Honey may be more effective than usual care for URTI symptoms
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Honey may be more effective than usual care for symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, or URTI, according to research published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
“For patients with mild URTIs who do not require any other medical treatment, honey may be better for improving symptoms than usual over-the-counter medications,” Hibatullah Abuelgasim, a medical student at Oxford University Medical School, told Healio Primary Care. “The evidence is best for improving cough.”
Abuelgasim and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials and in vivo observational studies that included patients with clinically or laboratory confirmed URTI to compare the effects of honey with at least one other group, including placebo or usual therapy for URTIs. Their analysis included 1,345 unique records.
Compared with usual care, Abuelgasim and colleagues found that honey improved combined URTI symptom score (3.96; 95% CI 5.42 to 2.51), cough frequency (eight studies, SMD = 0.36; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.21) and cough severity (five studies, SMD = 0.44, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.25).
In two studies that compared honey with placebo for URTI symptom relief, researchers found that the combined symptom score was also lower (SMD = 0.63; 95% CI, 1.44 to 0.18).
Abuelgasim and colleagues noted that the low heterogeneity in the comparisons between treatments and honey indicate there were various usual care treatments, but they were all similarly ineffective.
“Our study findings are for medically well patients with URTIs, in whom antibiotics are not indicated,” Abuelgasim said. “This is usually the case in mild upper respiratory tract infections. Honey might improve symptoms, so it is reasonable to give it a go.”
She added that honey may be more acceptable to patients who perceive it as a “natural” remedy.
“It is also relatively cheap and widely available,” she said. “Finally, some [over-the-counter] medications have been associated with side effects, which can be avoided by using honey instead.”