The syrups used to treat the cough must be adapted to the type of cough in question, as it can be dry or with phlegm and the use of the wrong syrup can compromise the treatment.
Generally, dry cough syrup works by calming the throat or inhibiting the cough reflex and phlegm cough syrup works by fluidizing secretions, thus facilitating their elimination, treating cough more quickly.
These remedies should only be taken, preferably, after the doctor’s indication because it is necessary to take into account the cause of the cough, to know if it is necessary to take other medications to treat the cause and not just the symptom. Babies and children should only take medication under the guidance of the pediatrician.
Syrups for dry and allergic cough
Some examples of syrups used to treat dry and allergic coughs are:
- Dropropizine (Vibral, Atossion, Notuss);
- Clobutinol hydrochloride + Doxylamine succinate (Hytos Plus);
- Levodropropizine (Antuss).
For babies and children there is the Pediatric Vibral, which can be used from 3 years old and the Pediatric Atossion and Pediatric Notuss, which can be given from 2 years old. Hytos Plus and Antuss can be used by adults and children, but only from 3 years of age.
If the dry cough lasts for more than 2 weeks and it is not known to identify the reason for its origin, it is recommended to go to the doctor to be able to identify its cause.
See a recipe for homemade syrup against dry cough .
Cough syrups with phlegm
The syrup should dissolve and facilitate the elimination of phlegm, making it thinner and easier to expectorate. Some examples of syrups are:
- Bromhexine (Bisolvon);
- Ambroxol (Mucosolvan);
- Acetylcysteine (Fluimucil);
- Guaifenesina (Transpulmin).
For babies and children, there is the pediatric Bisolvon and Mucosolvan, which can be used from 2 years old or pediatric Vick, from 6 years old.
