When to take an over the counter cough medicine?

When to take an over the counter cough medicine?

OTC cough medications can provide much-needed relief. But if you’ve been coughing for several days or your cough is severe, contact your healthcare provider to see if you need a different medication or another type of treatment entirely. Expectorants help thin mucus so you can cough it out of your lungs more easily.

What kind of Medicine to take for dry cough?

Although your local drugstore probably carries a wide variety of brands and formulations, there are really only two types of OTC cough medicine available: cough suppressants and cough expectorants. Cough suppressants (antitussives) quiet your cough by blocking your cough reflex.

Are there over the counter cough suppressants for tickly cough?

These ingredients are known as expectorants. For a dry tickly cough, an over the counter medicine containing a cough suppressant to block the natural coughing reflex, such as pholcodine and dextromethorphan, should help. If you’re still not feeling better, these at-home remedies should alleviate the symptoms of a persistent cough:

When to seek help for a severe cough?

But if you’ve been coughing for several days or your cough is severe, contact your healthcare provider to see if you need a different medication or another type of treatment entirely. Expectorants help thin mucus so you can cough it out of your lungs more easily.

Is codeine an over the counter drug?

Codeine is available on a prescription from a doctor. Codeine is also contained in a number of combination medicines, some of which can be bought over-the-counter, without a prescription, in pharmacies. In particular, it is available in combination with the painkiller paracetamol in a medicine called co-codamol.

What are some names of prescription cough syrups?

Dextromethorphan , or DM, is the most common cough suppressant. Some brand names include Robitussin Cough, Vicks 44 Cough and Cold, Triaminic Cold and Cough. These are commonly used antitussive. Cough suppressants like Dextromethorphan are also available in combination with other drugs, like decongestants or antihistamines.

What is the cough medication with codeine?

Promethazine with Codeine is a combination medicine used to treat cold or allergy symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, and cough. Promethazine with Codeine contains an opioid (narcotic) cough medicine, and may be habit-forming. Promethazine with Codeine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What is a cough medication?

Antitussives, or cough suppressants, are substances which suppress the coughing itself. Examples are codeine, pholcodine, dextromethorphan, noscapine, and butamirate. Antihistamines, for allergic rhinitis may produce mild sedation and reduce other associated symptoms, like a runny nose and watery eyes.