Children's cough medicine liquid instructions for use

Description of the drug

The most popular remedy is dry medicine, which is a combination drug.
Its use stimulates coughing. The product also has anti-inflammatory and secretomotor characteristics. The product significantly improves the removal of sputum. Doctors prescribe the drug for pathologies of the respiratory system. Dry mixture can be used even for infants, but only over six months. The high effectiveness of the product is due to its composition.

The list of ingredients includes the following:

1. Glycyrrhizin from licorice rhizome. Thanks to this component, the glands of the ciliated epithelium are stimulated. This facilitates the natural removal of mucus.
2. Liquiritoside. This product has antispasmodic properties.
3. Marshmallow root. The drug has an expectorant and bronchosecretory effect. Thanks to this product, it is possible to achieve an enveloping anti-inflammatory effect.
4. Ammonium chloride. The substance has a mucolytic effect.
5. Anise oil. This component has bactericidal and antimicrobial properties. The oil is also an excellent antispasmodic.

The substance is produced in the form of a dry powder, which is diluted with water. There are several forms of the medicine - in glass containers or paper bags. It is recommended to choose the most convenient option.

Instructions for children's use of dry medicine

To effectively use dry cough syrup in bags for children, you should read the instructions contained in its instructions. Particular care should be taken when preparing the medicine.

Composition of sachets

Children's dry medicine is packaged in bags; it is a heterogeneous powdery mixture of gray-brown color, which has a peculiar smell. When ready, the liquid turns brown. The dry mixture is made from:

• marshmallow root extract;
• licorice root extract;
• sodium benzoate;
• ammonium chloride;
• sodium bicarbonate.

Additional ingredients are represented by anise seed oil and sucrose (0.7538 g per package), which the instructions for the dry children's cough medicine warn about in case the patient has diabetes.

In what cases is it indicated?

Children's dry cough medicine in bags is a medication that belongs to the pharmacotherapeutic group of expectorants of plant origin. It has anti-inflammatory and expectorant effects, so it is appropriate in the treatment of respiratory tract pathologies and cough with thick sputum:

• bronchopneumonia;
• bronchitis;
• tracheitis.

The instructions for use do not recommend the use of children's cough medicine if the patient has congenital fructose intolerance, sucrase/isomaltase deficiency and glucose-galactose malabsorption.

From what age can it be used?

The abstract does not indicate at what age dry cough syrup is prescribed to children, but the section on doses indicates options for patients under 1 year of age. Therefore, it can be given to children from the first weeks of life according to the instructions.

How to use?

To prepare an expectorant cough mixture, you need to stir 1 sachet of the mixture in a tablespoon of warm boiled water. Next, measure out the recommended amount of liquid children's cough medicine and give it to the patient 3-4 times a day after meals. Age dosage:

• 15-25 drops of cough syrup - for children up to one year;
• 40 drops of cough syrup - for children 1-2 years old;
• 50 drops (1/2 teaspoon) – at 3-4 years;
• 75 drops (3/4 teaspoon) - 5-6 year old children;
• 1 tsp/l – 7-8 year old children;
• 2 tsp/l – at 9-12 years old;
• 1 tablespoon – from 12 years.

It is advisable to dilute children's cough syrup immediately before taking it or in the morning - for the whole day, if for children. The recommended course of therapy is 14-21 days.

Features of use

The powder must be developed with boiled water. Once prepared, it can be stored for a maximum of 2 days in the refrigerator. This must be done in packaging. After dissolution, the product acquires a brown tint and a pleasant anise smell. The composition is recommended to be used for 2-3 weeks.

The sachets contain a single volume of the product, which is suitable for patients over 12 years of age. Babies need to be given less medicine. The solution must be prepared in one way: mix a tablespoon of water with the contents of the bag. Then the required volume of medicine is measured and given to the baby. The drug should be taken after meals. Usually 3-4 applications are prescribed during the day.

The instructions contain the following information regarding the dosage of the medicine:

• children 1-6 years old should drink 1 small spoon of the product 3-4 times a day;
• children 6-16 years old consume 1 dessert spoon several times a day;
• after 16 years, the use of 1 large spoon 4 times is indicated.

The composition should be shaken slightly before use. This helps prevent sediment from forming. Before use, the drug should be slightly warmed to room temperature.

How to take cough medicine?

A ready-made liquid mixture based on marshmallow and licorice is taken orally between meals or half an hour before meals. The attached instructions recommend taking Alteika only after 6 months of age. The dosage of the medicine depends on the age of the child:

• up to one year - half a teaspoon twice a day;
• up to 2.5 years - three or four times a day, half a teaspoon;
• up to 7 years - the dose increases and is 1 teaspoon, it should be taken more often, from 4 to 6 times a day;
• up to 14 years - 2 teaspoons up to 6 times a day;
• adults - a tablespoon at least 6 times a day.

Many reviews from parents say that frequent use of the mixture provides a significant improvement in the condition, thinning of sputum and good coughing. The daily dose of Alteika in young children can be divided into a larger number of doses (replace half a teaspoon twice a day with a quarter teaspoon four times a day).

And one more important feature: cough medicine must be given no later than 2 hours before bedtime. To avoid stimulating active sputum production at night.

Coughing in infants is always difficult due to the small lumen of their bronchi. Therefore, the daily dose for babies under one year old should not exceed 1 teaspoon per day.

Other medicines

Currently, there are a variety of cough mixtures. The list of the most effective means includes the following:

1. Gedelix. This remedy is based on the use of ivy extract. It produces a healing effect and copes with germs. Due to this, it is possible to make the sputum less viscous. The product does not include sugar and alcohol, and therefore can be used for young children.
2. Gerbion. This liquid mixture has a gentle effect on the mucous membranes, providing envelopment and reducing inflammation. This drug contains exclusively natural substances.
3. Linkas. This multi-component drug makes the cough less severe. This product has a mucolytic effect. It promotes expectoration. Thanks to the use of the substance, it is possible to significantly reduce inflammation.
4. Doctor Mom. The product includes plant substances - ginger, aloe, menthol and many other ingredients. Thanks to this, the drug has a clear expectorant effect and copes with microbes. With its help, you can eliminate inflammation and achieve a softening effect.
5. Bronchicum. Due to the presence of thyme oil in the composition, the product has pronounced bactericidal and expectorant properties. Therefore, it can be used for any type of cough.
6. Sinekod. The drug is especially effective for painful coughs, as it has a central effect. The product also has a bronchodilator effect and successfully relieves inflammation.
7. Dr. Theiss. This substance based on plantain extract has expectorant properties and copes well with inflammatory processes.
8. Bronchilitin. This remedy produces an antitussive effect and promotes the dilation of the bronchi. Thanks to its use, it is possible to cope with swelling and bronchospasm. The substance also helps eliminate inflammation, cope with pain, and achieve a calming effect. The drug also has pronounced antispasmodic properties.
9. Lazolvan. This drug makes sputum less viscous, which greatly facilitates the process of its removal.

What medicines are there?

The mixture usually contains at least 3 ingredients. To obtain it, the active ingredients are dissolved in glycerin, vegetable oils, mucus, decoction of medicinal herbs and other liquids. The following types of mixtures are distinguished:

• transparent;
• cloudy - formed as a result of a combination of aqueous solutions with essential oils in alcohol or resinous substances;
• with sediment - when mixing aqueous solutions with powdery or difficultly soluble ingredients.

Liquid preparations with sediment usually need to be shaken before use.

There are medicines in the form of a dry extract of active ingredients; to obtain the medicine, they should be diluted with boiled water. “Dry cough medicine for children”, produced by pharmaceutical enterprises in Russia, belongs to this type.

Review Reviews

Dry cough syrup for children has almost unanimously received positive reviews from parents. They call it a good, effective, but inexpensive medicine. Many consumers even find it difficult to name the disadvantages of this expectorant, believing that it has no equal in the treatment of cough with viscous sputum.

In the reviews of particularly insightful mothers, several shortcomings are still indicated:

• lack of measuring spoon;
• short shelf life of the mixture after preparation;
• the herbal composition can cause allergies in the child;
• Many people don’t like the specific smell, although the taste of the mixture is not unpleasant.

According to reviews, the dry cough mixture for children in question can be considered one of the best drugs for the cough reflex, as it is recommended by more than 95% of respondents.

List of the best expectorant syrups

Parents who consider preparing a mixture to be an unnecessary hassle prefer to use ready-made cough syrups for children with difficult-to-clear phlegm. This dosage form meets many of the requirements of consumers who voiced the disadvantages of the medicine. It is stored for a long time, the package usually contains a measuring spoon, and has a pleasant, most often fruity, smell. The list of the best syrups (they can be called thick mixtures) includes the following remedies popular among patients:

• ACC syrup with acetylcysteine ​​as a base;
• Ambrobene with ambroxol hydrochloride;
• Lazolvan, Ambrohexal, Flavamed, Halixol - similar to Ambrobene;
• Gedelix, Pectolvan, Prospan - herbal medicines with ivy leaves;
• Fluditec, Libexin Muco – with carbocisteine;
• Bromhexine - with the active ingredient of the same name in the base;
• Bronchicum C, Pertussin, Pertussin Ch – with common thyme extract;
• Stoptussin Phyto – on a multicomponent basis;
• syrups Doctor Theiss with plantain;
• Doctor MOM, Linkas – syrups based on 10 herbal ingredients;
• Herbion primrose syrup is a multi-component medicine and others.

The listed medications are used in the treatment of cough not only in children, but also in adults.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine, which offers recipes “from grandma,” remains a big controversial issue in the treatment of cough. Many of them contain products that, in theory, on the contrary, contribute to the thickening of bronchial secretions, for example, milk and eggs. But some mothers claim that the products are good for coughs.

Egg

The mixture, which, judging by reviews, helps children with barking cough (barking cough is a sign of laryngitis, or inflammation of the larynx, or a dangerous disease called croup), is made on the basis of milk and egg yolk.

1. To prepare the egg mixture, you need to boil 200 ml of milk.
2. Place a tablespoon of butter into hot milk.
3. Pour 1 beaten yolk into milk that has cooled to 70 degrees.
4. Add a tablespoon of honey to the mixture that has cooled to 40 degrees.
5. Add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and drink.

Small children will not be able to drink a whole glass of the mixture at a time, so you can divide the drug into 2-3 doses. You should not feed your child this fatty and overly sweet mixture for a long time. Better yet, consult your doctor before using it.

Onion

It is much easier to prepare an onion mixture - to do this, you need to finely chop a medium onion head and add a tablespoon of sugar to it. Cover the bowl with onions and sugar and place in a dark place for 40 minutes. After this time, pour the resulting sweet juice into a teaspoon and drink. Instead of sugar, you can add a tablespoon of honey to the chopped onion if the child is not allergic to this product.

The most effective drugs in liquid form

Which children's cough medicines can be included in the list of the most effective? The first place in this rating goes to the breast elixir based on licorice root extract and anise seed oil: according to reviews, it is recommended by 100% of respondents. This mixture for wet, sticky cough for children does not require preparation, as it is sold as a ready-made medicine.

The dry mixture discussed above can be given second place; 97% of respondents recommend it for treatment.

89% of respondents responded positively to the Bronchicum TP elixir, so this mixture for a wet cough with thick sputum is given third place on the list.