Homeopathy for colds and coughs, explained by a homeopathic doctor

I'm answering as a doctor who works with homeopathy and who owes you the less comfortable part of the truth as well. You'll find out what the studies found, why I can't recommend a remedy that is “good for coughs” without seeing you, what helps at home and above all which signs tell you a cold is no longer just a cold.

What a cold really is and how long it lasts

A cold is an infection of the nose and throat caused by viruses. The British public health service, the NHS, says you should start to feel better in 1 or 2 weeks, and about coughs it says they usually clear up on their own in 3 or 4 weeks. Being viral, a cold isn't treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics only work on bacteria.

Children catch colds far more often than adults. The authors of the Cochrane review I describe below note that most children have between 3 and 6 respiratory infections a year, so a child who catches another cold a month after the last one is usually an ordinary child.

Why I ask you how you cough

If you've searched for homeopathic remedies for coughs, you've come across whole lists split into dry cough and productive cough, night cough or barking cough. They start from something true. In homeopathy the recommendation follows the way the illness shows itself in you, not its name.

Two people with the same cold can leave my office with different recommendations.

In a consultation I ask whether the cough is dry or brings up phlegm, at what time of day it is worse, what soothes it, how you sleep and how you got through your previous colds. Two people with the same cold can leave my office with different recommendations. Some leave with none. That's why I can't give you the name of a homeopathic syrup that works for everyone here, and it's also why I'd ask you not to pick one off the shelf from a list you found online.

As a doctor I first look for the signs that call for something other than homeopathy, such as a pneumonia that is just starting. No package leaflet can do that part in place of a doctor.

What helps at home with a cold

The things that help are few and simple. I've taken them from the recommendations of the NHS and of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Rest and fluids, water or a warm tea, so you don't get dehydrated, and light food when you feel hungry.
• Honey for a cough, for adults and for children over 1. Babies under 1 should not be given honey.
• Gargling with salt water for a sore throat, for those old enough to gargle.
• A clean humidifier or a cool mist vaporiser in the room. For children, no steam inhalation over a bowl of hot water, because of the risk of scalding.
• For fever and aches, a fever reducer suited to the person's age, after checking with a doctor or pharmacist. Aspirin is not given to children under 16.

There is a good study on honey too. The 2018 Cochrane review pooled 6 trials with 899 children and found that honey probably relieves coughs better than placebo, especially in the first 3 days, although the authors say the evidence isn't strong either for or against it. For steam the evidence is even thinner. In 2017 Cochrane couldn't show either benefits or harms of warm, moist air for colds. So treat it as a comfort.

When to see a doctor

An ordinary cold doesn't need a doctor, but a few signs tell you it might be something else. See your family doctor if:

• the fever lasts more than 3 days or is very high
• your symptoms haven't improved after 10 days
• the cough has lasted more than 3 weeks
• the fever or cough seems to go away and then comes back worse
• you have a long-term illness that is getting worse or a weakened immune system
• you are losing weight for no reason

If the cough gets worse quickly, you cough up blood, you find it hard to breathe or you have chest pain, don't wait for an appointment and get medical help that same day.

Warning signs in children

With children the threshold is lower, and with babies it is lowest of all. Following the NHS, call your family doctor or paediatrician that same day if:

Colds, flu and the vaccine

Flu isn't a bigger cold but a different illness, one that more often leads to complications in older people, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses. There is a vaccine against it. If you're wondering whether a homeopathic remedy can take the place of the vaccine, I've answered that at length in the article on homeopathy and the flu vaccine.

Frequently asked questions

Which homeopathic syrup is good for children's coughs?

There is no homeopathic syrup that is good for every child, and studies in children have found no evidence that homeopathic remedies cure respiratory infections. With a coughing child I first want to know why they're coughing, how they're breathing and whether they have a fever. If you'd still like homeopathy, we try it after a consultation where you are present too, and if I see that your little one needs a paediatrician, I send you there first.

Do homeopathic pills help with a cold?

Studies show no clear effect compared with placebo in adults or children, and a cold clears up on its own in 1 or 2 weeks anyway, so it's hard to say whether what helped you was the remedy or simply time.

Can I take homeopathic remedies alongside the treatment from my doctor?

Yes, as long as the prescribed treatment stays unchanged and your doctor knows what else you're taking. You tell me everything you take as well.

When does a cough become dangerous?

When you find it hard to breathe, have chest pain, cough up blood or the cough gets worse quickly. In children you are right to be alarmed by fast or laboured breathing and blue lips, and then you call 112. A cough that has lasted more than 3 weeks also needs a check-up.

Can a baby's cold be treated with homeopathy?

I do work with children, always with a parent present at the consultation. With babies and very young children I look even more carefully at their general condition and refer them to the paediatrician whenever it's needed. Under 3 months a temperature of 38 degrees or more means a doctor that same day, and here too homeopathy remains a complement to the paediatrician's care, not a substitute.

How I work

You can come to me both for an acute cold or cough and if you catch colds often. When the colds come one after another, we look together at the pattern of the episodes, at your sleep, at stress and at the time you spend in group settings. If you develop a high fever, difficulty breathing, a cough that drags on or you feel seriously unwell, I refer you for a conventional medical check-up. I also work with children, with a parent present at the consultation.

The consultation starts from your whole medical history. When it becomes clear from our conversation that you need a test or conventional treatment, I tell you directly and refer you there. You'll find all the steps on the page about the homeopathy consultation, and the fees page shows what a homeopathy consultation costs.

This article is for information and does not replace a medical consultation. Do not stop or change a prescribed treatment without talking to the doctor who prescribed it.

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