The best cough syrups for kids
When a child has a strong cough that interferes with it, both during the day and at night, each mother wants to cure him as soon as possible. One of the most commonly used drugs for coughing in children are syrups. Most babies drink them with pleasure, without giving up the medication. But to help the syrup and cough in the past, it is important to choose the right drug.
Special features
- Drugs in the form of syrups are convenient to dose. As a rule, they are sold together with a measuring spoon, and sometimes a measuring cup is attached to the medicine.
- They are ready-made mixtures that do not need to be prepared in any way, but can be immediately given to the child.
- One of the main advantages of such preparations is their pleasant sweet taste.
- Such drugs are represented by a large assortment and different price categories.
- To keep the consistency of the drug stable, special chemicals are added to the syrup.
- There are syrups without added sugar, but they may contain sweeteners.
Operating principle
Depending on the effect that the syrup components have on the children's body, the following drugs are released:
- Antitussive. Their action is to suppress the cough reflex by influencing the brain.
- Expectorants. Such means stimulate the production of mucus in the respiratory tract and improve its coughing.
- Mucolytic. Such drugs reduce the viscosity of sputum.
- Antihistamines. They reduce the manifestations of allergies, therefore, are prescribed for allergic forms of cough.
Indications for use
Syrups are prescribed for coughing, which is a symptom of:
- SARS or inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system (tracheitis, laryngitis, bronchitis and others).
- Bronchial asthma and allergic reactions, manifested by coughing.
Kinds
Syrup that helps cure cough faster, depending on its composition, is represented by the following options:
- Vegetable syrup. The basis of this drug contains vegetable raw materials, which have properties to act on cough, for example, marshmallow, ivy, thyme, licorice or plantain.
- Synthetic syrup. This medicine contains chemical compounds that effectively affect the cough.
- Combined. In this type of medicine, herbal ingredients are supplemented with synthetic ones.
In the program "Galileo" you can find out how the herbs included in the syrup, help with coughing and how to determine the natural composition of the syrup or artificial.
Drug review
With dry cough
If the cough is very torturing the child, the doctor may prescribe antitussive drugs, and if he has an allergic nature, syrups of antihistamine medications are prescribed. Among the antitussive drugs for dry cough, the most popular are:
Title | Features of the drug and its use |
Synecode | Antitussive syrup acting on the cough center. The basis of this drug is butamirate. Appointed from 3 years of age. |
Homeopathic syrup with several active ingredients. It is recommended for the treatment of children older than 2 years, since it includes ethanol. | |
Syrup with bronchodilator, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory action. Discharged to children older than 2 years. | |
Pakseladin | Syrup with antitussive effect, depressing cough center. The active ingredient of the drug is okseladin. Appointed to children weighing more than 15 kg. It is not recommended to take longer than 3 days in a row. |
Antitussive syrup containing butamirate. Affects the cough center in the brain. Appointed from 3 years of age. | |
Erius | Antihistamine syrup, which is prescribed for allergic cough. The active ingredient is desloratadine. Approved for use in children older than a year. |
Codelac | Multicomponent antitussive drug containing codeine, thermopsis, licorice and sodium bicarbonate. Discharged to children older than 2 years. |
Wet cough
The main objective of the use of drugs with a wet cough is to improve coughing and a decrease in sputum viscosity.
The most commonly prescribed drugs are:
Title | Features of the drug and its use |
Prospan | Herbal remedy based on ivy leaf extracts. Can be used from birth. Appointed by the course of 7 days. |
Linkus | Herbal expectorant multicomponent drug that has a mucolytic and anti-inflammatory effect. Discharged to infants older than 6 months. Appointed for 5-7 days. |
Herbal expectorant syrup, which is based on ivy extract. Assigned from birth. Does not contain alcohol and sugar. | |
Dr. Theiss | The main active ingredient of such an expectorant syrup is plantain extract. Applies from 1 year. |
Marshmallow syrup | Vegetable based expectorant Althea root extract. Can be used from birth. |
Bronhikum With | The basis of this herbal expectorant is thyme oil. Appointed from 2 years. |
Under this name, several variants of expectorant syrups are sold based on various plant components - ivy (allowed from birth), primrose (given from 2 years of age) and plantain (also assigned from 2 years). | |
Evkabal | Vegetable expectorant, based on plantain and thyme. Can be used from birth. |
Licorice Syrup | Herbal remedy that is used from birth. Children under 2 years are dosed in drops. Appointed for 7-10 days. |
Tussamag | Herbal expectorant syrup, the main component of which is thyme extract. Appointed from 1 year. |
Expectorant and mucolytic drugs based on Ambroxol. Appointed from birth to age-appropriate dose. | |
Combined expectorant with several active ingredients. Discharged to children older than a year. | |
A multicomponent drug that has expectorant, bronchodilator and mucolytic action. May be taken from birth. | |
Combined expectorant syrup containing extract of thyme and potassium bromide. Appointed from 3 years, since it includes ethanol. | |
Multi-plant based syrup (thyme and ivy). Allowed for use from 3 months of age. | |
Travisil | Vegetable multi component remedy for expectorant action. Appointed from 1 year. |
Multicomponent herbal expectorant syrup with muco-and bronchodilator effect. Appointed from 3 years of age. | |
A drug of the group of mucolytics containing carbocysteine. Syrup, in 1 ml of which contains 20 mg of active substance, is prescribed from 2 years of age. |
The best drugs by age
When choosing a medicine for a coughing child, the age of the patient is necessarily taken into account.
Up to a year
For babies of the first year of life, predominantly vegetable syrups are prescribed, for example, on the basis of ivy. From birth, you can give crumbs Gedelix, Licorice Syrup, Herbion ivy and Prospan, as well as syrups with Ambroxol.Three month old baby is discharged Bronchipret, and from 6 months of age allowed the use of syrup Linkus.
1-2 years
Vegetable syrups are also very popular at this age, for example Herbion, Ascoril, Travisil, Doctor Theiss, Altea and Tussamag. If necessary, children 12-24 months are given medicines with ambroxol.
From 3 years old
Babies older than three years are allowed to use much more drugs than children of the first years of life. From this age you can give a syrup Dr. Mom or Pertussin.
Instructions for use
Most cough syrups are taken three times a day after meals. A bottle of syrup is advised to shake a little, and then pour the drug in a teaspoon or scoop or in a measuring cup. You can drink the medicine with tea or warm water.
Features of use for children up to a year
If the cough appeared in the children of the first year of life, it is impossible to give any syrups without consulting a pediatrician. The doctor must find out the cause of this symptom and select the appropriate drug, taking into account the characteristics of cough, weight and age of the crumbs.
Herbal remedies are able to give an allergic reaction, so after the first servings of syrup, you should carefully observe the crumbs, and if symptoms of allergy appear, immediately cancel the medication and contact a specialist to replace the treatment.
Tips
- Quickly make a wet dry cough and relieve the child's condition will help abundant warm drink, such as tea, fruit juice or milk.
- Moisten the air in the room where the sick baby is, and also regularly ventilate the room and do wet cleaning.
- In the absence of fever, walk with your child, do a crumb inhalation and drainage massage.
For more on this, see the transfer of Dr. Komarovsky.
