The Only Cough Remedy That Worked

I’m so thankful you posted this lil anecdote. My son is freshman, far off at college. He’s lost sleep because of cough. Nothing been working. Honey did the trick.

For the evidence-based girlies, here’s a nice meta-analysis of the efficacy of honey in treating upper respiratory infections https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32817011/

Buckwheat honey

Staying in a hotel room with a bride and two bridesmaids, and me coughing! I pulled out a bottle of aguardiente (Colombian anise liquor), took a glug, and stopped coughing. The others couldn’t believe it would work, but it did! When I had a chronic cough, someone (dr. or mom) gave me tylenol with codeine, because once chronic, it just has to be stopped, and that did it. (I can’t do opiods anymore, though).

I was sick with a cough for a whole week. Finally feeling better this weekend. The worst for me was a very deep, sharply painful cough. Infrequent, but doubled me over when it hit. I hadn’t slept well for days and days. In a blur I contemplated going to the Dr, and then remembered any time I’d gone in with a bad cough I’d get a prescription for codeine syrup. And I wondered, do all opioids suppress coughs? Google said they sure do, and codeine isn’t even the best at this. So that night I took a Dilaudid pill, left over from my hip replacement. I slept so amazingly well. I woke up and felt human again. That rest was enough to help me turn the corner. Not medical advice, or even advice…. just what helped when honey failed me. I hope everyone who has been sick is on the mend!! That was a long and miserable week.

Practically all of my friends and family in close proximity have been battling a similar ailment. I actually have a teaspoon of local honey from my area every morning as a way to mitigate allergies. Both delicious and practical! Sometimes I’ve gifted someone honey thats local to them if they live away from me and I’m visiting and I know they’re also a victim of hay fever and the like. Lots of varieties out there! A whipped honey can be extra fancy for a slice of toast, for example. My toddler loves Pooh and him and I have this taste in common. Her next birthday, I’m going to host a “Our little Hunny Bee is Turning 3!” and I’ve been gathering a lot of cute honeycomb things for it.

Third generation hobby beekeeper here- to fine tune this helpful honey hack, buy CREAMED honey! It is solid at room temperature (and has no additives- it is just intentionally crystalized with a very smooth crystal structure). SO MUCH EASIER to take a spoonful of solid honey in the middle of the night than end up with a drippy sticky honey trail on your nightstand! Also- please support your local beekeepers, and check the fine print on your honey to make sure you know where it’s coming from. Even honey that people think is local will often disclose it’s from another coast or country!

We live for the day with babies that they turn one and can have honey for a cough (in Australia the advice is to steer clear of honey for the first year). It’s the ONLY thing that works for that lingering post viral childhood nighttime cough! Another tip I learned from a doctor, marshmallows can be really good for a sore throat!

I practice a cough prevention method when I have a cold called “never let yourself cough.” What this entails is a metric tonne of honey poured into hot water and drunk absolutely CONSTANTLY while ill. Not only does it keep me hydrated as the cold tries to turn me into a desert, but it really prevents those brutal, long coughs from settling in. Is it kinda unhealthy to drink that much honey? Probably. But it’s worth it to me not to sprain my ribs from coughing so hard 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’m in the middle of a lifelong dream of a trip to Paris and Rome with my two daughters 20,23 and I have a damn cold!!! Trying so hard not to complain to them but I can’t breathe at night with stuffed nose (hello loud mouth breather in one room!) and I can’t taste the food properly. This is where I have to really lean in to my philosophy of Amor Fati- love your fate and it’s sort of working?! So lucky to be here and it is what it is! This is the dance and there is only the dance as TS Eliot wrote. I will take the honey!!

My sore throat/cold hack is adding some pear juice to my water bottle. Sometimes water-alone feels scratchy and harsh on a sore throat. The viscosity of pear juice removes that barrier and helps me stay hydrated–which is key to recovery.

+1 to manuka honey. it is antibacterial and i always have some if i start feeling poorly!

Honey!!! “Hot Honey Lemon Water” with tons of honey and enough lemon juice to give it a little pucker, is our family cure for sore throats and coughs. My 8yo also loves to drink it in the winter when he’s just feeling “dry.”

Honey is so helpful. Recently, my 12 year old had congestion and a cough that wouldn’t go away. We finally steamed her 3x a day by putting hot water in a bowl and covering her head with a towel. It’s the only thing that worked. Bonus, her skin looked amazing, too :)

I make what I call “honey cider” for myself and my kids when we have coughs and colds. A tablespoon of honey and in hot water…but add a teaspoon or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. It is another magic maker when you’re sick, and yes, it is a little smelly, but just use a travel mug with a lid, and the zing combined with soothing honey is so comforting for your throat!

It’s expensive, but we always use Manuka honey with our kids coughs and sore throats, and for general immunity boosting when there is a lot of lurgy circulating around school. It’s got loads of great properties which warrant the price – my advice would be to get the highest rating you can afford but any of it would surely help.

Honestly Codeine. Last year I had a cough for WEEKS. It was unbearable (and yes I tried Honey). I couldn’t sleep. Finally my doctor conceded that it was time to try a dose of Codeine (confirming that I wasn’t in a job that has drug testing – lots of “safety sensitive” jobs in my city where that is pretty normal course). It worked within the day! I understand why we used to prescribe it all the time. And also why we don’t prescribe narcotics lightly anymore.

I didn’t know you could just do it straight up and it would work. I’ve always just chucked it in tea or warm water for meh results? Going to try this on my kids asap. They’ve been coughing nonstop and are too young for meds yet!! Good timing.

Jo, there was this really great post on a blog I read. The comments had all sorts of remedies for colds and coughs (including honey), and sick day comfort foods. You should read it! The comments are gold!! ;-) https://cupofjo.com/2026/01/28/citron-chaud/

Yes! I like to squeeze a half lemon into a mug, add a good spoonful of honey, then pour boiling water over it. It’s the best for colds! And also just tasty on a cold day.

Yes to the honey…I found adding a pinch of white pepper helped too….And I get it about sleeping through the night…Had the same cough for almost 2 weeks, and just starting to feel like myself.

So timely! I just ran, hacking all the way, to the kitchen to down some honey and make some ginger tea w/ honey. Fingers crossed! This cough and evil cold are the worst.

I’ve been taking honey for a cough since I was a child. Works every time.

KEPT his word, gah!

My husband worked for a congresswoman who was on the Colbert Report with a nasty sore throat, and when she started coughing mid-interview, someone brought her a honey bear; after he got the crew to promise they wouldn’t use the footage, she spent the rest of the segment chugging honey straight from the bear, to the point where Colbert teased her about it. Afterward Colbert BEGGED for permission to use the film, which was apparently priceless, but it was never granted, and he jept his word. So 1) SC is a mensch and 2) my husband’s boss was a chaos Muppet.

My sister and brother-in-law gave my almost 3-year-old niece a teaspoon of honey before bed for a week or two to help her sleep when she had a persistent cough. For a few months after the cough cleared up, like clockwork, right after brushing her teeth while walking to bed, she’d stop, look you in the eye, and say, “I been coughin’ a lot. I need some honey.” Now, when either of us is using the honey, husband and I will occasionally look each other in the eye and say “I been coughin’ a lot.”

I’ve been hoping for an update on the “pool date” but I’m afraid maybe the cold came in the way :-( I’ve been married for 20 years, 4 kids, so my husband has seen everything. AND YET, the thought of him seeing me in my bathing suit makes me shy… I was and am in awe of your confidence. Any tips??

About once a year since 7th grade (now in my 40s) I have one really bad coughing fit. Like, leave class and be that girl in the hallway struggling, get off the subway embarassed, etc. (Always in public!) I don’t even need to have a bad cold, just a post-nasal drip combined with needing to be quiet, like on a train ride or in class. I’ve learned that water alone doesn’t cut it – I need something to “break up” whatever is going on. Most recently I saved myself from a fit at an assembly event by slowly eating my kids’ fruit snacks. I don’t love getting out of bed at night, and honey bedside is messy, so my recent solution is having one of those kid no-sugar added applesauce pouches nearby. If I start coughing, usually a few slurps of the pouch is enough to coat my throat and stop it. (Of course I don’t keep the same open one for days on end). But yes to honey overall – I love it!

I just texted my best friend: “Breaking news on Cup of Jo: ‘Guys, have you heard about honey?” I tease, but honestly it’s stuff like this that keeps me coming back. This site really does feel like a twenty year long on-going conversation with my bestie.

This also works SO WELL for kids (after they turn one!) instead of cough syrup. It was recommended to us by a nurse when our youngest had a terrible cough that was waking her all night for days on end, and now it’s our go-to cough remedy for everyone in our family. I’m not sure if there’s a science to it (maybe heat affecting the honey?) but I find it works best for coughs when it’s straight off the spoon, rather than in hot water or tea. We still make and love hot water with lemon, honey, and ginger when we’re sick, but we do a separate dose of straight honey for anyone who has a cough. Also echoing everyone who is recommending local honey for seasonal allergies, I’ve noticed a big difference too. Lastly, if you have a yard or balcony please please please plant pollinator-friendly flowers this spring/summer to support your local bees!!

I’m glad you are feeling better. I love Manuka Honey lozenges you can get them at most grocery stores. Also are you reading The Trees? I just picked it up and am so excited to start it.

For anyone else who has a sensitive cough trigger, a puffer like Symbicort may help! Helps stop the cough that happens with a sip or bite of anything, cold air, hot air, just air, a little fragrance, running, walking fast, laying down to sleep or just breathing

I have used saline nose spray (as a neti pot routine) daily for years. I think it helps alot during the winter with dryness and helps flush allergies/dust in my sinuses. It’s so much easier to use and keep on hand and ready.

YES! Honey is a miracle worker. My mom always used to make what she called hot lemonade – essentially, hot water with tons of lemon juice and honey. It worked wonders. I will also recommend peanut butter (the dripping, the better), especially if you aren’t sick but are having trouble with lingering throat scratching. As a professor, I have this problem every August as I get out of the habit of talking/projecting my voice for an extended period of time. A spoonful of peanut butter before a lecture solves that problem everytime!

Honey for coughs is science backed! We usually pair with Throat Coat tea, which my children think is delicious.

I met an elderly beekeeper when I was a teenager and he changed my life! Been obsessed with the useful magic of honey ever since. This feels like a good place to shout out the delightful Hindu Hillbilly honey family https://www.hinduhillbilly.com/ I subscribe to their monthly CSA and love it.

I find delight in the fact that honey is such an engaging topic, who would have thought:) I would be fascinated to hear our views on how to get rid of a bad mood. Probably the solution is honey…and a glass of water :)

I always get dreadful dry coughs at the tail end of a cold, that get so bad they make me gag (I had my tonsils out in my mid-20s, and ever since then, my throat structure shifted just enough that I have a more sensitive gag reflex and easily tickled throat). The coughing can get so bad I feel like I can’t breathe and will have to leave rooms and find a bathroom to have my uncontrollable fits (it happened on a plane once! I had to cower in the galley while the flight attendant frantically poured me water, so embarrassing). When they come on, NOTHING helps. For that reason, I will do anything to avoid it, and the only thing that has ever worked is Mucinex. And maybe the Cepacol Extra Strength, but I prefer Mucinex. ugh, coughing is so awful.

Hahaha I love this! Like, guys, have you ever heard of honey?! We should do a post on our most no-duh practices. Mine would be: Guys, did you know that if you go to the bathroom before bed, you can sleep through the night?! And you won’t have one of those midnight moments lying in bed debating if it’s worth getting up to potty. Whenever I do a pre-night-night tinkle, I think, “I am so smart.”

Trying right now. Will report back. Worst cough i can ever remember. Side note. My husband was prescribed medical grade manuka honey from New Zealand about 2/3 weeks into 3rd degree chemical burns healing, in January. The honey helps break down and get rid of the dead skin and it tremendously helpful to healing. It really really helped. (Combined with bacitracin. The first few weeks were silvadine prescription burn cream). Medical grade honey is prescription only and sterile. The stuff you buy at whole foods or Costco etc, is not medical grade. University of Utah burn center sent us a case, as it’s very hard to come by. So grateful for it’s healing power.

Thank you for posting this, Joanna! I’ve always dismissed the “honey for a cold” suggestions too, but upper respiratory viruses always leave me coughing and coughing for weeks. (I think the night time coughing and resultant sleep deprivation slows down healing so much.) Will definitely give this a go next time.

Our pediatrician’s office drills this in! They beg everyone not to buy any cough syrup for kids – it isn’t fully safe they say and it isn’t as effective as honey!

Sorry you were feeling badly. Glad it is better. I live in Atlanta but have Kentucky roots. The Kentucky in me wants to remind everybody of the classic Hot Toddy. Earl Grey, big squeeze of lemon and honey, splash of bourbon. It also can work well without bourbon if you do not drink. I chase throat coat tea with that because that is effective but I do not love the taste personally.

Real honey all the way! Just make sure it’s not a honey blend (with syrup) which can be found in a lot of supermarkets. I also use it for hayfever and try to take a small amount of local honey whenever I feel it coming on.

Buckwheat honey is the best!! Look for some at your local farmers market or at Whole Foods. Feel better!!

Saline to clear sinus, clove water to gargle and honey syrup on hand in the frig got me thru last month. Some nasty virus out there with no name! A warm salt water gargle is a decent preventative each time you brush your teeth. Glad you’re feeling better.

Yes, honey is so great for a cough! And, I don’t know how true this is, but personally I find it helpful: it’s best to have local honey (which I see you did in your photo), especially if you have allergies. During the change of seasons, pollen and other particles in the air can worsen coughs and breathing, but because local bees pollinate off these same particles that tend to cause allergies, the local honey is even more of a cure-all. Again, not sure how true this is (all alleged, I think it’s more of a home remedy than anything else), but when I moved provinces a few years ago, it seemed to really help me adjust to the local flora!

Jo – need your review of Strangers, I read it in a day. What are your thoughts?????

My friend is a beekeeper and Provides us with honey from the Beautiful bees that peacefully fly around my Kids while they‘re playing in his Garden. I told him I loved it so much with Hot water and lemon when I have a cold – and he internally screamed while on the outside as Calm as a beekeeper has to be, told me that many of the Great Natural ingredients in honey are destroyed by Hot water! I Trust him, didnt google (so no Hard evidence here) and Drink my „Hot“ lemon honey remedy using 60 degree Celsius water now.

American living in France here. I’ve been surprised by the different approach in EU countries to treating colds and flu: unless there is a fever involved, there are a lot less drugs and a lot more home remedies. Honey+lemon for coughs, the steam tent (essential oil of choice+hot water in bowl, hover over this with a towel draped over your head), cleaning your nose out multiple times a day with saline, gargling with salt water, and Vitamin C with zinc. I also find hot baths with Epsom salts helpful! If only for comfort after a long day of coughing…

I, too, caught the Super Cold that is going around. It’s been about 3 weeks and while the sore throat and general malaise is over, the cough still remains. I started coughing at yoga (of all places) last night. That was rad. Perhaps I will need to try some honey, I have a nice South Jersey Pine Barrens variety (I try to keep local honey in store for allergy reasons, speaking of – start taking your allergy meds now to stave off the pollening).

SO timely! I’ve diagnosed myself with the latest bout of Covid – got sick friday real sudden, stuffy nose, itchy throat etc, Saturday my sense of taste and smell GONE. Then came the coughing. I hate cough medicine so I did a big old mix of homeopathic (mostly) remedies. 1) the second I started getting sick I took this amazon.com/dp/B09R8G2G4B?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title and haven’t stopped til the sickness is over – shortens the duration a ton. 2) golden turmeric milk once a day, moringa powder (7x the concentration of vitamin C than oranges, but tastes like total green $hit) 3) ibuprofen only for inflammation of the sinus and lungs – no other actual ‘meds’ 4) zarbees dark honey cough syrup at night (glorified honey! But with ivy leaf, chamomile, Elderberry and 5) Vicks on the bottom of my feet and finally 6) amazon.com/Urban-Moonshine-Supplement-Elecampane-Fast-Acting/dp/B00QJMG2Y6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.V0RiAgqaAUVBMKwaPhRQ3NZnw05AjoYa5CBURWuQZ25wtgp5VxcRptAc7GlL06QUpASlTfGnYAX1i6zFhFa4sco42jh0YIqrt4GA4EI1ecXJeuuARRLiy0lOVozbyuPg9K60lLmzCTFSz3MnlrUNoDE7AJ6d9ppXuEgDCAOmOdUPb_4z4br7Wi7HmkT_qUvr4BDezz8HHENBHZJTS_a8qg3bIHQOhFhiXSevWK6SwxjHGxir9JjhZENqPQru0dBrGf2Ilae-bFT8ik2AuS0FLA.4pKoYz1jVP-WVo4CxQOoSXTc3vPeFvZCpoYOdCBvWPU&dib_tag=se&keywords=urban+moonshine&qid=1773752126&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 now this really tastes like $hit, but it will clear whatever is in your chest out real fast, hence being named clear chest, not for kids and be prepared with a chaser. I discovered it a few years ago when I had the worst bronchitis. Feel better, and solidarity in spring sickness! :(

I also want to praise local wildflower honey for allergy relief! Especially if you are allergic to grass, flowers, weeds etc the honey helps build up your natural immunity. Bonus points if you can get a jar at your local farmer’s market so the honeybees are using the very plants that make you sneeze!

Yeah, I had this. I tried the spoonful of honey, along with the ginger honey shots, plus the humidifier I think was the ultimate thing that finally helped me kick it. It was a good 3.5 to 4 weeks before it was completely gone. SUCH A BUMMER. I hadn’t had a cold in literally 7 years so this was a real drag.

Super common in aus to have honey and lemon drinks when you are sick. I make litres of it in the slow cooker and just ladle all day. Add ginger slices if you are so inclined. It’s just water, honey, lemon juice, heated, if anyone wants a ‘recipe’. You can also be normal and make just one cup at a time, but who wants to do that?

I feel like you need some Chinese friends, I’m surprised no one has mentioned Pei Pa Koa. It’s loved by voice actors to lubricate their throats before and after long recording sessions! And it’s not bitter like most Chinese medicines. Also because I was recently sick with the flu in Kenya, Dawa is a really great drink to make too.

Also Vicks vapor rub on the bottom of your feet! Put clean socks on after you slather it on. I don’t know why but it keeps me from coughing through the night. Bonus it feels like a foot mask haha

I was sick a few weeks ago and I filled a big pot with water and brought it to a simmer. Then I added a chunk of lemon, some lavender, and a few drops of peppermint oil and would just stand there and inhale the steam for a few minutes two or three times a day. I swear it really helped.

Strangers!!!! This book! Finished it a week ago and am still thinking about it. The way she wrote felt like she was one of us 🤷🏼‍♀️ and even though they are so rich, the essence is something that could happen to anyone – definitely me.

I had bronchitis with horrible coughing. The ONLY thing that alleviated it was eating raisins, which is a folk remedy I found online. Suggested cooking them into a syrup, but I found relief just eating them.

I don’t mean to get religious but it’s relevant to this post. Muslims swear by honey (and black seed) and we use it for every ailment. There is a chapter in the Quran about honey bees and a line from it states “A colourful liquid comes out of their bellies; there is healing therein for people.” Aside from medical reasons, honey is just so delicious. I found a vanilla bean honey in Kalustyan’s and I love it drizzled with butter on a hot biscuit for breakfast.

Yes for honey, but have you tried onions? They actually contain quercetin and have expectorant properties. My mother used to slice an onion and cover it with honey for a few hours, then give us the syrup by the teaspoon (it’s not as awful as it sounds, I promise!). When my kids have a cough, I just put a cut onion on their bedside table while they sleep. Yes, their bedroom will stink by morning, but it greatly reduces their night cough! It’s magical!

Hej Jo, I hope you feel much better by now! Recently I made a ginger-honey-stak tea I read about in the comments on this lovely place in the internet and just tried to find it – it worked wonders and was a bliss! Does anybody remember it or even is the one who shared it (if so: thank you and big hug)? I would love to make it today (and write it down : ) ), as flu season isn‘t over yet.

Hot toddy all the way here. Whatever spirit I have on the cocktail trolley. Currently all I have suitable is Apple Jack Daniels and it still works a treat. I’ve been using that as my remedy since I was about 11 when my granddad first made me one. I remember going to him after with a pretend cough and cold just to have a hit toddy. I’m 43 now and it’s always the first thing I make when I start feeling rough. Alcohol, normally whiskey but rum and Jack works, fresh lemon juice, lots of honey, boiling water, followed by a splash of cold water so I can drink it straight away. If I have ginger in the house I’ll throw some of that in and let it steep for a few minutes and don’t add the cold water.

In Hungary it is used a lot! we often mix it with tea: first make the tea let it cool down a bit than add fresh lemon juice and lots of honey. (it cannot be too hot as it will kill the goodness inside the honey) But we often just eat it with a spoon, straight our of the jar. :-) it is antibacterial as well, so it helps your throat. Get better soon!

I’m glad it worked. I learned that if you have seasonal sniffles (or your kids), just eat a teaspoon of *locally* sourced honey when possible. The honey contains stuff from the local pollen that gives you the sniffles. It works like a charm.

When we were growing up and had coughs, my mum would punch a hole into a halved radish (the black round kind) and place the halves on top of a mug. Then she would put brown rock sugar on top and after a while syrup would start to collect in the mug.

My mum always mixed honey and vinegar together and had us sip it for a cough.

Yes! A teaspoon of local raw honey a day is the only thing that makes a difference for my son and allergies. Tried everything else.

Glad the honey worked its magic on your cold! As for my own concoction? Well. When I lived in Beijing, I discovered that boiled Coca-Cola with sliced ginger is basically a form of cultural alchemy you can drink. Think about it: the warming, decongestant punch of ginger—a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries—meets the sweet, syrupy embrace of America’s most famous soda. You boil it all down until it’s less about fizz and more about forcing a soothing, spicy heat right through your system. People all over China (and beyond) have their own variations, often throwing in a wedge of lemon for extra tang and a hit of Vitamin C. It turns fighting a lurgy into something almost… restorative. In a world absolutely crammed with over-the-counter options, I love that these scrappy homegrown remedies remind us how ingeniously people have always mixed traditions to feel better. Give it a crack next time the weather turns truly brutal!