Cough suppresant vs expectorant

[evedawn]

Here i am awake but exhausted! night time cough that has me knackered! A week now. I've tried covonia chesty cough(expectorant)I've tried pholcodeine linctus (suppresant) both SEPERATELY but my q is can I take an expectorant and a suppresant TOGETHER?

[mike11111]

I don't know, so don't take my advice as gospel. However I would have thought that one would cancel out the other, as an expectorant is designed to expel phlegm from the chest, for which you need to be able to cough.

[evedawn]

Ta for answer. Yes what u say makes sense mike . Its just I'm getting desperate for sleep and am clutching at straws here. Ta for ur opinion

[mike11111]

I know the feeling. How about a suppressant at night and an expectorant during the day? Warning, I have no medical qualifications.

[evedawn]

Yeah it's worth a try. Thanks mike

[Buenchico]

According to a study in the British Medical Journal, 'over the counter' cough medicines are simply a waste of money anyway:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1807252.stm

Chris

[Sqad]

It sounds odd, I know, but cough medicines containing an expectorant and a suppressant have been used for decades by the medical profession.........do they work?

Buenchico..yes a good report, but Drs often prescribe "over the counter cough medicines, but in Medicine (particularly in the UK) one has to treat the patient and not necessarily the symptom............and the patient wants a "cough bottle" otherwise they feel that they are being neglected.

[evedawn]

Squad yes I seem to recall many years ago a chemist giving me a combination of the two but nowhere now can I find anything that combines both. Cough is worse at nigt (even sleeping sitting up) and I'll try any magic potion to sleep

[horseshoes]

I've been exactly the same for about a week now - it's the lack of sleep that really gets me down, although the area aroumd my ribs is really hurting. I'm exhausted. I never feel as though it's worth troubling the GP with so I try different remedies. I find that Covonia cough lozenges help during the day, although I dread to think what they're doing to my teeth, but as you say it's the night time that's worst. I think we just have to ride it out. PS I've been up since 5.30 today so I really do sympathise, but I think that it is ONLY a cough.

[rowanwitch]

night nurse....getting a few hours sleep with this not brilliant but 3-4 hours uninterupted is better than nothing

[Whoever]

I've had one of these persistent coughs before and they can make you feel wretchedly exhausted. One of the things I found helped was breathing over a steam bowl with a few drops of oil of Olbas dropped in, plus a drink of hot lemon & honey before bedtime.

I've never figured out why you don't cough while you're asleep, yet you do cough incessantly while you're awake. Finding a way to knock yourself into the unconsciousness of sleep is obviously the answer, and I suspect this probably involves getting the body into a deep state of relaxation first. Whenever I've got a bad cough I try getting myself really relaxed in bed to try and get myself into sleep unconsciousness as quickly as I can - often that's the only way the coughing gets suspended.