My child has a cough, so what's wrong with using cough syrup?

• In previous generations, parents might have reached for the cough syrup to relieve a dry or chesty cough.
• And amid mounting evidence of harms from poisoning and deaths, many countries including Australia have restricted cough medicines so they can’t be given to children aged under six.

What’s in cough medicine?

• They can contain cough suppressants (dampening the body’s cough reflex), expectorants and mucolytics (both of which help clear phlegm).
• Read more:
  Health Check: why do I have a cough and what can I do about it?
• The riskiest medications are those with a sedative action, such as sedating antihistamines or opioid-based cough suppressants.

How are cough syrups restricted?

• Young children under two years old are most at risk of a fatal overdose from cough syrups.
• But Australia’s drug regulator recommends against using cough syrups for anyone under six years of age.
• Cough syrups are still available for older children and adults.

When is it OK to use cough syrups?

• Cough syrups can be used for in children aged six to 11 years, however caution is still needed.
• Unfortunately, there is no convincing evidence these medications meaningfully improve cough symptoms.
• Simple syrups containing no medication can also be effective: up to 85% of the effectiveness of cough medicines has been put down to the “placebo effect”.

So what can I do for my kid?

• Paracetamol or ibuprofen can be used if they have fever, aches and pains along with their cough.
• If your child is older than 12 months and has a wet cough (producing phlegm in their throat), consider giving them honey.
• She is also the recipient of an untied educational grant from Reckitt to fund a PhD stipend into over-the-counter analgesic research.