Cough medicine and Cough remedies

Cough occurs due to stimulation of receptors in throat and respiratory passages.It can be due to viral infection and allergies or due to asthma, bronchitis, smoking, pneumonia.....etc. There are 2 types of cough:

Productive cough- a productive cough produces mucus or phlegm(sputum) Productive cough causes expulsion of secretion and foreign particles from respiratory passage.A productive cough generally should not be suppressed, because it clears mucus from the lungs.

Non-productive cough- a non-productive cough is dry and do not produce phlegm. It is not useful and should be suppressed.

The preparations are broadly classified as:

EXPECTORANTS

Expectorants are drugs which reduce the viscosity of bronchial secretion and there by removing the secretion by coughing. There are 2 types of expectorants:

1.Reflexively acting e.g.ammonium chloride, potassium iodide, ipecacuanha.

2.Directly acting e.g.sodium and potassium citrate, balsum of tolu, guaicol, terpinhydrate, guaiphenesin

ANTITUSSIVES

These drugs are used for cough suppression. Antitussives act at the level of cough center in brain and inhibit cough. Antitussives are used mainly for non-productive cough and if the cough is hazardous (e.g. hernia, ocular surgery, cardiac disease)commonly used antitussives are codeine, pholcodeine, noscapine, carbetapentane, dextromethorphan,pipazethate, chlophendianol, ethylmorphine, morphine, oxladin.

MUCOLYTICS

Thesa drugs cause liquefication of excessive tenacious sputum e.g.bromhexine, acetylcysteine, pancreatic dornase. These drugs induce copious secretion.

DECONGESTANTS

Decongestants work by narrowing blood vessels in the lining of the nose. This reduces how much blood flows through the area so that swollen tissue inside the nose shrinks and air can pass through more easily.e.g. Oxymetazoline

In expectorants and antitussive preparations antihistamines is added.They provide relief in cough by blocking the action of histamine,which is a body chemical responsible for congestion, sneezing, running nose and itching.

pseudoephedrine,phenylephrine are two main decongestants.

Some tips when taking these medicines:

• Avoid using antitussives if you have cough with lot of mucus that needs to be coughed up.

• While taking expectorants drink plenty of fluids to keeps the mucus watery and easy to cough up.

• Avoid taking cough syrups with an antihistamine,because antihistamine can make the mucus dry and hard to cough up.

• If you are pregnant, first consult your doctor before taking these medicines.

• These medicines should be used with caution in elder peoples.

• If you are a heart patient or diabetic ask the pharmacist about the safety of these medicines with your other medicines.

These medicines are very safe and have low side effects if taken as per directions.Many of these are in a combined form with several ingredients to treat many symptoms.So always read the instructions and buy only the proper one you needed.If you are not sure about the medicines, always consult with your doctor before buying medicines.