# Are there any effective cough suppressants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113 "2017-10-29T02:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/41 "2017-10-31T01:26:48Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Looks like it might make you dead too.[Here’s one article](http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/imodium-opoids-sunnybrook-hospital-epidemic-health-1.4108445). Google for other articles. Yes, as noted in post # 13. Lovely cardiac complications. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/42 "2017-10-31T02:09:44Z")
Is the cough-suppressant ability of opiods due to the same factor that makes people stop breathing if they od on them? Sorry if this is a dumb question or if its already been addressed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/43 "2017-10-31T02:13:47Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Is the cough-suppressant ability of opiods due to the same factor that makes people stop breathing if they od on them? Sorry if this is a dumb question or if its already been addressed. Yes, they’re closely related. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/44 "2017-10-31T02:18:49Z")
I have asthma and can almost guarantee that colds will turn into bronchitis for me. When the cough gets bad, I request the corticosteroid inhaler as it is the only thing that will calm my lungs enough to let me function. I did codeine syrups as a child but eventually the headaches weren’t worth it. I seriously worry about what I will do if the inhaler stops working for me. Just keep coughing until I black out? Been there more than once already. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/45 "2017-10-31T07:16:46Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > A cough is generally there for a reason, to keep the lungs clear. So I am loathe to suppress it, unless the cough is so severe as to cause significant misery. . Question for you: if a patient is at extremely high risk of retinal detachment, and is coughing their lungs up, would you recommend steps to suppress the cough? A few years ago, I got a horrible cold and couldn’t stop hacking. Maybe the timing is a coincidence, but I experienced vitreous detachment, which scared me because I thought the flashing lights were the beginnings of retinal detachment. Anyway, that got me to thinking - could a really bad coughing fit cause a retinal detachment in someone prone to it? (If so, I’ll try to never cough again :eek:) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/46 "2017-10-31T11:41:54Z")
General cough medicines never worked on me until I tried the dex-only varieties. The others often contain expectorants in addition to suppressants which work against each other. Now it’s possible that the dex worked due to the placebo effect and the others didn’t (or they both had a placebo effect but the expectorant countered that) but I’d say that’s a stretch. I don’t often take a suppressant: only when I can’t sleep due to the cough. But when I do, I don’t want to cough, I don’t care how loose my mucus is, I just don’t want to cough at all! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/47 "2017-10-31T12:10:22Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Menthol drops work okay, but wear off really quickly, and they’re not ideal for when you’re trying to sleep. (Not that it stopped me from going to sleep with one lodged in my cheek). I lost a relative that way. The drop went down his throat in the night and he choked to death. His wife thought he was having a heart attack. I wouldn’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113/48 "2017-10-31T13:14:40Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I lost a relative that way. The drop went down his throat in the night and he choked to death. His wife thought he was having a heart attack. > > I wouldn’t recommend it. Neither would I, but sometimes I am that desperate to sleep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-effective-cough-suppressants/800113.md?page=2)