President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently extolled the virtues of honey with lemon, a drink he said he employed —successfully—to reduce the symptoms of his second bout of Covid (along with Paracetamol and Vaporub).
Honey and lemon is a long-standing home remedy for sore throats and coughs, but is there any scientific basis to its use?
According to Dr. Pritish K. Tosh of the Mayo Clinic, drinking warm lemon water mixed with honey is a time-honored way to soothe a sore throat but he notes that “honey alone may be an effective cough suppressant.”
Says Tosh: “In one study, children ages 1 to 5 with upper respiratory tract infections were given up to 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of honey at bedtime. The honey seemed to reduce nighttime coughing and improve sleep.”
Tosh says the study showed honey to be as effective as a common cough suppressant ingredient, dextromethorphan, in typical over-the-counter doses. “Since honey is low-cost and widely available, it might be worth a try,” Tosh says.
Tosh warned that due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning, never give honey to a child younger than the age of one.
And Tosh added: “Remember, coughing isn’t all bad. It helps clear mucus from your airway. If you or your child is otherwise healthy, there’s usually no reason to suppress a cough.”