# Guafenaisen (sp?) Any good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575 "2008-04-23T18:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![greatshakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@greatshakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatshakes)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/1 "2008-04-23T18:27:01Z")
What is the medical verdict on Guafenaisen? Is it effective? Years ago, I heard a doctor say that water was just as effective. Was he correct? Thank You, greatshakes ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/2 "2008-04-23T18:45:13Z")
For coughs, or for [fibromyalgia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaifenesin_protocol)? IANAD, but my impression is that it’s pretty useful for the former but has no proven effect for the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/3 "2008-04-23T19:00:23Z")
Guaifenesin has been very effective for me. Here is information from the [National Institutes of Health](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682494.html). ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/4 "2008-04-23T19:02:14Z")
Like the previous poster, IANAD, or even a medical professional. I don’t have a factual answer for you, per se. But my personal experience is that guifanesen is an effective suppressant for “productive” coughs, i.e. “chest congestion” coughs. For “dry” or “non-productive” coughs, the only thing that works for me effectively is a prescription cough suppressant with codeine. Fortunately, I have a primary care physician who knows me and is comfortable prescribing such things when I really need them. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/5 "2008-04-23T19:08:42Z")
I’m sorry, but it is NOT a suppressant. Please see the NIH site. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/6 "2008-04-23T19:59:26Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I’m sorry, but it is NOT a suppressant. Please see the NIH site. [/QUOTE] No need to be sorry. I didn’t look at the NIH site before I posted. I guess my point was, when my cough is productive, guifanesin helps get the congestion _out_ thereby reducing my need to cough, whereas when it’s a “dry” cough, guifanesan does nothing because there’s basically no congestion to get out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/7 "2008-04-23T21:30:55Z")
Actually, evidence for the effectiveness of guaifenesin is iffy at best. According to [this recent study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17594730?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum): _“Although expectorants, such as guaifenesin (eg, Robatussin or Mucinex), are sold over the counter, there is no evidence that they are effective for the therapy of any form of lung disease, and when administered in combination with a cough suppressant such as dextromethorphan (the “DM” in some medication names) there is a potential risk of increased airway obstruction.”_ When it comes to over the counter use of guaifenesin for acute cough, a [Cochrane Review](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18253996?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum) published this year found that there is no good evidence for or against using it (for example, in adults there was one quality study finding it was better than placebo, but another such study did _not_ find it superior to placebo). Mucinex is pretty pricey stuff, and I’d want better evidence of its effectiveness before using it on a regular basis. The fact that it seems to work for some people is not a reliable indicator (anecdotes cut both ways; in my family’s case it’s thumbs down based on anecdotal evidence). ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/8 "2008-04-23T21:46:59Z")
This stuff is very bad for some of us. I was prescribed some for chronic bronchitis a few years ago and was much sicker until I stopped taking it. The experience was very nasty. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guafenaisen-sp-any-good/446575/9 "2008-04-23T22:01:19Z")
I swear by the stuff. When I have bad sinus congestion, I take some with pseudophedrine. Works much better than pseudophedrine alone. As others have mentioned, it helps me have more productive coughs.