Anti-tussives or cough suppressants
>> Friday, November 25, 2022
WELLNEWS
Victor
Dumaguing MD
TOS is the Spanish word for cough so an anti-tussive agent or medicine is literally anti-cough.
However, from a clinical standpoint, health professionals, as a rule, under general circumstances, do not want to suppress or prevent coughing.
Coughing is a natural reflex to irritation of the entire tracheobronchial tree, with the aid of sneeze reflex which is activated at the level of the nose to the oropharynx-an opening common to respiratory and digestive system- to trachea/windpipe, major primary right and left bronchus which undergo 23 branchings up to the alveoli-those grape-like structures where active exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Again, at this juncture, it must be emphasized that, IF a person is congested with phlegm in the lungs, and he/she can cough out those viscid tenacious phlegm, suppression of such productive cough is unwise.
Coughing is a familiar but complicated reflex governed by a Cough Center in the medulla oblongata of the brain. Along with other mechanisms, coughing helps protect the lungs from particles like dusts, toxic aerosolized items that have been inhaled or aspirated. In cases where there is an infectious agent or microbe that gained access, sputum is produced which is a mixture of mucus, debris, inflammatory cells that must be expelled, through an effective cough.
Coughs vary considerably; it could be distressing if coughing episodes are accompanied by chest pains, shortness of breath and dyspnea-difficulty of breathing. Among senior citizens, continuous coughing leads to embarrassing uncontrolled leakage of urine. Let’s not forget mothers who get very nervous and anxious with the paroxysmal coughing of their beloved kids with pertussis or whooping cough.
An unproductive cough or dry cough- common among COPD patients with a long history of cigarette /tobacco smoking- can be irritating especially at night, with the obvious deprivation of a restful slumber. A dry cough lasting for days on end can lead to laryngitis with sore throat and even loss of voice, which pun intended, some wish their mother-in-law has.
Cough suppressants can provide relief and remedy under the above circumstances. To date, Codeine is the strongest anti-tussive by suppressing the Cough Center in the medulla oblongata of the brain.
It is also a pain-reliever(analgesic) but because of its narcotic nature it is potentially addictive which explains why - its prescription requires not only the PRC-Professional Regulatory Commission- and PTR-Professional Tax Receipt- number of the physician but also the S2 or Narcotic License Number, which not many doctors have. On the positive side, codeine can be helpful at bedtime because it induces drowsiness through its slight sedative effects.
Codeine causes nausea, vomiting and constipation in some people. Allergy to codeine is uncommon except in people with history of hypersensitivity or allergy to food ( those that fly and crawl) and to medicines like aspirin and penicillins. Adverse effects increase with concomitant intake of alcohol, anti-depression and sleep pills.
Dextromethorphan is the dextro-isomer of codeine, which by nature of its almost similar and related chemical structure also has a strong suppressant effect on the Cough Center of the brain, with the great advantage of being non-narcotic. Thus, the pharmaceutical industry has come up with cough medicines like, with the kind indulgence of my editor and our dear readers, in the drugstores are Robitussin AC- obviously the C is for codeine- and Robitussin DM-DM for dextromethorphan. To answer a burning question among patients, their effects on the Cough Center are comparable, with the advantage of the DM to be dispensed , in most cases with just the PRC and PTR of the physician and in some cases, even as OTC-over the counter medicine.
Lately, another cough remedy was introduced into the market and has gained popular acceptance with both physician and patients. Levodropropizine (Levopront) is a new compound with an essentially peripheral – NOT central as in the case of codeine and dextromethorphan- action-on the tracheobronchial tree with for the symptomatic relief of cough.
The data and items above the more common cough suppressants are for the purpose of FYI-for your information only. Cough is not per se, a disease, but a symptom of many diseases. Three patients may consult a doctor, all of them coughing; one may be due to allergy, another has pneumonia and the last one might be in congestive heart failure.
Take home message, with our caveat, please do not self-medicate. Your family physician has the right cough medicine for you.
TOS is the Spanish word for cough so an anti-tussive agent or medicine is literally anti-cough.
However, from a clinical standpoint, health professionals, as a rule, under general circumstances, do not want to suppress or prevent coughing.
Coughing is a natural reflex to irritation of the entire tracheobronchial tree, with the aid of sneeze reflex which is activated at the level of the nose to the oropharynx-an opening common to respiratory and digestive system- to trachea/windpipe, major primary right and left bronchus which undergo 23 branchings up to the alveoli-those grape-like structures where active exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Again, at this juncture, it must be emphasized that, IF a person is congested with phlegm in the lungs, and he/she can cough out those viscid tenacious phlegm, suppression of such productive cough is unwise.
Coughing is a familiar but complicated reflex governed by a Cough Center in the medulla oblongata of the brain. Along with other mechanisms, coughing helps protect the lungs from particles like dusts, toxic aerosolized items that have been inhaled or aspirated. In cases where there is an infectious agent or microbe that gained access, sputum is produced which is a mixture of mucus, debris, inflammatory cells that must be expelled, through an effective cough.
Coughs vary considerably; it could be distressing if coughing episodes are accompanied by chest pains, shortness of breath and dyspnea-difficulty of breathing. Among senior citizens, continuous coughing leads to embarrassing uncontrolled leakage of urine. Let’s not forget mothers who get very nervous and anxious with the paroxysmal coughing of their beloved kids with pertussis or whooping cough.
An unproductive cough or dry cough- common among COPD patients with a long history of cigarette /tobacco smoking- can be irritating especially at night, with the obvious deprivation of a restful slumber. A dry cough lasting for days on end can lead to laryngitis with sore throat and even loss of voice, which pun intended, some wish their mother-in-law has.
Cough suppressants can provide relief and remedy under the above circumstances. To date, Codeine is the strongest anti-tussive by suppressing the Cough Center in the medulla oblongata of the brain.
It is also a pain-reliever(analgesic) but because of its narcotic nature it is potentially addictive which explains why - its prescription requires not only the PRC-Professional Regulatory Commission- and PTR-Professional Tax Receipt- number of the physician but also the S2 or Narcotic License Number, which not many doctors have. On the positive side, codeine can be helpful at bedtime because it induces drowsiness through its slight sedative effects.
Codeine causes nausea, vomiting and constipation in some people. Allergy to codeine is uncommon except in people with history of hypersensitivity or allergy to food ( those that fly and crawl) and to medicines like aspirin and penicillins. Adverse effects increase with concomitant intake of alcohol, anti-depression and sleep pills.
Dextromethorphan is the dextro-isomer of codeine, which by nature of its almost similar and related chemical structure also has a strong suppressant effect on the Cough Center of the brain, with the great advantage of being non-narcotic. Thus, the pharmaceutical industry has come up with cough medicines like, with the kind indulgence of my editor and our dear readers, in the drugstores are Robitussin AC- obviously the C is for codeine- and Robitussin DM-DM for dextromethorphan. To answer a burning question among patients, their effects on the Cough Center are comparable, with the advantage of the DM to be dispensed , in most cases with just the PRC and PTR of the physician and in some cases, even as OTC-over the counter medicine.
Lately, another cough remedy was introduced into the market and has gained popular acceptance with both physician and patients. Levodropropizine (Levopront) is a new compound with an essentially peripheral – NOT central as in the case of codeine and dextromethorphan- action-on the tracheobronchial tree with for the symptomatic relief of cough.
The data and items above the more common cough suppressants are for the purpose of FYI-for your information only. Cough is not per se, a disease, but a symptom of many diseases. Three patients may consult a doctor, all of them coughing; one may be due to allergy, another has pneumonia and the last one might be in congestive heart failure.
Take home message, with our caveat, please do not self-medicate. Your family physician has the right cough medicine for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment