Eat honey before visiting GP, patients urged
Patients should treat their coughs and colds with honey and over-the-counter remedies before going to the doctor, health officials say. New draft guidance from Public Health England (PHE) and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is advising GPs not to offer antibiotics in most cases.Instead, they must encourage patients to use self-care products.The advice is part of a growing effort to tackle antibiotic resistance.Acute coughs are mostly caused by a cold or flu virus, or bronchitis, and will last for around three weeks, according to the guidance.Antibiotics make little difference to symptoms and can have side-effects - and unnecessary prescriptions reduce their effectiveness.Patients are instead advised to try honey or cough medicines containing pela...
