - medications and medicines that do have side effects - honey over age one is almost completely safe," Paul Reuters Health.

In the study, Israel researchers randomly assigned 300 kids, aged one to five, to one of four different nighttime cough treatments. Half an hour before bedtime, parents gave their children 10 grams of one of three types of honey, including eucalyptus and citrus-based honey or syrup made from dates that was also sweet but honey-free.

Parents reported their kids' cough symptoms and how well both they and their kids slept through the night youngsters took a spoonful of honey or date extract as well as how well they had slept the night before.

Cough symptoms and sleep scores fell by 2 points, on average, in kids who ate honey, compared to a 1-point drop after a spoonful of date extract.

Dr. Herman Avner Cohen of Tel Aviv University and his colleagues reported that parents also slept better the night after their kids' honey treatment. The study was co-funded by the Honey Board of Israel.

According to Paul, there are a couple of different explanations for why honey might help ease kids' cough.

"Honey is very rich in antioxidants, so that may have some role in fighting whatever infection is causing the cold symptoms," he says.

"There's something about having a thick, viscous, sweet liquid that provides some sort of relief," Paul said. Sweet liquid also causes salivation, he explained, which can thin mucus and lubricate the upper airway.

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