How Well (If Any) Cough Medicines Work?
If you want to get rid of your cough, it is only natural to get a cough medicine. But the ingredients in cough medicines probably don’t work as well as you might think. This video explains the sad situation.
Systematic reviews like this one from the Cochrane collection have failed to support claims of drugs to reduce cough. “There is no conclusive evidence for or against the efficacy of [over-the-counter] drugs for acute cough,” the review concluded. Hardly a loud endorsement.
The video ends with a warning: even if drugs are useless, that doesn’t mean they are harmless. Taking a double dose can cause serious side effects. Drink plenty of fluids instead, and consider taking cough drops or honey to soothe your throat.
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