Honey for Cough

Honey is one of the oldest home remedies for cough during a cold. It is used to soothe cough and throat irritation, not to cure the infection itself.

Origin

Honey has long been a folk remedy for upper respiratory infections, such as colds, sore throats, and coughs. This is described by the authors of a research review from the University of Oxford. The Cochrane review notes that honey is used to soothe cough in children. The British public health service NHS lists a warm drink with lemon and honey as something to try for cough. Traditionally, honey is dissolved in warm water with lemon juice and consumed while the drink is warm.

What We Know

Label: Weak evidence. Studies suggest some relief from cough, but they are few, short, and do not always compare honey with placebo. The British institute NICE and NHS explicitly mention limited evidence.

What Studies Say

• Cochrane Review “Honey for acute cough in children” (Oduwole et al., 2018): six randomized studies, totaling 899 children aged 12 months to 18 years. Honey likely alleviates cough better than no treatment, placebo, and the antihistamine diphenhydramine. Compared to the popular cough medicine dextromethorphan, there may be no difference. After three days, honey likely no longer provided an advantage over placebo. The authors emphasize that most children received honey for only one night and state that there is no strong evidence for or against honey.
• Systematic review and meta-analysis in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (Abuelgasim, Albury, Lee, 2020): 14 studies on upper respiratory infections. Compared to usual care, honey reduced the frequency and severity of cough and the overall symptom score. The authors assess the risk of bias in the studies as moderate and note that good placebo-controlled studies are needed. In two studies comparing honey with placebo, no clear difference was found.
• NICE Guidelines NG120 (2019) on acute cough: honey is listed among home remedies that have “limited evidence of benefit,” and only for individuals over 1 year of age. The same guidelines advise against antibiotics for cough due to colds in individuals who are not seriously ill and do not belong to at-risk groups.
• NHS: according to the cough page, a warm drink with lemon and honey may work similarly to cough syrup, but the evidence for this is limited.

Safety

Risks

• Infant botulism in children under 12 months. The American CDC describes several infants in Texas who became ill after using honey pacifiers.
• In studies from the Cochrane review, gastrointestinal complaints were reported by 12% of children after honey and 11% after placebo. Some children reported irritability, insomnia, and hyperactivity after honey. However, the authors found no overall difference in adverse effects between honey and the comparison groups.
• NHS warns against giving hot drinks to young children.

Who Should Not

• Infants under 1 year of age: this is stated by NHS, CDC, and NICE.
• The sources we reviewed do not mention other groups. Individuals with diabetes or allergies to bee products should consult a doctor.

Drug Interactions

• The sources we reviewed do not describe interactions between honey and medications. If in doubt, one can ask a pharmacist.

When to See a Doctor

• Cough lasts longer than 3 weeks, you are losing weight without reason, or you have a weakened immune system, for example, due to chemotherapy or diabetes (NHS).
• Urgently (NHS advises an urgent visit to a family doctor or calling 111): cough is very severe or rapidly worsening, you feel very unwell, you have chest pain, your neck is swollen and painful, you have difficulty breathing, or you are coughing up blood (NHS).
• Call emergency services immediately if an infant shows weak or altered crying, trouble eating, unusual sleepiness, or floppiness of the head, neck, arms, or legs. NHS lists these symptoms in relation to botulism in young children.

Sources

Prepared by the editorial team of informacja.com based on sources. Status as of October 24, 2026. This is not medical advice.