When to use an expectorant?

[Anjou]

Hi again - this is adjunct to my other thread about bronchitis... was wondering who uses an expectorant when they have some bronchial congestion, and any particular ones? (I've never specifically tried to use an expectorant that wasn't just something built into a multi-symptom cold treatment.) Thanks.

(And any reason why you would/wouldn't use an expectorant - such as, in what situations would you use that, and in what situations if any would you use a cough suppressant instead?)

 

[Kathy in WV]

I see this is an old post but just in case you are still wanting an answer. Just buy the plain Guaifenesin at the drug store. Does a good job but make sure its plain and doesn't have the cough suppressant in it too. If you're gonna thin it out the whole point is to cough it up. With kids, I don't like to give it at night if they are really full of mucus because they can really get choked on all that moving mucus. With myself, if I'm really cruddy I will take it around the clock, but I am a light sleeper anyway. Hope this helps, Kat

 

[garnetgirl]

I have a very nasty cold with lots of mucus and a very productive cough. I took Mucinex DM last night (for the first time ever) and all I can say is Wow, that's the most effective stuff I've ever taken. It did keep me more awake than I would have liked, but not wired like cold medicines. I did get some nice rest. Today, I'm going to stay away from it to work it out of my system, but will take it again tonight so that I don't keep the rest of my family up. Guaifenesin is the main ingredient. I was really impressed with the product. The Mucinex DM is both an expectorant and a cough suppressant, which I needed. There is plain Mucinex as well.

garnetgirl

 

[FireDance]

ditto on the mucinex. In fact, if I'm getting sinus crud, I take the plain Mucinex and a lot of times it will whack it before it starts getting really nasty. I've avoided antibiotics (pretty sure I have anyway) several times by doing this.

You can get this over the counter, but my doc prescribed 2 tabs twice/day sometime last year which is how I "discovered" it. I have never used the DM (thankfully not been that icky). I now keep this in my supplies so that I can start taking at first sign. Good stuff, a wee bit pricey, but if you can avoid a round of antibiotics by using it, who cares!? The marketing people weren't really on the ball with this name though. They could have done better. Might as well have named it "Snot-B-Gone" - turned me off the first time I used it.