Parents' and primary healthcare practitioners' perspectives on the safety of honey and other traditional paediatric healthcare approaches

Child: Care, Health and Development

Volumn 37, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 734-743

  Kumar, Raekha ^a   Lorenc, Ava ^b   Robinson, Nicola ^b   Blair, Mitch ^a  

^a River Island Paediatric and Child Health Academic Centre   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WEST LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Beliefs; Botulism; Child; Complementary therapies; Honey; Traditional medicine

Indexed keywords

APITHERAPY; ARTICLE; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; BOTULISM; FEMALE; GENERAL PRACTITIONER; HEALTH SURVEY; HUMAN; INFORMATION PROCESSING; MALE; PARENT; PEDIATRICS; PRIMARY HEALTH CARE; PRODUCT SAFETY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION; TRADITIONAL MEDICINE;

APITHERAPY; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; BOTULISM; CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY; FEMALE; FOCUS GROUPS; HEALTH SURVEYS; HUMANS; MALE; MEDICINE, TRADITIONAL; PARENTS; PEDIATRICS; PHYSICIANS, FAMILY; PRIMARY HEALTH CARE; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS;

EID: 79961041740     PISSN: 03051862     EISSN: 13652214     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2010.01186.x     Document Type: Article

References (62)

1. Adeleye, I. A. & Opiah, L. (2003) Antimicrobial activity of extracts of local cough mixtures on upper respiratory tract bacterial pathogens. The West Indian Medical Journal, 52, 188-190.
2. Arnon, S. S., Midura, T. F., Clay, S. A., Wood, R. M. & Chin, J. (1977) Infant botulism. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory aspects. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 237, 1946-1951.
3. Aureli, P., Franciosa, G. & Fenicia, L. (2002) Infant botulism and honey in Europe: a commentary. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 21, 866-868.
4. Axelsson, I. (2008) Honey, not dextromethorphan, was better than no treatment for nocturnal cough in children with upper respiratory infections. Evidence Based Medicine, 13, 106.
5. Basson, J. N. & Grobler, S. R. (2008) Antimicrobial activity of two South African honeys produced from indigenous Leucospermum cordifolium and Erica species on selected micro-organisms. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, BioMed Central, 8, 41.
6. Birmingham Research Unit (2006) Communicable and Respiratory Diseases for England and Wales. Weekly Returns Service of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 50, 1-12.
7. Bloor, M., Frankland, J., Thomas, M. & Robson, K. (2001) Focus Groups in Social Research. Sage, London, UK.
8. Bowling, A. (2002) Research Methods in Health: Investigating Health and Health Services. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
9. Chan, M. (2008) Address at the WHO Congress on Traditional Medicine. World Health Organisation. November 2008. Available at: (accessed from 20 December 2008).
10. Chan, T. Y. K. (1994) The prevalence use and harmful potential of some Chinese herbal medicines in babies and children. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 36, 238-240.
11. Cherry, D. K., Woodwell, D. A. & Rechtsteiner, E. A. (2007) National ambulatory medical care survey: 2005 summary. Advance Data, 387, 1-39.
12. Choonara, I. (2003) Safety of herbal medicines in children. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88, 1032-1033.
13. Crawford, N. W., Cincotta, D. R., Lim, A. & Powell, C. V. E. (2006) A cross-sectional survey of complementary and alternative medicine use by children and adolescents attending the University Hospital of Wales. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 6, 16.
14. Denno, D. M., Bentsi-Enchill, A., Mock, C. N. & Adelson, J. W. (1994) Maternal knowledge, attitude and practices regarding childhood acute respiratory infections in Kumasi, Ghana. Annals of Tropical Paediatrics, 14, 293-301.
15. Drew, A. K. & Myers, S. P. (1997) Safety issues in herbal medicine: implications for the health professions. Medical Journal of Australia, 166, 538-541.
16. Eccles, R. (2006) Mechanisms of the placebo effect of sweet cough syrups. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, 152, 340-348.
17. Ernst, E. (2003a) Herbal medicines for children. Clinical Pediatrics, 42, 193-196.
18. Ernst, E. (2003b) Serious adverse effects of unconventional therapies for children and adolescents: a systematic review of recent evidence. European Journal of Pediatrics, 162, 72-80.
19. Evans, H., Tuleu, C. & Sutcliffe, A. (2010) Is honey a well-evidenced alternative to over-the-counter cough medicines? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 103, 164-165.
20. Fenicia, L., Ferrini, A. M., Aureli, P. & Pocecco, M. (1993) A case of infant botulism associated with honey feeding in Italy. European Journal of Epidemiology, 9, 671-673.
21. Flannery, M. A., Love, M. M., Pearce, K. A., Luan, J. & Elder, W. G. (2006) Communication about complementary and alternative medicine: perspectives of primary care clinicians. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 12, 56-63.
22. Fong, D. P. S. & Fong, K. S. (2002) Usage of complementary medicine among children. Australian Family Physician, 31, 388-391.
23. Garner, V. A. (2000) Nurse practitioners' experience with herbal therapy. Unpublished PhD thesis. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
24. Haffejee, I. E. & Moosa, A. (1985) Honey in the treatment of infantile gastroenteritis. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research ed.), 290, 1866-1867.
25. Hocking, B. M., Campbell, M. J. & Storey, E. (1982) Infant feeding patterns. Australian Dental Journal, 27, 300-305.
26. Iyun, B. F. & Tomson, G. (1996) Acute respiratory infections - mothers' perceptions of etiology and treatment in south-western Nigeria. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 42, 437-445.
27. Johnston, G. A., Bilbao, R. M. & Graham-Brown, R. A. (2003) The use of complementary medicine in children with atopic dermatitis in secondary care in Leicester. British Journal of Dermatology, 149, 566-571.
28. Kapil, U., Sood, A. K. & Gaur, D. R. (1990) Maternal beliefs regarding diet during common childhood illnesses. Indian Pediatrics, 27, 595-599.
29. Koepke, R., Sobel, J. & Arnon, S. S. (2008) Global occurrence of infant botulism, 1976-2006. Pediatrics, 122, e73-e82.
30. Krol, D. M. (2003) Dental caries, oral health, and pediatricians. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 33, 253-270.
31. Kuzel, A. J. (1999) Sampling in Qualitative Inquiry. Doing Qualitative Research, 2nd edn. (eds B. Crabtree & R. Miller), pp. 33-46. Sage Publications Ltd, London, UK.
32. Lanski, S. L., Greenwald, M., Perkins, A. & Simon, H. K. (2003) Herbal therapy use in a pediatric emergency department population: expect the unexpected. Pediatrics, 111, (Pt 1), 981-985.
33. Lorenc, A., Blair, M. & Robinson, N. (2010) Parents' and practitioners' differing perspectives on traditional and complementary health approaches (TCA) for children. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2, 9-14.
34. Mansberg, G. (2004) Paediatric complementary medicine. Journal of Complementary Medicine, 3, 37-40.
35. McMaster, P., Piper, S., Schell, D., Gillis, J. & Chong, A. (2000) A taste of honey. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 36, 596-597.
36. MHRA (2009) Better medicines for children's coughs and colds. MHRA Press Office 2009 February; Available at: (accessed from 13 May 2009).
37. Midura, T. F. (1996) Update: infant botulism. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 9, 119-125.
38. Mishra, S., Kumar, H. & Sharma, D. (1994) How do mothers recognize and treat pneumonia at home? Indian Pediatrics, 31, 15-18.
39. Mulholland, S. & Chang, A. B. (2009) Honey and lozenges for children with non-specific cough. Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online), 2, CD007523.
40. Paul, I. M., Beiler, J., McMonagle, A., Shaffer, M. L., Duda, L. & Berlin, C. M., Jr (2007) Effect of honey, dextromethorphan, and no treatment on nocturnal cough and sleep quality for coughing children and their parents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 161, 1140-1146.
41. Qidwai, W., Alim, S. R., Dhanani, R. H., Jehangir, S., Nasrullah, A. & Raza, A. (2003) Use of folk remedies among patients in Karachi Pakistan. Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad: JAMC, 15, 31-33.
42. Ramenghi, L. A., Amerio, G. & Sabatino, G. (2001) Honey, a palatable substance for infants: from De Rerum Natura to evidence-based medicine. European Journal of Pediatrics, 160, 677-678.
43. Ripa, L. W. (1978) Nursing habits and dental decay in infants: 'nursing bottle caries'. ASDC Journal of Dentistry for Children, 45, 274-275.
44. Ritchie, J., Spencer, L. & O'Connor, W. (2003) Carrying out qualitative analysis. In: Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. (eds J. Ritchie & J. Lewis), pp. 219-262. Sage Publications Ltd, London, UK.
45. Robinson, N., Blair, M., Lorenc, A., Gully, N., Fox, P. & Mitchell, K. (2008) Complementary medicine use in multi-ethnic paediatric outpatients. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 14, 17-24.
46. Robinson, N., Lorenc, A. & Blair, M. (2009) Developing a decision-making model on traditional and complementary medicine use for children. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 1, 48-56.
47. Shadkam, M. N., Mozaffari-Khosravi, H. & Mozayan, M. R. (2010) A comparison of the effect of honey, dextromethorphan, and diphenhydramine on nightly cough and sleep quality in children and their parents. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16, 787-793.
48. Shapiro, R. L., Hatheway, C. & Swerdlow, D. L. (1998) Botulism in the United States: a clinical and epidemiologic review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 129, 221-228.
49. Shaw, D., Leon, C., Kolev, S. & Murray, V. (1997) Traditional remedies and food supplements. A 5-year toxicological study (1991-1995). Drug Safety, 17, 342-356.
50. Simpson, N. & Roman, K. (2001) Complementary medicine use in children: extent and reasons. A population based study. British Journal of General Practice, 51, 914-916.
51. Snodgrass, W. R. (2001) Herbal products: risks and benefits of use in children. Current Therapeutic Research, 62, 724-737.
52. Subrahmanyam, M. (1991) Topical application of honey in treatment of burns. The British Journal of Surgery, 78, 497-498.
53. Subrahmanyam, M., Hemmady, A. & Pawar, S. G. (2001) Antibacterial activity of honey on bacteria isolated from wounds. Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters, 14, 1.
54. Suchard, J. R., Suchard, M. A. & Steinfeldt, J. L. (2004) Physician knowledge of herbal toxicities and adverse herb-drug interactions. European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11, 193-197.
55. van der Vorst, M. M., Jamal, W., Rotimi, V. O. & Moosa, A. (2006) Infant botulism due to consumption of contaminated commercially prepared honey. First report from the Arabian Gulf States. Medical principles and practice international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre, 15, 456-458.
56. Vardi, A., Barzilay, Z., Linder, N., Cohen, H. A., Paret, G. & Barzilai, A. (1998) Local application of honey for treatment of neonatal postoperative wound infection. Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway: 1992), 87, 429-432.
57. Viera, A. J. & Garrett, J. M. (2005) Understanding interobserver agreement: the kappa statistic. Family Medicine, 37, 360-363.
58. Warren, M. D. & Cooper, W. O. (2008) Honey improves cough in children compared to no treatment. The Journal of Pediatrics, 152, 739-740.
59. Warren, M. D., Pont, S. J., Barkin, S. L., Callahan, S. T., Caples, T. L., Carroll, K. N., Plemmons, G. S., Swan, R. R. & Cooper, W. O. (2007) The effect of honey on nocturnal cough and sleep quality for children and their parents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 161, 1149-1153.
60. Woolf, A. D. (2003) Herbal remedies and children: do they work? Are they harmful? Pediatrics, 112, 240-246.
61. World Health Organization (2001) Cough and cold remedies for the treatment of acute respiratory infections in young children. Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development 2001;1-39. Ref: WHO/FCH/CAH/01.02. Available at: (accessed from 13 May 2009).
62. Zubek, E. M. (1994) Traditional Native healing. Alternative or adjunct to modern medicine? Canadian Family Physician, 40, 1923-1931.