On a quick mission to grab something for your cough, you enter the pharmacy only to find shelves brimming with endless choices. Why so many options? Which is the best one for you? 

First thing is first, you will need to define your type of cough; dry or chesty?

Dry cough: tight, tickly.

Chesty: productive, loose (a cough that feels chesty but doesn’t produce sputum is still considered to be productive).

Treatment 

You have a dry cough?

Dry coughs are usually caused by a viral infection and shouldn’t continue for longer than a few days. Longer than 3 weeks and it’s time to visit the doc. We treat dry coughs using a type of medicine called antitussives. These work by blocking the cough reflex. Look for the active ingredients pholcodine or dextromethorphan (codeine can also be used, however has more side effects & addiction potential therefore has limited usage). Pholcodine may cause drowsiness. Speak to your pharmacist before taking any medication.

The other type of medicine you will see are on the pharmacy shelves are demulcents – these form a protective layer on your throat to help reduce irritation. They include simple linctus or just plain honey & lemon.

You have a chesty cough?

If you have a productive cough, you will need to take a closer look at the mucus. If it is yellow/green, it is likely that you have an infection. Any other colour (rust, pink, red) or if there is a foul smell, please see your doctor.

Look for an ingredient called guaifenesin, this is an expectorant meaning it makes mucus less thick and brings it up. Guaifenesin is the only active ingredient to have evidence for effectiveness. It is also free from side effects or drug interactions. Just simply drinking more water can also loosen the mucus, so keep fluids up also.

These medications are licensed for certain ages, so make sure you ask the pharmacist. (In the UK, children under 6 are not advised to take cough and cold medicines containing dextromethorphan, codeine, pholcodine or guaifenesin.)