Cough Medicine
What are cold and cough medicines?
Cold and cough medicines can help relieve symptoms of a common cold. The symptoms of a cold can include a sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, and coughing.
You don't usually need to treat a cold or the cough that it causes. You can't cure a cold, and antibiotics won't help you get better. But sometimes the symptoms can keep you awake or cause a lot of discomfort. In that case, cold and cough medicines can sometimes be helpful.
What are the different types of cold and cough medicines?There are lots of different cold and cough medicines, and they do different things:
- Nasal decongestants - unclog a stuffy nose
- Cough suppressants - quiet a cough
- Expectorants - loosen mucus in your lungs so you can cough it up
- Antihistamines - stop runny noses and sneezing
- Pain relievers - ease fever, headaches, and minor aches and pains
Before taking these medicines, read the labels and follow the instructions carefully. Many cold and cough medicines contain the same active ingredients. For example, some of them include pain relievers. If you are taking these medicines and are also taking a separate pain reliever, you could be getting a dangerous amount of the pain reliever.
Do not give cold or cough medicines to children under two, and don't give aspirin to children.
What else can I do to feel better for a cold or cough?If you decide that you don't want to take cold and cough medicines, there are other ways to feel better:
- Drink lots of fluids
- Get plenty of rest
- Use a cool mist humidifier
- Use saline nose drops or sprays
- Use nasal suctioning with a bulb syringe, which can be very helpful in children under a year old
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Felter's Materia Medica on Cough Medicine
The bark and prepared resinous exudate of Tsuga canadensis, Carriére (Abies canadensis, Michaux; Pinus canadensis, Linné). (Nat. Ord.... / ... erigeron and similar preparations. Both the specific medicine and the oil may be incorporated into cough medicines, to be used where there is excessive secretion of mucus and the cough is largely pre...1
The fresh bulb of Allium Cepa, Linné (Nat. Ord. Liliaceae). Common in cultivation everywhere. Common Name: Onion. Principal Constituent.A... / ...uretic. A syrup of onion, prepared by drawing the juice with sugar, is a very effectual expectorant cough medicine for infants, young children, and old persons. If given in moderate quantities it is v... / ...pus, and mucus. The dose is from 5 to 10 drops in water. It is sometimes given with an equal quantity of tincture of Xanthium Strumarium. 1
The whole plant of Erigeron canadense, Linné (Nat. Ord. Compositae). A common and troublesome weed through the northern and central parts of the United States. Common... / ...taxis and moderate bleeding from the stomach, bowels, and kidneys. Given in syrup it is useful as a cough medicine when there is bloody expectoration.1