Does cough medicine work?

JuliusCaesar

Ok, I've got a bad cough...and everyone tells me to take an OTC expectorant medicine. I have a vague memory of looking these up years ago in a BNF and it said they don't work, so have never bought any since. But everyone (in the hospital, at tea breaks) says go on....

Being a psychologist, 'placebo' springs to mind.

Have there been massive developments in the cough medicine front since I last checked them in the BNF c 25 yrs ago?

r3nu4l

No, there is no good evidence in adults and no they shouldn't be recommended..according to this paper anyway (Free full text available)

Another paper says that they should not be used in very young children (< 6 years of age) either.

EDIT: My own anecdotal experience is that they do promote some 'coughing' action but as you say, this may just be a placebo effect. I do find however, that I really like the warming feeling of expectorants

FluffyCat

I was told in college that the best thing for a chesty cough (with no infection of course) is drinking water.
When I tell people this though they look at me sideways!! They want the drugs, but I agree with the placebo effect!

anotherlostie

I'm not sure how old Carbocysteine and related compounds are, but as mucolytics, they act to promote the coughing up of loosened phlegm rather than things like Ipecac that acted on the cough centre (and of course made you want to vomit).

Antitussives will certainly suppress cough but that would not be a good thing if the cough is productive.

I think the placebo effect more relates to the flu remedies - the ingredients there make you feel less miserable as opposed to acting on any infection, and thus you start to get better sooner.

r3nu4l

anotherlostie wrote: »

I'm not sure how old Carbocysteine and related compounds are, but as mucolytics, they act to promote the coughing up of loosened phlegm

Interesting point, I think that while loosening phlegm certainly relieves symptoms, it does not alter the length of time the rhinoviral infection stays in the body. So while one may feel better, teh amount of virus brough up in phlegm is minimal compared to the total volume of virus (pfu/mL) in the body.

Tree

I do prefer my phlegm up than down.... and i find the mucolytics do help. But for the dry coughs, the only thing that works is time

Odysseus

Tree wrote: »

I do prefer my phlegm up than down.... and i find the mucolytics do help. But for the dry coughs, the only thing that works is time

What about a cough supressant. I suffer from dry coughs a lot I regularly use one. I work in the addiction field so I know about the dangers of the one I use, I'm not going to name it for those reasons but I'm sure you know the one I mean. I find it does the job very efectively.

Tree

I can't drink the stuff, "orange" flavour makes it so vile i end up gagging, i suppose its an easy way to make it non-addictive if you can't take it...

So instead, i go for the prevention, postnasal drip is a problem when the nose gets runny and leads to a wonderful prolonged coughing period, so i sleep on a heap of pillows and rolled up blankets.

Jellybaby1

No, cough medicine doesn't work. I've been suffering with a dry cough for more years than I care to remember. It might go away for a few weeks but it always comes back. It get so bad it almost makes me fall off a chair and I can't get much sleep with it. Regularly I have to leave meetings, etc., because of all the coughing. I've been to about three doctors now and they just gave me antibiotics even though I told them I don't have a cold or an infection. I've been xrayed but it showed nothing. Now I've got a puffer in case it might be asthma but the doctor didn't diagnose asthma. The puffer hasn't stopped my cough yet anyway.

I never found drinks of water any good, in fact I take a glass of milk with me when I go to bed and it seems to help a bit. Sucking sweets like Soothers sometimes helps but not for long. I'm at the end of my tether with this cough. Of course, it might just be a reaction to stress but I've no way of knowing.

Jellybaby1

Well nine months since my post above. I've been to the doc regarding my unending coughing and have been tested in, out, up, down, and every which way but loose, and eventually it turns out I have acid reflux and hiatus hernia, and am on medication permanently. I have to say, it is wonderful to live whole days and nights without coughing. God bless medical science! Relief at last.