What to do if you overdose on cough syrup

Cough syrup is not unfamiliar to many people, and with the continuous decline in the physical fitness of the people, the physical fitness of many people is also declining. Colds are the most common disease. In this case, we must not only come up with reasonable methods to solve the problem, but also choose suitable medicines to make our disease get better as soon as possible. So what should we do if we take an overdose of cough syrup? Let’s find out together.

At present, most of the children's cough syrups produced in my country contain ephedrine hydrochloride, tangerine peel fluid extract, ammonium chloride, phenobarbital and other drug ingredients. If children take too much ephedrine hydrochloride, they will experience poisoning reactions such as dizziness, vomiting, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, irritability and even shock. Therefore, children should not take too much cough syrup and should take it according to the dosage specified in the instructions of different medicines.

The more you drink cough syrup, the faster you will get better. You should take it according to the instructions or as directed by your doctor. "Gan Zhongfang reminded that some patients mistakenly believe that drinking more cough syrup will help them get better faster. In fact, all medicines are poisonous, and taking too much cough syrup will bring side effects. She gave an example, when taking cough syrup containing codeine, you must be especially careful and stop taking the medicine after the symptoms disappear. Because codeine is a substance extracted from opium poppies, if patients take it for a long time, they will become dependent on the drug.

Even cough syrup should not be consumed in excess, as it can cause poisoning. Children's cough syrup is a common household medicine. Its main ingredients are ammonium chloride, ephedrine hydrochloride, phenobarbital and platycodon fluid extract. If young children take too much, there will be many adverse reactions. Overdose of ammonium chloride can produce adverse reactions such as acidosis; the adverse reactions of phenobarbital are drowsiness, dizziness, weakness, nausea, and vomiting; the adverse reactions of ephedrine hydrochloride are dizziness, increased blood pressure, accelerated heartbeat, and brain excitement such as irritability and insomnia. Therefore, children should not take too much cough syrup and should take it according to the prescribed dosage as ordered by the doctor.

1. Choose the right medicine for your condition

There are many reasons for coughing. When using cough and expectorant syrup, you should first find out the cause of coughing and sputum, distinguish the nature of the cough, and then take it in a targeted manner.

Generally, for frequent dry coughs, or irritating coughs with little sputum, you can choose a syrup that mainly suppresses coughs; for coughs with a lot of sputum, you should choose a syrup that mainly removes phlegm.

2. Master the dosage

The main ingredients in cough syrup are drugs such as ephedrine hydrochloride ammonium chloride, phenobarbital and platycodon fluid extract. If taken too much, adverse reactions of ephedrine hydrochloride may occur, such as dizziness, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and brain excitement, such as irritability and insomnia; adverse reactions of phenobarbital include dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. Therefore, you should not take too much cough syrup and should follow the doctor's advice.

3. Beware of Addiction

Codeine compound syrup is often used to treat dry cough. Many patients have difficulty falling asleep at night because of coughing. Codeine compound syrup can suppress cough from the brain center and effectively relieve symptoms. But this medicine cannot be taken for a long time, otherwise it is easy to become addicted. The elderly, children, pregnant women and breastfeeding women should use codeine compound syrup with caution.

The elderly often have difficulty coughing up phlegm. Although no phlegm comes out when they cough, it is not necessarily a dry cough. If you have sticky phlegm, taking codeine will make it more difficult to cough up the phlegm, which will aggravate the condition. Pregnant women or breastfeeding women taking codeine compound syrup may cause adverse effects such as respiratory depression in the fetus or newborn.

For us, a proper amount of cough syrup is very important. If you drink too much or too little, the cough syrup will not play a certain role. When you encounter the situation of excessive cough syrup, you can drink more water to neutralize it, so that the medicine in the body can diffuse, and then it will have a positive effect on our body.