10 Best Cough Suppressants 2024 in the United States

Modern medicine hasn't developed the cure for the common cold, but there are many products to relieve cold symptoms. There are cough suppressants that work to reduce the coughing reflex. The coughing reflex can be activated when you have phlegm or mucus building up in your throat and lungs. You can also develop a cough from some irritant in the air, such as dust, allergies or hay fever. (If you have phlegm or mucus, it's better to try a cough syrup, which has ingredients to loosen the mucus so that you can cough it up.) So there are a variety of cough suppressants, that work on different principles to try to soothe your cough. Here is a guide to some of the best cough suppressants on the market.

• Lozenges: These are medicated tablets usually containing honey, menthol, peppermint or spearmint oil that dissolve in the mouth. Honey (or some other sweetener, like sugar or sorbitol) is intended to lubricate the membranes of the throat that become inflamed when a person has cold or flu. The peppermint or spearmint oil has a numbing effect on the swollen areas of the throat. (Lozenges used to contain codeine or morphine, which would slow down the brain's reflex to make a person cough. After these chemicals were found to be addictive, other substances were used that work on the same principle.)

• Throat spray: There are throat sprays that contain the ingredient phenol. Phenol is an anesthetic, that numbs the painful or irritated area. So throat sprays that contain phenol work on this principle. You spray your throat with the spray, leave it in place for at least 15 seconds, and spit it out.

• Cough syrup: Most cough syrups contain dextromethorphan, which blocks the coughing reflex. Some doctors recommend cough suppressant syrups for those who have a chronic cough that doesn't respond to other treatments. Suppressants block the body's reflex to cough. This is better for the dry cough. (Since there isn't any mucus to cough up, the best thing is to try to calm your body from coughing.)

• Night remedies: A cough can make it difficult to sleep at night. There are syrups that have additives to make you drowsy, which are recommended for nighttime use. These also give the body some rest, so it has a better chance to fight the flu or cold virus.

• Effectiveness: It may be that you have a persistent cough, and the cough suppressant you bought doesn't work. Don't assume that you didn't take enough of it, and try to take another dose. It could just be that this particular suppressant is not effective for your cough. In fact, the active ingredient in most cough suppressant syrups, Dextromethorphan, can have serious side effects if you take too much.

• Side effects: Some cold remedies are known to make people drowsy. When taking a cough suppressant during the day, make sure that you can stay alert, and that the cough syrup won't put you to sleep. Other syrups can make people feel anxious and short of breath. Also, pay attention to the dosage, and don't exceed it.

• What's “DM” or “DXM”?: Since the chemical names are so long, a lot of remedies are known by an abbreviation. You might see cough syrup with DM, or DXM. That stands for Dextromethorphan—which is commonly used as a cough suppressant. If you have a dry cough, without phlegm or mucus, this will calm the feeling of needing to cough.

• Lozenges for children: Throat lozenges are not recommended for children under age 4. Even though there may be lozenges with all-natural ingredients, some are medicated, and may have side effects on young children. Also, there is a choking hazard with young children. If you want to give your child a cough suppressant, the syrups or sprays are preferable.

• Age of children: As we mentioned, lozenges aren't recommended for a child less than age 4. From the ages of 4-6, give cough syrup only after consulting a doctor. Cough syrups should be safe for children over age 6. 

Fisherman's Friend– are lozenges that were developed in 1865 in Fleetwood, England, by pharmacist James Lofthouse. He first developed a syrup containing menthol and eucalyptus to relieve various respiratory problems that English fishermen would suffer over the course of their work. They have expanded to the point where they sell over 5 billion of their lozenges per year.

Vicks-- is a brand of cold relief treatments presently owned by the consumer goods company Procter and Gamble. They were started in 1890 by the pharmacist Lunsford Richardson and his brother-in-law Dr. Joshua Vick, of Greensboro, North Carolina.They make syrups, lozenges, menthol rubs, humidifiers and inhalators, to combat flu and cold symptoms.

Mucinex--is a company that markets a full line of over-the-counter cough syrups for adults and children. They are part of RB (=Reckitt Benckiser) North American Product Information website, which was founded in 1999. They make consumer goods for health, hygiene and the home. They provide product information about their household and personal care products: ingredients and their function, a materials safety data sheet, and ways of searching through the particular products.

GoLightly-- are a brand of sugar-free candies manufactured by Hillside Candy. It was started in 1980 by Moses Moru in Hillside, New Jersey, as a branch of the Moru Industries Company, which was started in 1945. They also make Hillside Sweets, which are sugar-based hard candy, as well as GoOrganic, which are organic candies.