IT’S always distressing when you hear your little one suffer with a nasty cough.
To make matters worse, over-the-counter treatments don’t always work, could have side-effects or be toxic in large doses.
An ex-paramedic has urged parents to ditch the medicines and syrups for an old fashioned method Credit: Getty – Contributor
Not to mention they can set you back up to £7 a pop.
Australia-based ex-paramedic Nikki Jurcutz, from Tiny Hearts Education, has urged parents to ditch the medicines and syrups for an old fashioned method.
Two teaspoons of honey before bed works as a good substitute for children over the age of one, she said.
And don’t feel like you have to buy an expensive jar.
“Any honey works, I’ve tried heaps,” she explains in the video caption.
Make sure you brush their teeth after you give honey, she added.
It comes as over 300 children around the world have died after taking cough syrup within the last seven months.
In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a product alert for 14 different children’s medicines in Africa, south-east Asia and Europe.months.
The cough medicines were contaminated with toxic chemicals – ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol – which are used in windscreen wiper fluids and engine coolants.
Experts have previously warned parents against the use of cough syrups.
In 2017, Dr Oliver Bevington, ex-chairman of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s trainees’ committee, said: “There is absolutely no evidence that cough medicines work as there has been very little research with regards to their use.
“And, potentially, they could actually do the children more harm than good.”
He added that parents should stick to “old-fashioned honey and lemon, rest, lots of fluids and paracetamol and/or ibuprofen as per the pack instructions”.