UK Guidelines Recommend Honey, Not Antibiotics, for Cough

Due to the overprescribing of antibiotics, health officials in the U.K. are proposing new guidelines promoting honey as a first line of treatment for coughs.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• With the goal of reducing inappropriate antibiotic use by half by 2021, the U.K. Department of Health has proposed guidelines recommending the use of honey as a first line of treatment for coughs

• Antibiotics do little to improve colds and flu or symptoms like coughs and sore throat because they are not designed to treat viral infections,…