COUCH – MEDICINES
There are medicines to help dry up phlegm. They can have the disadvantage of making it stickier so that it is harder to cough it up. They will also give you a dry mouth and nose. Chemical names of some of these are pseudoephedrine HC1, phenylephrine HC1, atropine sulphate and hyoscine hydrobromide. The first two make some people feel unpleasantly agitated and restless, so ask what is in your cough medicine and whether you can have a different one if you have this symptom.
If your cough is dry, it is safe to take medicines to try to stop it. Chemical names of some are pholcodine, hydrocodone tartrate, codeine phosphate, dextromethorphan hydrobromide and nor-methodone. These are closely related to painkillers, in fact some of them are quite good painkillers as well. They can cause similar side effects, especially constipation, nausea, and drowsiness. For the first of these it is best to take preventive steps as described on pages 130-31. The other two tend to wear off, so persevere for a few days before deciding that these medicines don’t suit you.
Quite a lot of cough mixtures contain antihistamines, which are not of much help for cough from any of the causes listed above. Antihistamines may make you either drowsy or overactive and restless. Ask whether one is in your cough medicine if you get these symptoms, and if so, ask to have a different cough mixture that does not contain an antihistamine.
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