Cuddles beat medicine

A cuddle and a hot drink are better than medicine for treating a child's cough, a new study has found.

Cough syrups, many of which contain sedatives or antihistamines, had no impact whatsoever on the duration or severity of coughing, United States scientists concluded after studying 100 children with upper respiratory infections.

In fact, children with coughs were more likely to have trouble sleeping at night or staying awake during the day if given cough medicine, the scientists reported in the medical journal Paediatrics.