Free Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked by Aaron E. Carroll Page B
Authors: Aaron E. Carroll
none of these medicines will actually cure your cold. Colds and coughs are almost always caused by viruses, and none of the medicines on the drugstore shelf are designed to kill viruses. Instead, they are supposed to help with your symptoms, such as making your nose run less or relieving your congestion.
Antihistamines are one type of medicine commonly used to treat the symptoms of the common cold. When scientists looked at combined results from thirty-two studies of antihistamines involving almost 9,000 people, they do not find any improvement overall from using an antihistamine by itself for either children or adults. In the small subset of patients who did report some improvement after taking an antihistamine, 81 percent of the patients still had cold symptoms even with this improvement. For children, antihistamines did not perform any better than a placebo in any of the studies.
Many over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are combined medicines that include both an antihistamine and a decongestant. In studies involving children, these combined antihistamines and decongestants did not have any effect; they simply did not improve cold symptoms for children under five. For older children and adults, though, there was a small benefit. Similarly, decongestants alone seem to have some benefit for patients with colds. So, if you want to improve your nasal stuffiness or congestion, a combined antihistamine and decongestant or a decongestant alone might help you, but an antihistamine alone will not make a difference.
Some studies have shown that nasal sprays can relieve congestion for approximately one day, but there is no evidence that using them again and again will help you. In fact, many people develop a “rebound” runny nose or congestion when they use these nasal decongestants for more than one or two days.
When it comes to medicines that relieve your cough (antitussives), we again find that most do not work when you look at the science. A review of studies evaluating what helps or does not help with coughs in adults found that codeine did not help with coughs any more than a placebo or fake medicine did. Another common anti-coughing medicine called moguisteine did not work either. There was some evidence that a medicine called dextromethorphan (you see this in medicines labeled “DM”) did help with coughs; two of the studies showed that dextromethorphan worked better than a placebo, though one study did not show that dextromethorphan helped at all. That is not a ringing endorsement for dextromethorphan, but at least there is the possibility that it works. For children, none of these anti-coughing medicines seems to work at all, including codeine and dextromethorphan. Studies of other pediatric cough syrups did not show any benefits for children’s coughs or other symptoms.
Another kind of medicine for coughs is an expectorant. An expectorant helps to dissolve or thin your mucus, which may make it easier to cough up that nasty stuff in your lungs. For adults, one type of expectorant called guaifenesin seems to help those who take it four times a day to cough less hard and less often; however, there is no evidence that this type of medicine works for children.
You may have noticed that children do not seem to benefit from any of these medicines. Although over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are frequently used in children, the scientific data suggest that they do not actually work! In six randomized placebo-controlled studies testing the use of cough and cold medicines in children under the age of twelve, the scientists could not find any difference between taking a cough and cold medicine or taking a placebo medicine. No one knows exactly why these medicines do not work for kids, but the science is clear that they do not!
Even worse than not working, these medicines have a higher risk of negative side effects in children, especially in the youngest children. In safety data from the United States Food and
Antihistamines are one type of medicine commonly used to treat the symptoms of the common cold. When scientists looked at combined results from thirty-two studies of antihistamines involving almost 9,000 people, they do not find any improvement overall from using an antihistamine by itself for either children or adults. In the small subset of patients who did report some improvement after taking an antihistamine, 81 percent of the patients still had cold symptoms even with this improvement. For children, antihistamines did not perform any better than a placebo in any of the studies.
Many over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are combined medicines that include both an antihistamine and a decongestant. In studies involving children, these combined antihistamines and decongestants did not have any effect; they simply did not improve cold symptoms for children under five. For older children and adults, though, there was a small benefit. Similarly, decongestants alone seem to have some benefit for patients with colds. So, if you want to improve your nasal stuffiness or congestion, a combined antihistamine and decongestant or a decongestant alone might help you, but an antihistamine alone will not make a difference.
Some studies have shown that nasal sprays can relieve congestion for approximately one day, but there is no evidence that using them again and again will help you. In fact, many people develop a “rebound” runny nose or congestion when they use these nasal decongestants for more than one or two days.
When it comes to medicines that relieve your cough (antitussives), we again find that most do not work when you look at the science. A review of studies evaluating what helps or does not help with coughs in adults found that codeine did not help with coughs any more than a placebo or fake medicine did. Another common anti-coughing medicine called moguisteine did not work either. There was some evidence that a medicine called dextromethorphan (you see this in medicines labeled “DM”) did help with coughs; two of the studies showed that dextromethorphan worked better than a placebo, though one study did not show that dextromethorphan helped at all. That is not a ringing endorsement for dextromethorphan, but at least there is the possibility that it works. For children, none of these anti-coughing medicines seems to work at all, including codeine and dextromethorphan. Studies of other pediatric cough syrups did not show any benefits for children’s coughs or other symptoms.
Another kind of medicine for coughs is an expectorant. An expectorant helps to dissolve or thin your mucus, which may make it easier to cough up that nasty stuff in your lungs. For adults, one type of expectorant called guaifenesin seems to help those who take it four times a day to cough less hard and less often; however, there is no evidence that this type of medicine works for children.
You may have noticed that children do not seem to benefit from any of these medicines. Although over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are frequently used in children, the scientific data suggest that they do not actually work! In six randomized placebo-controlled studies testing the use of cough and cold medicines in children under the age of twelve, the scientists could not find any difference between taking a cough and cold medicine or taking a placebo medicine. No one knows exactly why these medicines do not work for kids, but the science is clear that they do not!
Even worse than not working, these medicines have a higher risk of negative side effects in children, especially in the youngest children. In safety data from the United States Food and
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