Study: Cough Suppressants Don't Work!

Over-the-counter cough suppressants ineffective, physicians say

But for sufferers of "acute cough from cold," the group suggests you ignore over-the-counter drugs with the active ingredients dextromethorphan, codeine and the expectorant guaifenesin.

Products with just the first of those tongue-twisting ingredients include Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough Suppressant, Vicks 44 Cough Relief, Benylin Adult Formula Cough Suppressant and Sucrets 8 Hour Cough Suppressant.

The National Institutes of Health's online service Medline Plus says another 150 or so other popular products also use dextromethorphan - alone or in combination - such as some Coricidin, TheraFlu and Alka-Seltzer cold medications.

Some good news:

The good news, the chest doctors said Monday, is that some older antihistamines work against coughs from colds. Mostly, they're the ones that make you drowsy.

They include the diphenhydramine in Benadryl, the brompheniramine in Dimetapp, and chlorpheniramine in Chlor-Trimeton, and many other products by the same over-the-counter pharmaceutical giants marketed for allergy and sinus woes.

This all seems puzzling, right? Well:

That cough you thought you knocked back in a few days with that $7 cough syrup? Coughs from colds go away in two or three days, anyway.

So they say it's all a myth!

Something to keep in mind this cold season...

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