Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Honey Don't Cough contain any drugs or chemicals?

A:No. Honey Don't Cough is made with pure dark buckwheat honey - a natural substance made by honeybees. It is not a synthetic drug or chemical.

Q: How does Honey Don't Cough work?

A: Though researchers do not know exactly how buckwheat honey works to calm coughing, studies show buckwheat honey to have the following natural properties:

• Demulcent - Honey helps create a soothing coat over the throat.
• Antioxidant - Honey helps protect cells and repair damage that has already occurred. Buckwheat honey in particular contains a wealth of antioxidants.
• Antimicrobial - Honey helps kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms like bacteria.
• Immune Enhancing - Honey promotes a boost in beneficial cytokine cells which enhance immune response in the body.

Q: Is Buckwheat Honey a new treatment for cough?

A: No. Actually, people have used buckwheat honey to treat cough for hundreds of years. In the 1950's it became less popular because people started using drugs to treat their symptoms. However popularity has increased since Penn State published a study demonstrating that buckwheat honey out-performed conventional honey-flavored cough medicine for children's cough in December 2007.

Q: What is Buckwheat Honey? How is it different from "normal" honey?

A: Honey has different properties depending on what type of flowers the bees gather pollen and nectar from. Bee keepers will often place bee hives in certain types of flowering fields so the bees gather nectar from one type of flower. For instance, the type of honey normally sold in stores is clover honey, because the bee hives are placed in clover fields.

Buckwheat honey is made by bees when the predominant flower they pollinate is the buckwheat flower. Buckwheat honey is darker, thicker and has more antioxidant properties than most other honeys.

Q: What is "wildflower honey"?

A: Bees in the wild pollinate a wide variety of flowers, creating a "mixed honey," or, "wildflower honey". These honeys are fun to try because of their variety of tastes. However, because wildflower honeys are typically lighter colored, they can have less therapeutic value. They are also more common and less expensive. Many in the health industry will use wildflower honey instead of more effective and medicinal dark buckwheat honey.

Q: Why is Honey Don't Cough's honey so dark?

A: The honey produced by bees collecting from buckwheat flower fields is naturally dark - and that's a very good thing Research from the University of Illinois and other universities have shown that darker honeys contain more antioxidant and other medicinal properties - and buckwheat honey is the darkest honey you can get!

In fact, dark coppery coloring is a mark honey connoisseurs look for in a high quality buckwheat honey. Lighter coloring in a buckwheat honey is an indication that bees were collecting from other floral sources too much - or that another, less expensive honey was mixed in.

Q: Do "honey-flavored" products work as well as buckwheat honey?

A: No! A Penn State study compared conventional honey-flavored dextromethorphan to 100% pure dark Buckwheat Honey. Despite honey flavoring and synthetic medication, the conventional medicine did not perform as well as pure buckwheat honey!
Beware of products with "honey" in the title! Check the ingredients. If honey is one of the last ingredients listed, you can bet the amount included is very small. You may even find that all the product actually has is "honey flavoring" - and lot of sweeteners

Q: Will Buckwheat Honey cure my child's cough?

A: Though research from Penn State University demonstrated that buckwheat honey reduced children's cough symptoms better than conventional drug therapy, to date, there are no scientifically proven ways to cure a cough due to a cold.

Q: Does Buckwheat Honey help sore throats?

A: People have used buckwheat honey for many years to treat sore throats. To date however, no well-done, placebo-controlled trials have been performed to see if it works better than a placebo. However, the effect and properties of Buckwheat Honey are known. These include:

• Demulcent - Honey helps create a soothing coat over the throat.
• Antioxidant - Honey helps protect cells and repair damage that has already occurred. Buckwheat honey in particular contains a wealth of antioxidants.
• Antimicrobial - Honey helps kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms like bacteria.
• Immune Enhancing - Honey promotes a boost in beneficial cytokine cells which enhance immune response in the body.

Q: Can I put Honey Don't Cough in my tea?

A: Many people have used buckwheat honey to treat a cough by mixing it with various substances such as lemon juice, tea and whisky. To date, there are no reliable placebo-controlled trials determining if doing this will work as well or better than a placebo or just pure buckwheat honey on its own.
It is our instinct that diluting buckwheat honey with something else may change the demulcent effects. However, its other properties should still remain.

Q: My child does not like the taste of buckwheat honey. What do you recommend I do?

A: While most children like the taste of buckwheat honey, some children do not. If your child does not want to take it directly from the packet, try dissolving it in warm water or juice (some people will add a little lemon).
Diluting buckwheat honey with water or juice may change the throat soothing, demulcent effects, but its other properties should still remain.

Q: My child likes the taste of Honey Don't Cough so much he got into the box and drank it all! What should I do?

A: Unlike most conventional cold medicines, Honey Don't Cough contains no synthetics or risky drugs your child could overdose on. It is not dangerous for your child to take more than the recommended dose.

However, do make sure you talk to your child about the dangers of taking medications without adult supervision.

Q: Is honey safe for people with "bee allergies"?

A: Most "bee allergies" are actually to the bee's venom, not to the bee itself. Luckily, it is rare for a person to be allergic to honey because of an allergy to bee venom.

Q: Why should I not give honey products to children under 1 years of age?

A: The oligotherapeutic base of this product is formulated to initiate a seamless detoxification process, but some sensitive bodies may experience initial detoxification effects. As minerals begin to activate enzymes and chelate toxins and metals, sensitive bodies may experience mild acute symptoms of sores in the mouth (similar to ones caused by eating excessive salty or acidic foods) or loose stools. Symptoms should last only 24 hours.

Medical experts recommend never giving corn syrup or honey to children under the age of 1 to avoid an incident of infant botulism. Following are excerpts from Wikipedia's article on botulism:

"Infant botulism was first recognized in 1976. It affects about 100 infants per year in the United States. Infants less than 12 months of age are susceptible, with almost 90% of cases occurring between the ages of 3 weeks and 6 months of age at presentation. The mode of action of this form is through colonization by germinating spores in the gut of an infant. The first symptom is usually constipation, followed by generalized weakness, loss of head control and difficulty feeding. Like the other forms of botulism, the symptoms are caused by the absorption of botulinum toxin, and typically progress to a symmetric descending flaccid paralysis. Death is often the eventual outcome unless the infant receives artificial ventilation. Infants under the age of 1 should not have corn syrup nor honey.
Honey, corn syrup, and other sweeteners are potentially dangerous for infants. This is partly because the digestive juices of an infant are less acidic than older children and adults, and may be less likely to destroy ingested spores. In addition, young infants do not yet have sufficient numbers of resident microbiota in their intestines to competitively exclude C. botulinum. Unopposed in the small intestine, the warm body temperature creates a medium for botulinum spores to germinate, divide and produce toxin. Thus, C. botulinum is able to colonize the gut of an infant with relative ease, whereas older children and adults are not typically susceptible to ingested spores. C. botulinum spores are widely present in the environment, including honey. For this reason, it is advised that neither honey, nor any other sweetener, be given to children until after 12 months. Nevertheless, the majority of infants with botulism have no history of ingestion of honey, and the exact source of the offending spores is unclear about 85% of the time. Spores present in the soil are a leading candidate for most cases, and often a history of construction near the home of an affected infant may be obtained."

Q: Is Honey Don't Cough for adults too?

A: Absolutely! Honey Don't Cough is safe and gentle enough for a child, but is strong enough for an adults cough and sore throat too. Honey Don't Cough is also safe for pregnant women, nursing mothers, older adults and people on multiple medications.

Q: Is Honey Don't Cough diabetic safe?

Yes. Honey Don't Cough does not interact with diabetes medications and has only 3 grams of carbohydrates. Typically, honey creates no rapid change in blood sugar.
By comparison a single carrot has about 7 grams of carbohydrates - 4 grams more than a dose of Honey Don't Cough.

Q: Is Honey Don't Cough regulated by the FDA?

A: Yes. Honey Don't Cough is regulated as a "Natural Supplement" by the FDA. However, we strive to keep our standards well above the FDA's minimal requirements for natural supplements.

Q: Do you sell internationally?

A: Yes. However, all of our products sold internationally are meant for personal use - up to a 90 day supply of any one product may be purchased. We ship via FedEx® or USPS to all international addresses. Customs restrictions and warranty issues prevent us from shipping to every international location. Customers are responsible for any additional Customs fees. It is your responsibility to check with your Customs Office to see if your country permits the importation of our products. If you are not sure, please contact the Customs Office in your country before ordering a product, as we are not responsible for such charges.

Q: How much does it cost to ship internationally?

A: There is just a $14.95 charge to ship to all international addresses without tracking and a $29.95 charge for tracking your order. Tax and duties for international orders are not included in the shipping charge. A separate invoice for Custom fees will be charged to you from either FedEx®, USPS or your country's Customs Office. For more details please see our International Shipping Policy.