It would seem our Grandmothers were right all along. The advice now is to bring back the age old wisdom of fluids, rest and honey and lemon for treating coughs and colds!

Recent advice given by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), is that Over the counter cough and cold medicines should no longer be given to children under the age of six as there is “no robust evidence” that they work. Neither have they been specifically developed for young children.

Simple measures

According to the MHRA, when these medicines were developed it was assumed that they worked the same way in both adults and children. Apparently, over-the-counter cough and cold medicines came into use when clinical trials were not required to demonstrate that they worked in children.

MHRA recommended that carers and parents use such simple measures as ensuring the child has plenty to drink and gets enough rest, while paracetamol or ibuprofen can also be used to reduce the child’s temperature.

Lemon and honey

For young babies, particularly those having difficulty feeding, the MHRA recommended nasal saline drops to help thin and clear nasal secretions. If a child is over the age of one, a warm drink of lemon and honey may help to ease a cough.

Personally, we’ve never used an over-the-counter medicine; we prefer to find our own ‘medicine’ from the foods we eat, essential oils and herbs. For babies, there is no greater medicine than breastmilk and a warm cuddle from the parents.

What about you? Does this news concern you or are you pleased to see some common sense advice coming into the mainstream?

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