Consumers spend billions of dollars each year on over-the-counter cough medications that don't work.

Two active ingredients in many over-the-counter cough syrups work no better than a placebo syrup, a study has found. The ingredients, dextromethorphan--often abbreviated as DM--and diphenhydramine, an over-the-counter antihistamine, did not alleviate nighttime cough or improve sleep quality in children with upper respiratory tract infections any better than a non-medicated syrup.

The study, conducted from June 2002 to May 2003, involved 100 children with symptomatic upper respiratory infections aged 2 to 18. Each child received a medication that contained either DM (33 patients), diphenhydramine (33 patients) or placebo syrup (34 patients). Doctors and parents were unaware of which medication each child received. Parents were told to give their child the medication 30 minutes before bedtime.

After the study, all three groups, even the non-medicated syrup group, showed dramatic improvement in cough frequency, impact on sleep for child and parent, and severity of the cough.

Further, there was no significant improvement for the children who took the syrups with active ingredients, but the placebo group reported a 2.24-point improvement for cough frequency (the active ingredients group reported only a 1.97-point improvement). The study also looked at whether parents' sleep was affected. Parents' sleep did not improve when their child received an active ingredient--and neither did the child's.

Researchers pointed out that overall there was no significant difference between treatments. In terms of improvement:

• The diphenhydramine group improved an average of 11.79 points
• The dextromethorphan group improved 10.06 points
• The placebo group improved 10.85 points

Researchers concluded that since there was a significant improvement in symptoms among all three groups, the natural tendency for upper respiratory infections is to resolve over time. They question whether over-the-counter medications truly have a place in the treatment of these types of illnesses in children.

Pediatrics July 2004;114(1):e85-90

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This is certainly not a surprising study, and I would urge parents to reconsider giving their children these cough syrups. Not only do they not work any better than a placebo, but also dextromethorphan has been found to cause birth defects and has become an abused drug among adolescents. And diphenhydramin should never be used by children except in severe cases in which pain prevents sleep. It is important to recognize that most all infections like these are a result of an impairment in your immune system and not due to the virus or bacteria. That means following the nutrition plan, described in detail in my Total Health Program, getting proper rest and exercise, and having something like EFT to help you manage your stress, will be useful tools to avoid these infections. And, although this isn't flu season, you can read through the first link below to get some more insight into how to bolster your immune system and lessen your chances of becoming sick in the first place. Related Articles: Alternatives to the Flu Vaccine Resistance to Whooping Cough Vaccine Growing Doctors Often Misdiagnose Cause of Cough and Sore Throat Cough Suppressant Linked to Birth Defects