Best OTC cough syrup?

[TexasBushwhacker]

Anyone?

[Barack_America]

1. Honey.

Seriously.

There are pediatric trials showing honey to be just as effective as cough syrups.

I like mine with tea and whiskey. That concoction cures lots of ills.

[TexasBushwhacker]

2. Actually I already tried that

I forgot that dark chocolate works well too.

The only liquor I have is gin, but there's a prohibition era cocktail that is gin, honey and lemon (Bee's Knees).

[Barack_America]

4. What's causing your cough?

Allergies? Flu?

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Late case of the flu w/some allergies thrown in

I got a flu shot last fall, but I checked the CDC and it said this years vaccine was only 60% effective. Sucks to be me. I don't take cough medicine during the day because my cough is, as they say, productive. But I need to get some rest!

[Barack_America]

6. Deep cough or kinda at the top of your throat?

Worse in the mornings or when lying down?

If so, try either Zyrtec (my fav) or Claritin. It's probably post-nasal drip due to either allergies or irritation due to high levels of pollen right now.

That's a good place to start.

[trof]

38. + Bourbon

Equal parts.
That was also a teething soother for babies in my day.
Rubbed on their 'blossoming' gums.
Hey, it worked.

[mia]

3. Fisherman's Friend

I've tried every kind of syrup and cough drop and these throat lozenges are the best!

http://www.fishermansfriend.com/en-us/

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Sweet! They have them at Walgreen's n/t

[Major Nikon]

8. Whiskey

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. I just had some honey, gin & lemon juice

Gin was the only hard stuff I had.

[Major Nikon]

10. Makes me shudder just thinking about it

There's about 10 whiskeys produced in Texas now. Pretty much all are top shelf and some are world class.

I've heard there's also gin made in Texas, but I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with a bottle of gin.

[TexasBushwhacker]

12. I'm not normally a gin drinker

The company I was working for closed it's doors in February and when we were clearing everything out we found a brand new bottle of Bombay Sapphire. I took it to make gin soaked golden raisins for my arthritis. Normally I'm more of a bourbon drinker.

[Major Nikon]

14. Hard to say no to free hooch

[OriginalGeek]

27. "Hard to say no to free hooch"

I can't decide if I should only make that my life philosophy or also get it tattooed on me.

[TexasBushwhacker]

44. LOL n/t

[bettyellen]

43. Try a Ramos Fizz- it'a a lovely drink for spring.

[TexasBushwhacker]

45. Too complicated LOL

I'm not enough of a drinker to get into anything with a bunch of ingredients. Actually the honey, lemon juice and gin combo I've been drinking is called a "Bee's Knees". It's a prohibition era drink.

[bettyellen]

46. I just use egg whites and a bit of juice and ice chips....

so very good.

[Recursion]

33. Shuck tea, if I remember my great-grandmother correctly? (nt)

[BlueSpot]

11. Depends on symptoms

If your throat is gloppy, the acidic lemon juice will help strip that away. If your throat is raw, honey will soothe it. I would think that mixing them just cancels out the benefits of both but that's just me.

I like Ricola cough drops. The original flavor isn't very nice-tasting (keeps people at work from "borrowing" unless they really need it) but they work better than anything else I have ever tried. Never heard of Fisherman's Friend though so I can't compare the two.

[TexasBushwhacker]

13. I like Ricola too. And it's still a family owned company

which is kinda cool. The Fisherman's Friend lozenges are super strong menthol. I prefer the Ricola.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. My doctor recommended Delsym for me, said that's what he uses for his own family

http://www.delsym.com/

[winter is coming]

16. +1. Only thing better than Delsym is prescription stuff with codeine. n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

17. I took prescription Tylenol with codeine for pain between surgeries back in the '90s

I try to stay away from anything addictive since I had a rough time with that. Delsym doesn't contain alcohol which I consider to be a plus.

[csziggy]

18. Musinex DM (or generic) capsules or tablets - I hate cough syrup

Actually I seldom get Musinex DM, but find the store brand equivalent. The "magic" ingredients that work best for me are guafenesin and dextromethorphan. The first liquifies the phlegm so it's not clogging up the airways and the second suppresses the cough reflex. If I'm not coughing but my lungs seem congested, I get the non-DM version without the dextromethorphan.

As with any over the counter medication, follow the directions on the package, check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure it won't interact with any other medications you are taking or conditions you have, and go to the doctor if the symptoms last for more than a few days.

Cough syrup is so vile I would rather cough my lungs out than take it.

The non-modern remedy I like for coughing and congestion is mint tea with honey and lemon. That's very soothing.

[Iggo]

19. That's the shit.

[malthaussen]

20. Haig and Haig. n/t

[Sgent]

21. If its a dry cough

no OTC stuff works very well -- you really need a central nervous depressant (ie opiods or similar) to have a real effect.

Mucinex can help if your congested though.

[TexasBushwhacker]

23. I went to the doctor

They gave me a breathing treatment with albuterol and a prescriptions for benzonatate which seems to keep me from coughing with every single throat tickle. It's slowed the coughing down to where I can get some rest. Since I've had pneumonia before and my sputum had some color, she also gave me azithromycin.

I have completely lost my voice though. I'm job hunting, so I hope I don't get any calls for interviews next week.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. If you want to be knocked unconscious for 10 hours or so,

I recommend Nyquil. At least that's what it does to me.

[riderinthestorm]

37. Oh yeah baby, Nyquil for the win.

Ricola and Mucinex are my 2nd choice when I just can't face the green Nyquil knockout juice. ..

[hopemountain]

24. elderberry syrup -

"sambucol"
tasty and really works - even for little ones.

[GOLGO 13]

25. In a world of madnes, NyQuil is the only sane choice.

It's just slightly less potent than the death serum. It will shut you up & put you down like a Mike Tyson left hook. It's so potent that they don't even care to mask the taste of it with artificial sweeteners.

Stay with the green-death serum flavor. Stay old-school & get ready for lights out.

[ret5hd]

26. Codeine, if you don't mind the drive to Mexico.

[PADemD]

28. Hot Toddy

Try this recipe before going to bed. You'll get a great night's sleep. I prefer rum to whiskey.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/40401/hot-toddy/

[auntAgonist]

29. Buckley's Cough Syrup.

It will damned near kill you but your cough and congestion will be gone quickly.
It tastes H O R R I D.
You'll think someone is poisoning you.
But it works the best of anything I have ever used in my entire life.


It's terribly hard to find now and rumour has it it's not being made/sold anymore. A real shame

If you can find it, you should buy a couple of bottles.

Good luck.



aA

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. You can buy it on Amazon

You're right. It has really good reviews.

[auntAgonist]

34. I think that's the only (or one of the only) place you can get it. There is a children's version

called Jack and Jill or Jack'n'Jill (?)

It is VERY expensive online but it really is worth it. I have looked and looked everywhere for it in retail stores.


I think I neglected to say it's a Canadian product.

My Son In Law is a pharmacist in Ontario, I need to remember to ask him if it's still available there.

http://www.buckleys.ca/

[Recursion]

31. Benz/Tessalon pearls

It's like a horse paralytic for your throat. I think in some states they're prescription only, but you absolutely will not cough for 8 hours after taking one.

[TexasBushwhacker]

35. I got a prescription for them

I only take them at night so I can sleep. My cough is still productive, so I want to get that stuff OUT.

[Recursion]

36. Ah, gotcha. Ironically, Mucinex is illegal in India

Which is always my go-to for a productive cough. We have to stock up whenever we hit the Gulf or Europe.

[Recursion]

32. Though this one sounds like it would have worked really well

Yep... that'll do it...

[Texasgal]

39. I know you have a cough

but you should really try Nasacort nasal spray. It has a steroid in it that'll travel down your throat. It works! I had been struggling with oak pollen for a few weeks my nose wasn't congested but I had a horrible tickle cough. Three days of nasacort and it was gone!

The surgeon I work for actually told me about the steroid had I known I would have done it WAY sooner than I did.

[TexasBushwhacker]

41. I've been using Flonase for a few days

It's also a corticosteroid. The cough is getting better, slowly.

[Texasgal]

42. It took a few days.

But it was the ONLY thing that worked for me after being miserable for two weeks!

Hope you get better soon!

[trof]

40. Not syrup, but I like Mentholyptus cough drops.

The original, not lemon or orange.
Just plain mentholyptus.

[herding cats]

47. Are you needing a coug suppressant, or an expectorant?

If you need to sleep and get a reprieve from coughing anything with dextromethorphan should work. Personally, I don't take it if avoidable, since it makes me groggy, even the morning after.

If you're dealing with a congested chest, and you want to cough it up, look for things with guaifenesin in it to help. It helps loosen up the congestion, so you can cough it out. Lots of water helps it work best.

Really, brands don't matter. It's all about the active ingredients. Don't mix a bunch of stuff into it you don't need to if you can avoid it. It doesn't help, and it's actually dangerous if you don't know what the other ingredients do. Keep it simple, if you can, and just treat your actual symptoms when possible.

I hope you feel better soon!

[TexasBushwhacker]

49. Funny thing about guaifenisin

Several years ago doctors noticed that there was a spike in pregnancies during flu season. It turns out guaifenisin thins ALL mucus, including cervical. Thinner cervical mucus makes it easier to conceive.

[Ron Obvious]

48. Slivovitz

Yugoslavian plum brandy, that is. The taste may not be to everyone's liking, especially at first, being suggestive of Turpentine, but it is effective.

One possible reason it's so effective could be that it tastes so vile that your body stops coughing for fear of having to drink another one if the cough doesn't go away immediately.