Clinical Evaluation of Honey Throat Spray for Auxiliary Treatment of Pharyngitis

Background & objectives: Due to the increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance, there is a growing attention to application of auxiliary treatment of pharyngitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of honey throat spray in the auxiliary treatment of patients with a diagnosis of pharyngitis. Methods: At the start, different physicochemical quality parameters of the honey sample were evaluated. Then, the bottles of honey and the placebo throat spray were prepared. The numbers of 70 patients with the diagnosis of pharyngitis were included in a one-step and double-blinded study. In addition to standard treatment, each patient received either one of the honey or placebo throat spray. The clinical symptoms of the patients were compared between the two groups at baseline and then at 24 hours, 48 hours, 5 days and 10 days after the starting the treatment procedure. Results: As per results, the quality of honey sample was met to the standard honey criteria. The treatment and placebo groups were statistically similar in terms of demographic specifications or clinical symptoms at the time to enter the study. Pharyngitis recovery was better in treatment group than in the placebo group; this positive effect was statistically significant for symptoms of morning phlegm and painful swallowing, 24 hours after the starting treatment. In treatment group, after 48 hours, symptoms of fever and painful swallowing were resolved, while this indicator was 23% in placebo group. Also, throat pain of 85.71% of patients in treatment group and 17.14% of patients in placebo group was relieved. Overall, the mean recovery time in treatment group was shorter than placebo group. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the use of honey throat spray as auxiliary treatment of pharyngitis can improve the clinical symptoms of pharyngitis and reduce recovery time.