IF YOUR child鈥檚 coughing is keeping the whole family awake at night, don鈥檛 bother rushing out for cough syrup.
Two years ago, a major review of all the published studies on cough medicines concluded that they simply do not work (New 杏吧原创, 9 November 2002, p 34). But Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State College of Medicine wondered if cough medicines might still help at night, if only because they often have a sedative effect.
So he asked the parents of 100 children with coughs about the quality of the household鈥檚 sleep on two consecutive nights. On the second night only, two-thirds of the children were given syrups containing either dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine, while the rest got a syrup without any active ingredients (Pediatrics, vol 114, p 85). All groups reported the same amount of improvement. The results show that the drugs make no difference, says Paul.
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