If concerned about a cough, touch base with your GP. Especially if your child has asthma. Uncontrolled or new asthma in children can present as a cough or a cough worse at night.  It doesn’t always have to have a wheeze (click on link for look back on previous asthma mythbusting)

Okay, so onto the viral cough. You’re right. No cough bottles. 2 reasons: 1) They are useless, for the most part. 2) Some are not safe for young children.

The common popular cough bottles marketed to children in Ireland right now are herbal prepararations containing marshmallow root, honey, and/or thyme. They have applied for use as a traditional product: it means they didn’t have to show that it actually works in a trial. Yes, that is legal in Ireland for certain classifications of supplements and remedies to be sold making claims that they haven’t had to prove (if you check the product information for the section where drugs have to list the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, you will find it just cites a law that says they don’t have to do that.).

What else is commonly cited in mammy WhatsApp groups that isn’t a good idea?  Antihistamines for viral cough in young children – unless specifically recommended by your GP.  What doesn’t work?  Any variety of cut up vegetables stuck in corners of the room/radiators/socks**.

Cough bottles marketed for adults or some purchased/imported from abroad may contain: dextromethorphan, codeine, or pseudoephedrine. None recommended for children under 12 for over-the-counter use for viral cough (and some of those should be used with caution in adults as well.).

Okay, that’s all the bad news. So, what works?

1. Honey. Yes, a spoonful of honey (for children over age of 12 months). Would it surprise you to know that there has been clinical trials?  And it really worked (better than cough bottles).  Any honey will do – doesn’t need to be local. Though local is, of course, tastier, carbon-friendly, and #supportlocal

2. Warm drinks

3. Humidified air: using a warm steam or cool mist vaporiser may help

4.  If using products to ease congestions such as Calpol plug-ins or Vicks – always follow the directions.  For what it’s worth, Vicks has a baby and adult preparation.  It works by being inhaled – so does far more good on the chest than on feet under socks under blankets**.

For what it’s worth, infectious disease experts to predict a particularly bad winter for viral respiratory illnesses which will include RSV, parainfluenzae, flu as well as covid. It will help for us all to do our part, follow public health advice,  and practice good hygiene and cough etiquette.

**Did you know?  Some of the practices such as cutting up onions and placing in room or focusing on the feet for chest conditions from practices from 4 -5 centuries ago that originated as ways to ward off Plague before the world understood germs. They have persisted in folk practice.