Plain syrup seems as good as cough medicines for children

The question The near-constant coughing that often plagues children with colds can be especially vexing at night. Do over-the-counter cough medicines help?

This study randomly assigned 100 children with upper respiratory infections to take one of two common medicines — dextromethorphan (DM, Benylin), a cough suppressant; or diphenhydramine (DPH, Diphen), a sedating antihistamine — or a placebo of plain syrup. The children, whose average age was 5, had been sick about five days but had not been given cough or cold medicines. After one night of treatment, children in all groups showed dramatic improvement, according to parents’ assessments.

Who may be affected by these findings? Young children and their parents. Coughing is one of the most common reasons parents take a child to the doctor in the United States.

Caveats: Findings were based on the parents’ and children’s assessments, which can be imprecise. Children were given only one dose of cough medicine at night; multiple doses throughout the day or for several days might have altered the results. Insomnia (for DM) and drowsiness (for DPH) were reported side effects for some children.

Bottom line: Parents should remember that time remains the best healer for symptoms of upper respiratory infections. Over-the-counter medicines may not be effective for a coughing child.

Find this study: July issue of Pediatrics; abstract available online at www.pediatrics.org.

Learn more about children’s coughs at www.kidshealth.org (search for “cough”) and upper respiratory infections at www.medem.com (search for “colds”).