Cough Drops / Cough Suppressants / Throat Lozenges

Coughs and colds can sometimes come separately, and, other times, come together, often as a sinus infection. It’s best not to treat just the cough while ignoring the cold, since coughing helps you clear excess mucus from your lungs, which is often caused by the cold. 

However, treating a cold on its own is fine, as is taking cough-cold combination medicines. 

There are two main categories of cough medicines; 

Cough Suppressants 

Cough suppressants (aka antitussives) control your body from coughing by restraining the cough reflex. They are meant to be used to prevent dry, unnecessary and annoying coughs. Cough suppressants only suppress coughs; they don’t clear away mucus or heal throat pain. Popular over the counter cough suppressants include Mucinex Max Cold Relief and Delsym.

Cough Expectorants 

An expectorant helps treat coughs by thinning the mucus in the throat, and therefore making it easier to bring up the mucus when a person coughs. Expectorants don’t eradicate the cough altogether; they loosen up the mucus so that it’s easier to cough it up. When the mucus is easier to cough up, the person ends up coughing less.

Best Over the Counter Medicines for Sore Throat 

There are plenty of over the counter medications for sore throat that can help you feel better without even having to visit the doctor. Just look around on AvaCare Medical from the comfort of your couch, and find the best over the counter meds available for healing your sore throat. Here are the best options for soothing your cough and/or sore throat. 

1. Cough Drops / Throat Lozenges

Sore throat lozenges, also known as cough drops or cough lozenges, are small, often diamond-shaped flavored tablets that soothe a sore throat by lubricating it. They are not meant to be swallowed or chewed; sore throat lozenges are intended to dissolve on the tongue. As you suck on it, it helps your throat to feel better and less dry, and it begins to dissolve. Within about a half hour from when you first put it in your mouth, it should be fully dissolved. 

Rather than calling them cough drops, some people actually refer to sore throat lozenges as sore throat candy or cough candy, since they are usually quite similar to sucking candies in both look and taste, and they often have a refreshing and tasteful flavor. The main difference between the two is that sore throat lozenges soothe the throat and can prevent excessive coughing. 

How Do Cough Drops Work?

Most sore throat lozenges contain menthol, an organic compound created from mint oils. Menthol, like mint, has a cooling, calming sensation that soothes the throat. Then there are some lozenges that contain honey or pectin; two other soothing substances. 

There are many different options and flavors when it comes to throat lozenges; if you’re keeping away from sugar you can try sugar free cough drops, and if mint flavor’s your favorite, try mint cough drops. No matter your preferences, you can find cough candies that work for you.

2. VapoRub (aka Vapor Rub)

Vicks VapoRub is an ointment that is rubbed onto the upper chest, back, throat and feet to provide relief from congestion and coughing. It can also be applied to joints or muscles to relieve muscle pain. Vicks VapoRub is an excellent chest rub because it has a very calming aroma that, when inhaled, tricks your brain into thinking that you are breathing more easily. 

3. Mucinex Cough Medicine

Mucinex thins the excess mucus that lines the inside of the chest and throat so that it’s easier to cough it out. If cough candies and sore throat sprays aren’t making enough of a difference, try a Mucinex cough medicine.

Mucinex Fast Max 

Mucinex Max is an over the counter cough medicine from Mucinex that contains pain-relieving properties (Acetaminophen), lowers fever, and makes coughing easier and less frequent by loosening the mucus (phlegm) in your throat. It is also a decongestant, and provide chest congestion relief. 

Mucinex Fast Max should not be taken more than 6 times in a day. 

If you’re looking for a cough congestion relief product, you’re best off choosing from the aforementioned products; they are the best over the counter cough medicines. All of these products, aside from providing cough relief, are also excellent sore throat medicines.

4. Sore Throat Spray

The sore throat spray is a liquid medicine that is sprayed on the back of the throat to provide instantaneous relief from sore throat. 

How Does Sore Throat Spray Work?

Sore throat sprays provide relief to your throat in two different ways: Some of them numb the throat, while others provide it with a soothing, cooling sensation. 

Whether you’d like to try sore throat lozenges, Mucinex cough medicine, Vicks VapoRub or sore throat spray, you can rest assured that once you start taking any of these throat medicines, your throat should begin to feel better.