Cough Medicine May Be Waste Of Time

[Merika]

Kind of long....but interesting:
-----------------------------------------

Cough Medicine Doesn't Work, May Harm Kids
Monday, January 09, 2006
By Salynn Boyles

Over-the-counter cough medicines may be a waste of time and money, says a panel of America’s top lung specialists.

Consumers spend billions each year on nonprescription cough syrups, drops, and so-called cough and cold medications. But an expert panel concluded that these products rarely help a cough.

“There is no clinical evidence that over-the-counter cough expectorants or suppressants actually relieve cough,â€Â� says panel chairman and pulmonary specialist Richard D. Irwin, MD.

The updated cough treatment guidelines were issued by the American College of Chest Physicians and are published in the January issue of its journal Chest. They are endorsed by the American Thoracic Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society.

Vitamin C May Not Fight the Common Cold

Nondrowsy No Good

So what should you do instead to relieve that irritating cough?

The panel recommends the use of older antihistamines with a decongestant for the treatment of coughs due to colds, allergies, and sinuses in adults. They specifically suggest the antihistamine brompheniramine and the decongestant pseudoephedrine, both found in many over-the-counter cold remedies

The anti-inflammatory pain reliever naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) has also been shown to be effective for cold-related coughs, the report states.

Newer antihistamines, which are nonsedating, are not effective for treating coughs, Irwin tells WebMD.

“If you take an [antihistamine] medication that says ‘nonsedating’ or ‘nondrowsy’ on the label, it isn’t going to do anything for your cough,â€Â� he says.

Time, Not Antibiotics, Best Rx for Chest Cold


Coughers Everywhere

Each year in the United States, roughly 30 million Americans see their doctors because of coughs.

“Cough is the No. 1 reason why patients seek medical attention,â€Â� Irwin says. “Although an occasional cough is normal, excessive coughing or coughing that produces blood or thick, discolored mucus is abnormal.â€Â�

ACCP President W. Michael Alberts, MD, tells WebMD the guidelines were updated to reflect new research on the treatment of coughs.

How to Short-Circuit a Cold … Maybe


Kids and Cough Medicine

While the revised ACCP guidelines stop short of saying that adults should not take over-the-counter cough medications, this was the group’s recommendation for children under the age of 15.

“Cough and cold medicines are not useful in children and can actually be harmful,â€Â� says Irwin, who is chief of the division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

“In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences, or other specific factors, will resolve on its own.â€Â�

But pediatric lung specialist William Brendle Glomb, MD, who helped write the new guidelines, tells WebMD that he frequently treats children with products such as Robitussin and will continue to do so.

“I have discussed this with every pediatric pulmonologist that I know, and we all use it,â€Â� he says. “It works wonderfully to clear the mucus out.â€Â�

The problem, he says, is that there have been very few studies done on over-the-counter cough medicines, and most were conducted decades ago. Most studies also involved narcotic products containing codeine.

“There are big holes in the scientific literature, and this is one of them,â€Â� he says. “These products just haven’t been studied.â€Â�

Though he disagrees with some of the wording in the new guidelines, Glomb does agree that coughs in children should not necessarily be treated.

“When children cough it is generally because they need to get out whatever it is that is in there,â€Â� he says.

[hezekiah]

Vitamin C helps the body fight toxins-antihistamines are iffy anyway-the Chinese have an herbal compound "Yin Chiao" which is very effective for sore throats-

[Merika]

We take very little meds here unless we just have to. Until I started getting older....I was rarely ever sick. My kids are real healthy too.

[Weiser]

I rarely ever take anything. I don't remember the last time I had to take antibiotics. Don't remember the last time I had cough medicine.

Sore throat? Eat some halls.

Cold? Get over it.

Headache? Ah I don't get them, and when I do I still don't take anything.

Cough? Hack it up, spit it out, deal with it.

Flu shot? Get away from me.

I'm as healthy as I can be considering all the crap I put me through when I was just a little younger.

[hezekiah]

I envy you guys-I got a head injury in a car wreck a long while back and it's visiting its revenge on me now in my middle age-I have a drug store in here.
It's almost all herbal stuff and I have managed to wean myself off of some of it-

[Duke]

I heard a while ago that some cough remedies had something in the recipe that actually made your symptoms seem better for a timed period but were actually formulated to make you worsen over time and require more of their medicine. I don't know if this is exactly true but the tobacco companies got away with murder for years so I do believe it to a certain extent.

[Merika]

I've taken very few medications which didn't end up having side effects. I'm with you on most things Duke....just stick it out and try to make yourself somewhat comfortable until it passes.

Sometimes its the fever and cough which come with a cold that gets rid of the junk that causes pnemonia and other lung problems.