Cough is a reflex protective reaction of the body and a symptom that accompanies the underlying disease. Thanks to him, sputum (bronchial pathological secret) is removed from the respiratory tract of the individual. The choice of an expectorant for cough depends on its type, individual characteristics and age of the patient, as well as pathology. For the treatment of diseases accompanied by cough, drugs are prescribed that have an expectorant, mucolytic, thinning, antitussive effect. The latter and combined drugs are used for dry, painful coughs, and for productive coughs with a thick and viscous secret, mucolytics are indicated.
Dry cough in adults
This type of cough is characterized by difficulty in expectorating sputum, i.e. little or no expectoration. The reasons for its appearance are:
- Allergy. In this casecough is a consequence of the manifestation of an allergic reaction of the body, may be accompanied by rhinitis and lacrimation.
- Pneumonia.
- Pleurisy. There is a pain sensation in the side when coughing.
- Respiratory mucosal irritation - contact with household chemicals, caustic products or polluted air.
- SARS, flu, colds. With proper and timely therapy, after a short period of time, the cough turns into a wet one.
- Tracheitis is a debilitating and painful cough.
- Laryngitis.
- Smoker's bronchitis.
Several types of dry cough are distinguished by the duration of the course:
- more than two months - chronic;
- three to eight weeks - protracted;
- up to three weeks - spicy.
An accompanying symptom of a cough is a sore throat.
Dry cough therapy
Only a doctor can choose the right medicines and their dosage. The following are expectorants for dry cough in adults that have worked well:
- "Sinekod" is a drug of central action. In the form of tablets, it is used in adults. It has a direct effect on the cough center, has anti-inflammatory, expectorant, bronchodilatory effects. The effect of the drug does not depend on the origin of the cough. Contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women.
- "Gerbion" - a remedy of plant origin. Helps to cope with the inflammatory process in the respiratory system. Has antitussive,expectorant and antimicrobial activity. Not indicated for patients with individual intolerance to herbal ingredients, fructose and individuals suffering from diabetes.
- "Bronchicum" is a universal expectorant for dry cough. Relieves seizures and promotes its transition to wet, in addition, improves the excretion of sputum. Contraindicated in pregnancy, lactation, individual intolerance to certain components of the drug, as well as in diseases of the liver and kidneys.
- "Codelac Phyto" - a combined preparation, which includes plant extracts. It has an antitussive and expectorant effect. Long-term use is not recommended due to the presence of codeine among the components.
- "Stoptussin" due to the presence of a mucolytic substance called guaifenesin in the preparation reduces viscosity, increases the amount and facilitates the removal of sputum. It is not recommended to take the medicine in the first trimester.
- Linax is a combined herbal remedy that increases cough productivity, has an expectorant, mucolytic and anti-inflammatory effect.
Treatment with folk methods
Obsessive cough gives the individual inconvenience and discomfort. In this case, folk remedies for coughing can have an effective and mild effect on adults. An expectorant effect in the treatment of dry cough is provided by healing decoctions prepared from the following medicinal plant materials:
- St. John's wort;
- plantain;
- calendula;
- oregano;
- licorice;
- thyme;
- linden;
- chamomile;
- coltsfoot.
However, their use is possible only in the absence of allergies. The use of inhalations helps to moisten an irritated throat, thin sputum, and clear the airways. This procedure promotes the penetration of nutrients directly to the affected focus, without having a general effect on the body of the individual. Inhalations with the use of mineral water, saline, soda, essential oils, herbal decoctions and potatoes have proven themselves well, in which onion or garlic can be added to enhance the effect. Folk expectorants for coughs include various compresses and rubbing:
- Scones. To prepare it, you will need honey, flour and vegetable oil. Apply as a compress at night.
- Potatoes are boiled in their skins, kneaded and used as a compress, which is kept until the potatoes cool completely.
- Roll out the cabbage leaf with a rolling pin and spread with honey, then attach the sticky side to the chest, cover with plastic wrap and warm cloth on top, leave until morning.
- With a mixture prepared from pork fat, honey and alcohol, rub the back, chest and feet. After the manipulation, it is advisable for the patient to put on a warm jacket and socks.
These simple folk recipes, together with medical treatment, will help you recover faster, and natural ingredients will strengthen the body's defenses. Best expectorant for dry coughpregnant women will be inhaled using lime blossom, chamomile, plantain, sage, thyme, soda, mineral water, potato vapors. The result of this procedure will be instant.
Wet cough
With this type of cough, the patient is separated from the bronchial pathological secretion, the nature of which is different. Sputum analysis gives an idea of the nature of the pathology. The cause of a productive cough lies in some pathological conditions:
- tracheitis;
- laryngitis;
- pharyngitis;
- bronchial asthma;
- bronchitis;
- rhinitis;
- pneumonia;
- tuberculosis;
- neoplasms in the respiratory organs.
The following types of productive cough are distinguished:
- permanent;
- periodic;
- weak;
- medium;
- strong;
- appearing at a certain time of the day or to some irritant.
Excreted sputum can be of different colors, textures, with blood or purulent patches. Its quantity is scarce or plentiful. A wet cough is considered productive, as sputum is brought out.
Drugs for adults with wet cough
Therapy is reduced to liquefaction of sputum. The action of expectorants with a wet cough is aimed at stimulating the release of liquid secretion, reducing viscosity. All funds according to the mechanism of action are divided into:
- Reflex. These include medicines based on medicinal herbs, essential oils. Their biologicalactive substances have a stimulating effect on the gastric mucosa and provoke a weak gag reflex, which, in turn, affects the bronchopulmonary system and helps sputum discharge.
- Mucolytic - "Ambroxol", "Acetylcysteine", "Solvin". When taking these drugs, bronchial secretions are liquefied.
- Combined - "Bronholitin", "Ascoril", which, in addition to stimulating the excretion of mucus, have anti-inflammatory, bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Resorptive - "Terpinhydrate". Stimulates the secretion of the bronchial glands, increases the volume of liquid sputum and improves its output. The drug is effective in small doses.
Some of the most well-known names of expectorants for wet coughs in adults:
- "Acetylcysteine";
- Gedelix;
- "Bromhexine";
- Gerbion;
- Ambroxol;
- Bronchicum;
- Travisil;
- "Stoptussin";
- Gerbion;
- "Pertussin";
- Codelac broncho;
- Bronchosan;
- Ascoril;
- Doctor Mom.
Expectorants during pregnancy
Cough negatively affects the future baby, as the resulting tension of the respiratory muscles, the press and the diaphragm leads to an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. As a result, the blood supply to the fetus is disturbed and intrauterine hypoxia develops. The more difficult the sputum comes out, the greater the load on the fetus.
To the most common causes of cough thatcan appear at any waiting time for a baby, refer to:
- colds;
- asthmatic cough;
- cough provoked by chronic respiratory pathologies;
- allergic cough.
Whatever the cause, a cough expectorant should work quickly and gently, and be safe for the unborn baby. Incorrectly selected drugs can be harmful. It is forbidden to use centrally acting drugs that depress the cough center, for example, Codeine, and affect bronchial receptors. From medicinal plant materials, the use of fees from the following herbs should be excluded:
- Cat-and-stepmothers. Because of its carcinogenic effect and the possibility of causing mutations in the fetus.
- Ginseng, Eleutherococcus. They contribute to the allergization of the unborn baby.
- Oregano. Leads to uterine bleeding.
- St. John's wort. Significantly complicates childbirth.
However, there are a number of adult cough expectorants that a pregnant woman is allowed to take after consulting a doctor:
- "Doctor Theiss" in the form of syrup. Well dilutes sputum and allows you to quickly cough it up.
- "Tonsilgon N". Effective for wet coughs.
- "Sinupret". Liquefies viscous secretions.
- "Muk altin". Reduces the number of attacks, facilitates sputum production and softens it.
In any case, a pregnant woman should seek advice before using an expectorantgynecologist and therapist. Do not self-medicate.
Top Best Cough Expectorants for Adults
The list includes drugs selected according to the results of various indicators: effectiveness, contraindications, availability, etc. The best drugs are presented below.
For dry cough:
- "Stoptussin". Facilitates coughing, soothes the throat.
- "Sinekod". Indicated for dry cough of any origin, quickly relieves severe attacks.
For wet cough with phlegm:
- "Lazolvan". Thanks to the active substance ambroxol, sputum production increases and its excretion is facilitated. Several other medicines have this composition, and all of them are good expectorants for coughing for adults.
- "Acetylcysteine". Liquefies sputum, making it liquid, which contributes to a better cough. Acts quickly and effectively.
Vegetable:
- "Muk altin". Natural remedy based on marshmallow root. Tablets are swallowed or dissolved in water.
- Breast collection 4. Facilitates the excretion of sputum, pleasant to the taste.
Homeopathic - "Stodal". Convenient to dose, good effect.
Folk - black radish with honey. The tastiest cough expectorant for adults.
So, cough is a symptom of the disease. First of all, treatment should be aimed at eliminating the disease.
Expectorants for children
Any malaise in the baby, includingand cough, worries parents. In most cases, the appearance of this symptom indicates the presence of pathological processes caused by microorganisms, viruses or allergies. Expectorants for coughs for children will help to cope with this trouble. They are indicated for diseases accompanied by increased glandular secretion of the respiratory system in the following pathologies:
- bronchitis;
- sinusitis;
- pneumonia;
- otitis media;
- bronchospasm;
- sinusitis;
- asthma;
- allergy;
- nasopharyngitis.
The mechanism of action of drugs is to remove sputum from the respiratory system. There are two groups of medicines:
- Stimulants. They contribute to increased secretion production and improve the passage of mucus through the respiratory tract. Among them are agents that have a reflex-stimulating effect, which cause coughing, irritating the inner lining of the stomach and provoking a gag reflex. As well as drugs that have a resorptive property. Facilitation of sputum discharge occurs due to the balancing of the thick and liquid part of the bronchial secretion.
- Thinning. Medicines belonging to this group eliminate the viscosity of sputum by converting it to a liquid state.
Only a doctor can choose the right expectorant medicine, dosage and duration of use in childhood. Newborns are recommended "Gedelix" in the form of syrup. In addition to being an expectorant, it has anti-inflammatory andantispasmodic action. In severe pathologies, for example, bronchitis or pneumonia, expectorant mucolytic agents "Lazolvan", "Ambrobene" for inhalation are indicated. If, when using the above medicines, the baby has difficulty in evacuating a liquefied secret, then it is removed in a hospital with a special device. In the age category from one to three years, the choice of expectorants for wet cough is much wider:
- "Acetylcysteine";
- Ambroxol;
- "Muk altin";
- Gedelix;
- Fluimucil;
- "Prospan".
Children over three years old are recommended the following medicines:
- Vegetable - Doctor Mom, Pertussin, Gedelix, Prospan, Licorice Root Syrup.
- Mucolytics - Halixol, Lazolvan, ACC.
- Secretolytics - Bromhexine.
Parents should remember that when treating a baby, it is important to follow the dosage of the medicine depending on age, as well as the course of therapy recommended by the doctor. An important condition is the drinking regime. During this period, it is recommended to give the kids more water, which helps to cough up, and therefore, the discharge of a diluted secret.
The most effective remedies used in children's practice for wet cough
According to doctors, the following are recognized as effective expectorants for coughing:
- Licorice syrup. Approved from birth.
- Alteika. Improves bronchial function, thins phlegm, stimulates expectoration.
- "Bromhexine". Recommended for bronchitis, asthma.
- "Pertussin". It has a softening and expectorant effect.
- Gedelix. Has a natural composition.
- Fluimucil. It has a mucolytic effect, increases the amount of sputum and promotes its discharge.
- "Doctor Mom". The composition of this drug includes a large number of medicinal herbs that allow you to quickly remove sputum by easy coughing.
- "Stoptussin-Fito". In addition to expectorant, it also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
The best herbal cough expectorants include various charges that are produced in the factory:
- expectorant;
- chest numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4;
- decoction of plantain herb.
Before using all of the above remedies, you need to consult a doctor who will recommend the most suitable one, depending on the pathology, the presence of contraindications and the age of the baby.
Using Alternative Medicine in Children
Folk remedies for dry cough have long been used for treatment. Expectorants can be used only after it has become wet. Tested by many generations, recipes that promote better sputum discharge are approved by pediatricians and recommended to young patients:
- Milk formula. To prepare it, you need hot milk, to which a little butter, honey and sodium bicarbonate (soda) are added. The resulting drink is drunk in small sips.before bedtime. The last ingredient can be replaced with cocoa butter, alkaline mineral water, turmeric.
- Plantain. A decoction of the leaves of this herb is an excellent cough remedy.
- Black radish and honey. This recipe is known to everyone and is easy to prepare. A deepening is made in the middle of the vegetable and honey is put into it, insisted for about three hours. Take the resulting juice up to three times a day by a teaspoon.
- Infusions and fees from medicinal plant materials. Herbs included in their composition have expectorant, mucolytic, enveloping, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial action. The following plants are used for their preparation: fennel, thyme, violet, marshmallow, plantain, coltsfoot, elecampane, licorice, anise, mint, calendula, chamomile, sage. Ready-made breast fees are available in pharmacies. A homemade cough expectorant can be prepared by using the above herbs alone or in combination.
To combat a wet cough, drugs are used that stimulate the outflow of sputum, otherwise the stagnation of the secret in the lung tissue as a result of the inability to cough it up leads to serious consequences. The following are recognized as the best folk recipes:
- Steam inhalation with coltsfoot, thyme, sage.
- Aloe leaf juice. Indicated for children over three years of age. Lemon juice and honey are added to the freshly squeezed solution.
- Ginger infusion.
- Mixture of milk, radish and honey. The first two ingredients are mixedin proportions 2:1 and add a little honey.
- Oatmeal broth. Boil unpeeled oats in a liter of milk, strain and take 100 ml about thirty minutes before the main meal.
In the case of a productive cough in a baby, medicinal and folk remedies are not recommended, but are shown:
- light physical activity in the form of walking, light jogging;
- fresh air;
- drainage massage.
Conclusion
Why do we need expectorants for coughs? In a he althy individual, a bronchial secret is synthesized, which helps the respiratory tract to remove microorganisms, viruses, small particles that come with the inhaled air. If the body is damaged by an infectious process, the amount of secretion increases, and it becomes an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria. In order to get rid of such sputum, the body begins to take action, i.e., a cough begins. However, the hard-to-separate thick and viscous secret is not coughed up. Cough expectorants help to cope with it, the main action of which is aimed at thinning sputum and its subsequent excretion.
