Cough medicines are ‘waste of money’ and you’re better off trying honey and lemon, say doctors

Cough medicines are waste of money, doctors declared today.

Leading general practitioners have dismissed the products – and say traditional home made remedies with lemon or honey to be the best approach.

The NHS website advises: ‘There’s little evidence to suggest cough medicines actually work, although some ingredients may help treat symptoms associated with a cough, such as a blocked nose or fever.’

The webpage adds that the ‘simplest and cheapest’ treatment for a ‘short-term cough’ may be a homemade remedy containing lemon and honey.

It continues: ‘There’s no quick way of getting rid of a cough caused by a viral infection. It will usually clear up after your immune system has fought off the virus.’

Dr Tim Ballard, vice chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, today backed up the NHS claim.

He said: ‘The medical evidence behind cough medicines is weak and there is no evidence to say that they will reduce the duration of illnesses

A Which? investigation two years ago found that many popular cough medicines do not work as well as they claim to.

The report authors concluded that studies used to support the claims of effectiveness are often low in quality.

The key to effective management of cough is to identify the most troublesome symptom and to choose an appropriate product.

Reference: NHS