Cough Medicine.Which Is Best Expectorant or Supressant?

[WhatInThe]

I've seen/heard different theories on the treatment of respiratory infections including coughs and one theory says it's best to try and loosen the fluids/mucus then blow or spit them out. That's what a cough is. Natures way of trying to get crap out of the lungs. That would be an expectorant type cough medicine.

Others feel it's best to control the cough but that could thicken fluids by drying them out and trapping them in the lungs. Same could be said for many sinus medications. I've been told by specialists that it is possible to dry out the sinus linings too much opening them up to irritation and/or infection.

People tend to overdue the heat in winter refusing to use a vaporizer or humidifier which can dry the body out. Moisture is good but I know people that refuse to be in a humid environment period. Even in places like Florida I've seen people refuse to turn off or down the a/c which dehumidifies the air(and the air you breathe/respiratory system).

I also notice many cough and cold medicines have both a suppressant and expectorant in them. Isn't that contradictory with one drying/thickening the fluids and the other trying to loosen them up?

I guess the respiratory system is like the digestive system. You gotta keep things moving along.

 

[Ameriscot]

For some reason expectorant cough syrup upsets my stomach. So I just cough and cough and cough. Although a few glasses of whisky/lemon/honey/hot water is helpful.

 

[WhatInThe]

For some reason expectorant cough syrup upsets my stomach. So I just cough and cough and cough. Although a few glasses of whisky/lemon/honey/hot water is helpful.

I find cough medicine hard on my stomach as well. I can take one, maybe a second dose in 12 hours without trouble.

The whiskey with lemon, YES! Actually many things with lemon, especially hot tea has benefit even if temporary.

There's been something going around. I'm trying to tell a stubborn old fart see a doctor or this is how I would treat the cough. They refuse to do much of anything-over 10 days since their first symptoms. Funny thing while this bug was at it's peak I ran out of alcohol, never replenished ie didn't drink for a week-uh oh. I wind up with clogged sinuses where in everyone else it moved into their chest, they lost their voice, got a fever bed ridden etc-and they are big drinkers. I've always been proactive with vitamin & fitness especially and I cut out or cut down on dairy products when I get the sniffles. Those with the cough kept on eating dairy until they were bed ridden sick.

 

[jujube]

I've seen/heard different theories on the treatment of respiratory infections including coughs and one theory says it's best to try and loosen the fluids/mucus then blow or spit them out. That's what a cough is. Natures way of trying to get crap out of the lungs. That would be an expectorant type cough medicine.

Others feel it's best to control the cough but that could thicken fluids by drying them out and trapping them in the lungs. Same could be said for many sinus medications. I've been told by specialists that it is possible to dry out the sinus linings too much opening them up to irritation and/or infection.

People tend to overdue the heat in winter refusing to use a vaporizer or humidifier which can dry the body out. Moisture is good but I know people that refuse to be in a humid environment period. Even in places like Florida I've seen people refuse to turn off or down the a/c which dehumidifies the air(and the air you breathe/respiratory system).

.

Well, in that case, it's a toss-up here in Florida between coughing to death and dying of the heat. My new blood pressure medicine is making me cough. The doctor keeps saying I'll get over it....waiting, waiting, coughing, waiting.

 

[WhatInThe]

Well, in that case, it's a toss-up here in Florida between coughing to death and dying of the heat. My new blood pressure medicine is making me cough. The doctor keeps saying I'll get over it....waiting, waiting, coughing, waiting.

I thought it was the humidity, not the heat

Where ever I've lived I've always tried to live as close to the outside environment as possible simply because it's easier on my sinuses, saves energy/money and is better for the body rather than hot-cold, cold-hot. Not always possible but most can achieve it more often & easier than they think.

Coughs are tough, it almost sounds like the bp medicine is aggravating an allergy? Any possibility of trying other ways to lower bp?

 

[Don M.]

I'm not sure what's in it...but Vicks Nyquil usually does the trick for me on the rare occasions that I get a head cold. It helps me get a solid good nights sleep without hacking and snorting half the night...and 2 or 3 days of the symptoms and sipping Nyquil at bedtime seems to take care of it.

 

[SeaBreeze]

I rarely get colds anymore, but got a lot of them as a child and younger adult. I didn't find any cough medicines that really worked. The last time I had some real chest congestion, a lot of phlegm in my lungs that wasn't moving out, I just used a product with Guifenesin, like Mucinex. The Guifenesin thins the mucus and I didn't want to suppress the cough. Of course if I was still in the workplace, I'd have to try not to cough too much around others. When I took the pills, I took it more often than directed on the label, and it did what was needed after several days of working on it. I also tried to do some extra brisk walking to get my lungs pumping, that helped too.

Another thing I used to use as an expectorant is liquid tincture of Wild Cherry Bark from the health food store. I would put a dropper full directly at the back of my tongue by my throat and let it drip down undiluted. It would generally help get up phlegm that was lingering in the throat area.