Mulethi for Children's Cough: Use with Caution
Mulethi is a popular home remedy for children's cough. Why the dose matters, which children should avoid it, and safer alternatives.
Important: this remedy is only a supportive home measure. Keep taking any medicine your doctor has prescribed, monitor your readings, and consult your doctor before adding anything new.
What to know about mulethi
Mulethi (licorice root, yashtimadhu) is naturally sweet and soothing, which is why it shows up in throat remedies. It contains glycyrrhizin, which in larger or longer use can raise blood pressure and lower potassium.
Mulethi (licorice root) soothes the throat and is a common ingredient in Ayurvedic cough syrups. It contains glycyrrhizin, which in larger amounts or longer use can raise blood pressure and lower potassium. Children are more sensitive to dosing, so it is best used only briefly and as advised.
Ingredients
- Mulethi only as advised by a paediatrician or vaidya (a tiny pinch or a stick to suck for older children)
How to prepare
- Ask your paediatrician before giving mulethi to a child.
- For children over one, honey and warm fluids are simpler first options.
How to use
- If advised, use for no more than two or three days.
- Never give adult cough formulas to children.
Helpful habits
- Buy dry yellow sticks; they keep for months in a closed jar.
Precautions
- Avoid in children with kidney or heart problems. See a doctor for breathing difficulty, wheeze, high fever or a cough lasting over a week.
- Avoid with high BP, heart or kidney disease and in pregnancy.
- Keep use short, a few days at a time.
- For babies and children under five, ask the paediatrician first.
- Stop if you notice itching, rash, stomach upset or any other discomfort.
Frequently asked questions
Can my child suck a mulethi stick?
- Older children can briefly, under supervision; it is a choking risk for young children.
Are Ayurvedic cough syrups safe for kids?
- Use only those labelled for children, at the stated dose.
Is mulethi the same as licorice candy?
- No, candy is mostly sugar and flavour; mulethi is the dried root.
