Cough medication recommendation?

[maslex]

So both my boys now have the dreaded "fall/winter cough". What's the difference between expectorant/decongestant? What's the best product that you have found? Something that they can take during the day.

 

[JessicaR]

I would ask your pediatrician when he suggests. The over the counter stuff never worked on my kids and now there are studies that support that. Also the ages of the kids make a difference.

I hope they start feeling better soon! We have been passing around the same thing here too.


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,” 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.

 

[luvmy3]

Your pediatrician will probably not recommend a cough syrup. They will tell you to try more natural remedies.

I find that Delsym works for my kids. Yes I do still give them cough syrup especially at night when they can't sleep. I don't know what the data says, but I know that it works for my kids.
An expectorant will break up the mucus so that it is easier expelled.