Question about honey-Remedy for cough??

mridusudha · May 9, 2010

DS is having severe cough for the past 5 days. We already took him to the Paed twice. For now, lungs are clear. So no medicine has been given. It's only stuffy nose, congestion and cough. Because of the cough he is unable to keep any feedings down..I am feeding him small quantities frequently so that he does not get dehydrated.

I have already elevated his crib mattress (which is not helping much because he is waking up every 20-30 mins), running a humidifer, applying baby vicks, running the hot water in the bath and let him inhale the steam.

In addition to all the above, Parents and in-laws keep saying that I need to give him some honey to get relief from cough. Wherever I read, it says that honey should not be given to babies under one year old because it causes botulism. So I am in a fix now.

Vanathi or others can you please throw some light on this??

Any other remedies I can do at home to relieve him of his cough??

BTW, DS is 9 months and 10 days old!

Please Help!

tikka · May 9, 2010

Sudha, I believe there is pasturised and other processed honies available that reduces yeast, not sure about C. boutilinum though. Do you think it is worth the while asking your paed about it?
The only thing that helped DS with colds when he was that young is increasing the humidity with some Tea tree Oil. Have you also tried some tepid water to soothe the coughing. Hope the poor little one feels better soon.

tashidelek2002 · May 10, 2010

Get a steam vaporizer in Walmart or drug store....price is $10-$15 and also get a bottle of Vicks VaporSteam to put in the water. This is very very helpful for this type of situation and also safe.

sofiz · May 10, 2010

My doctor says that steam is the best decongestion agent for infants. It is best when used alone (without vicks). Since it is for an infant, you dont even need a vapouriser. Just hold your baby a little away from boiling water poured into a vessel. Just make sure that your baby breathes in breezes of the steam that comes from the vessel. It should help.
Small amounts of natural honey is also good.

tashidelek2002 · May 10, 2010

Sofiz:
The Vicks Vaporsteam is NOT the regular Vicks....it is specifically made for use in vaporizers...available in USA.

sofiz · May 10, 2010

Thanks for the info, Tashidelek
I thought you were referring to Vicks vaporub, which isn't recommended for infants. Please see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011301089.html
(washingtonpost.com > Health > Vicks Vaporub)

I hope the ingredients are not the same for both products..

Kamala08 · May 10, 2010

Sudha,

Having gone through similar experience with my DD (14 months) I learnt that coughing is not all that bad! It the body's way of protecting the lungs from all that mucus and infection. I know it is very tough seeing your LO suffer. Steam from a running shower (which you are already doing) helps soothe the baby. Frequent small feeding will help with keep the milk down.

My DD used to start coughing 5 - 10 minutes after she was done with her feeding and vomit it all out. Keeping her upright for atleast 15 minutes after the feeding helped. If your baby had or has any reflux issues and was on any antiboitics or medicines like Mortin recently, it could cause the relux to worsen. This is what happened to my DD according to her doctor. Treating her reflux also helped.

One thing that I think really helped - Bulb suction! In the past I was very afraid of using the bulb suction...but after I started using it...I could manage my DD's cold better. I put a few drops of saline drops (Little Noses brand) wait for couple of minutes and using the bulb suction. I do it religiously twice a day.

Hang in there! Like everthing...this (cold) shall too pass!

K

mridusudha · May 13, 2010

Thanks a lot everybody. DS is feeling lot better. Atleast the vomitings stopped. He still has some congestion though but I guess it will go away on it's own.
This is what I did. Hope this helps other moms who are in the same situation

1: Did 2-3 times steam from a running shower for 3 days continuously
2: Saline drops (2 drops in each nostril) 3 times a day for 3 days continuously. I used Little noses.
3: Raised the crib mattress
4: DS slept in the car seat (For naps and bedtime) for 2 days and nights. This helped him not wake up atleast every 20 mins. I put the shoulder straps only. Of course I slept next to the car seat.
5: Because of the vomitings doc asked me to give Pedailyte. But DS refused both flavored and non-flavored. So Doc said to give little Gatorade. But he took only 1-2 ml at a time. But he drank water though!
6: Giving frequent feedings (max 2 ounces at a time). I fed him his milk with a medicine dropper/spoon for 3 days. Made him sit upright in the high chair and fed him. I added little bit of cereal to make the milk little thicker. This took him forever to drink but atleast he kept it down.
7: When the cough was really bad at nights, Doc asked me to give 3/4 spoon(1 ml) of Children's benadrly. I gave it only for 2 nights. But this needs to be given only after Doc's advise. I also gave him Tylenol for 1 night only after Doc's advise.
8: Of course, running the humidifier continuously.

BTW, I did not use honey because the nurse said it's not advisable to use it for children less than one year old. So I didn't want to do any more research and call the idea quits.

Thanks everybody for replying to my posts and keeping my son in your prayers.

BTW, Tikka I will check with the doctor about pasteurised honey next time when we see him. Thanks anyways.

lini2009 · May 13, 2010

Hi Sudha,

Put 1 or 2 drops of eucalyptus (nilgiri) oil in boiling water and let him smell it. This will help hima lot. I do the same for DD when she is suffering from cold. I would put that water near her so that she can get the smell of it.