Live Healthy and Strong

Antitussive Drugs and Antiseptics

Antitussive Drugs

Antitussive Drugs is a type of medication used to suppress coughing, possibly by reducing the activity of the child’s cough center in the brain or by depressing breathing. These drugs include both narcotics and nonnarcotics that act on the central and peripheral nervous systems to suppress the cough reflex. Because the cough reflex is important in clearing secretions from the upper respiratory tract, antitussives should not be used with a cough that produces mucus.

Codeine and hydrocodone are strong narcotic antitussives. Dextromethorphan is equally effective but does not carry the danger of inducing dependence as the narcotics do. Antitussives are given by mouth (usually in a syrup with an expectorant and some alcohol). The medications also may be given as a capsule combined with an antihistamine and a mild painkiller.

Antiseptic

A germicide used for human skin or tissue (not inanimate objects) that inhibits the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. It will weaken microbes but does not usually kill them. Health-care antiseptics in soaps or other products help prevent the spread of infection in medical facilities. Antiseptics include alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol), iodine (iodophor), povidone-iodine (Betadine), hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine, or hexachlorophene (Phisohex).

Over-the-counter antiseptics applied to the skin can help prevent infection in minor cuts, scrapes, or BURNS. Antiseptics can be kept in the first aid kit to pour on an animal bite, after cleaning it with soap and water, or to apply to a dirty cut after washing it out with soap and water. Normal cuts and scratches do not require antiseptics. However, if an injury is extensive, it should be treated by a doctor. Antiseptics should not be used for cuts that are deep, that keep bleeding, or that require stitches. In addition, antiseptics should not be used for scrapes with imbedded particles that cannot be flushed away, large wounds, or serious burns.

Over-the-counter antiseptics should not be used for more than one week on an injury; if the wound does not heal or worsens, the child should be taken for medical care. Experts advise against using hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic, since it does not kill bacteria and interferes with capillary blood flow and wound healing. Other experts note that ethyl alcohol is not a good wound antiseptic because it irritates already-damaged tissue and causes a scab to form that may protect bacteria.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory review panel has found some antiseptics that are not generally recognized as safe and effective. These products include mercury, cloflucarban, fluorosalan, and tribromsalan.