Honey a Better Remedy for URTIs Compared To Traditional Treatments

Oct, 2020 - By SMI

A team of researchers from the Oxford University has found honey to be a better remedy for URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections) that traditional treatments.

The findings which were recently published by the BMJ Evidence-based Medicine journal explain how they reviewed the results of several clinical trials which involved testing treatments for URTIs and what conclusions they drew from the data. The increasing resistance of bacteria to anti-bacterial agents is a topic of concern for the medical community, and studies have shown that over-prescribing these medications is quickening the pace of resistance. Moreover, some remedies are over-prescribed to meet patients’ demands and are unlikely to help. This often happens in case of conditions such as URTIs which are majorly caused by viruses. This is driving scientists to research alternative remedies. One such remedy that was recently investigated is honey.

Anecdotal data suggests that honey is beneficial for treating colds, specifically coughs, for thousands of years. In the recent study, researchers evaluated outcomes of 14 clinical studies involving over 1,700 patients which tested effectiveness of remedies for URTIs. Analysis of data from all these studies revealed that these trials involved almost all traditional remedies such as over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for sinus and cold, antibiotics, and honey. Honey was found to be the most advantageous therapy among all 3 remedies that were tested. Furthermore, it proved to be effective in the treatment of cough (36% better at reducing frequency of coughing and 44% better at lowering severity of coughing), and also resulted in reduction in duration of the infection by 2 days.

According to the researchers, honey is effective for treatment of URTIs as it contains a known bacteria killer, hydrogen peroxide. It also makes honey a useful treatment as topical remedy for cuts and scrapes. Moreover, its consistency and texture helps it coat the throat and mouth and soothes irritation.