Drug News
Cough medicines don't work for adults either
By Sue Mueller
Jan 27, 2008 - 1:41:19 PM

SUNDAY JAN 27 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- The FDA has officially warned patients not to give over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to children under age 2 saying that the remedies are not only ineffective, but impose serious adverse effects including death as well.

Now scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Medical School have reviewed published studies and have also found that these cough medicines that make hundreds of millions each year for the drug industry do not work in adults either.

In the review, Fahey and colleagues looked at data from both children and adult-fcused studies.  They found some studies reported OTC cough medicines helped patients while others said otherwise.

The studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry tend to show positive results  in terms of efficacy and safety of these cough medicine compared to those studies that claim no conflict of interest.  

The researchers found six out of the nine studies supported by the industry showed positive results  compared to three out of the 16 trials that did not report any conflict of interest.  Studies sponsored by the industry are likely to say the OTC cough medicines are safe and lead to only minor adverse effects if any.

The review of 25 studies involing 2,876 adults and 616 children appears in the latest issue of the Cochrance Library, an international organization that evaluates medical research.

Some studies found the OTC cough medicines beneficial while others found that these medicines were no better than placebo.

The bottm-line, as the researchers suggest, is that most infections do not need any treatment.  The humans have their natural built-in defense-mechanism against these infections that cause cough or colds.

Source:

Smith SM, Schroeder K, Fahey T. Over-the-counter medications for acute cough in children and adults in ambulatory settings (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1.