It’s very tough on us mommas to hear our children cough endlessly, so we find ourselves grabbing a bottle of cough suppressants to lessen the miserable sound. However, cough suppressants may not be the best option. They may lessen a cough, but they do not help the illness. Let me explain why I stopped using this common over the counter medicine.
They can do more harm than good
Why Do We Cough? Coughing is our body’s reflex to clear something foreign from our lungs. Suppressing the cough does not take care of the problem causing the cough. In some illnesses, suppressing the cough could even lead to pneumonia. In making my own cough medicines, I have found them to effectively calm coughing spasms while healing the lungs and expelling the foreign substance.
They aren’t all that safe
Many cough suppressants contain dextromethorphan {DM}. Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant that turns off the cough reflex switch in the brain. It can cause drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, anxiety, and upset stomach. I don’t know about you, but when my children are sick the last thing I want to do is give them something that may slow down a cough, but may make them feel worse in other ways.
Very interesting perspective, Jill!!! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and the recipes, too. 🙂
You’re welcome, my friend! 🙂
Hey thanks for the inclusion in the post!