Acute cough and honey

Key words: Guidelines, Antitussive drugs, Dextrometorphan, Levodropropizine, Honey, Acute aspecific cough

Recent Australian guidelines on cough in children recommend the use of honey as cough suppressant. Conversely, the same guidelines, just like other documents previously published, advise against the use of drugs like antitussives, such as codeine and dextrometrophan, because of the lack of demonstration of their efficacy and because of their possible serious side effects. Moreover, even for honey, available revisions on its use in acute nonspecific cough are not so much in favour. So, it becomes necessary for the paediatrician to review the scientific evidence in order to come up with his own informed opinion and be able to express it. The solution is not as clear as many people would like to, but eventually, it will probably make it possible for the paediatrician to take a definite position.