Cough medicine
Cough medicine (or an antitussive) is a medication given to people to help them stop coughing.The type of cough medication taken depends on the nature of the cough. Dry coughs are treated with cough suppressants (antitussives) that suppress the urge of the body to cough.
Chesty coughs (where there is a lot of mucus) are treated with expectorants, drugs designed to help the body expel mucus from the respiratory tract.
Centrally acting suppressants include DXM (dextromethorphan) and codeine.
Peripherally acting substances include local anaesthetics that reduce sensation of the nerves of the throat, and demulcents that coat the back of the throat.
An Expectorant is a medicine or herb which increases the expulsion of tracheal or bronchial mucus through expectoration or coughing.
Cough suppressants
Cough suppressants can act centrally (on the brain) or locally (on the respiratory tract) to suppress the cough reflex.Expectorants
Controversy
In 2002, researchers at the University of Bristol published a study in the British Medical Journal indicating that some cough medicines are no more effective than placebos.