I came down with a cold this Friday, and Sunday the cough got bad enough that I started taking my favorite medication, which is Nyquil Cough. Apparently Nyquil is basically high-fructose corn syrup and alcohol, which I was surprised about because it tastes pretty bad. I figured it was artificially sweetened. Nope. About 20g of pure sugar carb per dose, and I was taking one to two a day for the past couple of days. Ooops. Now I know to check medicine.
In other news, I’m looking for a drug in pill or gelcap form that just has cough suppressant in it without the anti-histamine. But I can’t seem to find just cough medicine anywhere. I’m guessing because the kids abuse it, so they mix it with something else that will mess up the high. Except that kids abuse Nyquil cough too. I hate that these days you can’t seem to just buy single function OTC drugs. It’s either got to have anti-histamines or acetaminophen in it, neither of which I want. I’m pretty convinced this is the reason. Could we introduce something that kids can get high off of that doesn’t involve having to suffer through colds with crappy medicines?
We go to CVS and get the “Tussin Cough Liquid Gels” – it’s just the cough suppressant: Dextromethorphan HBr – 15mg.
I was hoping you would say Jägermeister which started off as a cough remedy and according to Wiki…
Contains 56 herbs, fruits, roots and spices which are ground, then steeped in water and alcohol for 2–3 days. Afterwards, this mixture is filtered and stored in oak barrels for about a year. When a year has passed, the liqueur is filtered again, then mixed with sugar, caramel, alcohol and water. It is filtered one last time and then bottled.
So basically it is extra strength NyQuil with natural flavors.
Check out the various Mucinex concoctions.
I was just sick of slugging down that horrible shit (I drink about one bottle per cold…and generally have two colds per year, so the corn syrup wasn’t too big a calorie issue anyway)
And I just started reading all the labels in the cough aisle. Settled on this stuff.
They’re HONKING horse pills, so if you can’t swallow big pills (some people have issues with that) you might want to look elsewhere. Otherwise I found the drug delivery method not only more pleasant, but the pills seem to work better than the cough/expectorant I used to use.
BTW in College I came down with a NASTY cold, and I raided one of those “Welcome” packets of swag the university gave out. Took a tablet of Alkiseltzer Cold and Sinus, added about an ounce of gin, and topped off a pint glass with water.
Slugged that down, and it tasted pretty good (had a Tom Collins feel to it) and then went to bed. Woke up feeling a LOT better.
I love the Mucinex products. I’m taking the extended release Guaifenesin currently. I don’t tolerate pseudoephedrine that well anymore however, it gives me a horrible brain fog, so I avoid those.
The Mucinex DM just adds cough suppressant.
My favorite trick for a cough or sore throat is dropping a couple cool honey flavored altoids into a shot of whiskey.
It sounds redneck, but as you explained, it’s very similar in composition to Nyquil and other commercial remedies.
Get a doctor to prescribe a codine based cough syrup. It is the original and works by suppressing the autonomic nervous system. Just a little and not enough to stop you breathing or anything. I find that a bottle lasts me a couple years as it is effective enough quick enough to let my throat heal up quickly. If you doctor trusts you they might even do it with an email or phone call.
If I may suggest, 15 mg / day of zinc helps the immune system prevent colds and/or reduce their severity. If I catch a cold, I chug 50 mg per day to help get over it more quickly. But as soon as the cold is gone I back down the dosage to 15 mg/day. More than that for too long can cause neurological problems. But this protocol has really benefitted me.
ZICAM is essentially zinc, calcium and magnesium, only in an expensive package. It works, but why not get the same minerals cheaper in the Wal-Mart supplement aisle?
Hope this helps.
Arnie
Zicam is a homeopathic remedy. There’s no Zinc in it…
I stand corrected. Thank you, Paratrooperjj!
See if you can get your hands on some Fisherman’s Friend cough drops. They are the ONLY thing on the market that work for me. If you can get them, and if you can get past the taste (which I actually like, go figure) they will do the trick.
Hot Toddy (either hot cider with bourbon or hot green tea with spiced rum doused liberally with honey and lemon) and a hot bath.
The hot toddy has always worked for me for a bad cold.
I know you said no antihistamine but Benedryl works really well without having to drink all the other junk. That said, it puts some people to sleep.
I’ve been using Delsym lately and it works for me. It is extended release dextromethorphan. Unfortunately, it is liquid only.
I will second the comment by Eriko about codeine. When all else has failed for me, codeine works and will break the cough cycle.