Claim: UCB urges stronger warning on cough medicine.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Cold medicine
text: the following types of substances: The efficacy of cough medication is questionable, particularly in children. A 2014 Cochrane review concluded that "There is no good evidence for or against the effectiveness of OTC medicines in acute cough". Some cough medicines may be no more effective than placebos for acute coughs in adults, including coughs related to upper respiratory tract infections. The American College of Chest Physicians emphasizes that cough medicines are not designed to treat whooping cough, a cough that is caused by bacteria and can last for months. No over-the-counter cough medicines have been found to be effective in

title: Upper respiratory tract infection
text: low or very-low quality evidence that probiotics may be better than placebo in preventing acute URTIs. Vaccination against influenza viruses, adenoviruses, measles, rubella, "Streptococcus pneumoniae", "Haemophilus influenzae", diphtheria, "Bacillus anthracis", and "Bordetella pertussis" may prevent them from infecting the URT or reduce the severity of the infection. The Centers for Disease Control describe protocol for treating sinusitis while at the same time discouraging overuse of antibiotics: Treatment comprises symptomatic support usually via analgesics for headache, sore throat and muscle aches. Moderate exercise in sedentary subjects with naturally acquired URTI probably does not alter the overall severity and duration of the

title: Cough
text: symptoms in children. There is tentative evidence that the use of honey is better than no treatment or diphenhydramine in decreasing coughing. It does not alleviate coughing to the same extent as dextromethorphan but it shortens the cough duration better than placebo and salbutamol. A trial of antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids may be tried in children with a chronic cough in an attempt to treat protracted bacterial bronchitis or asthma respectively. A cough is the most common reason for visiting a primary care physician in the United States. Marine mammals such as dolphins cannot cough. Domestic animals such as dogs

title: Upper respiratory tract infection
text: cold medicine due to the potential for life-threatening side effects. In addition, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the use of cough medicine to relieve cough symptoms should be avoided in children under 4 years old, and the safety is questioned for children under 6 years old. Routine supplementation with vitamin C is not justified, as it does not appear to be effective in reducing the incidence of common colds in the general population. The use of vitamin C in the inhibition and treatment of upper respiratory infections has been suggested since the initial isolation of vitamin C in

title: Common cold
text: treating an acute cough. Cough medicines are not recommended for use in children due to a lack of evidence supporting effectiveness and the potential for harm. In 2009, Canada restricted the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medication in children six years and under due to concerns regarding risks and unproven benefits. The misuse of dextromethorphan (an over-the-counter cough medicine) has led to its ban in a number of countries. Intranasal corticosteroids have not been found to be useful. In adults short term use of nasal decongestants may have a small benefit. Antihistamines may improve symptoms in the first day

title: Cold medicine
text: inexpensive, yet toxic, glycerin substitute marketed for industrial use. In May 2007, 365 deaths were reported in Panama, which were associated with cough syrup containing diethylene glycol. A number of types of cough medicine are frequently abused. This includes those containing dextromethorphan and codeine. Abuse may result in physical distortion and hallucinations. Cold medicine Cold medicines are medications used by people with the common cold, cough, or related conditions. There is, however, no good evidence that cough medications reduce coughing. While they are used by 10% of American children in any given week, they are not recommended in Canada and

title: Opioid
text: which boosts the pain relief but is also intended to deter recreational use. Codeine was once viewed as the "gold standard" in cough suppressants, but this position is now questioned. Some recent placebo-controlled trials have found that it may be no better than a placebo for some causes including acute cough in children. Thus, it is not recommended for children. Additionally, there is no evidence that hydrocodone is useful in children. Similarly, a 2012 Dutch guideline regarding the treatment of acute cough does not recommend its use. (The opioid analogue dextromethorphan, long claimed to be as effective a cough suppressant

title: Cough
text: irregular coughing is caused by a respiratory tract infection but can also be triggered by choking, smoking, air pollution, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, post-nasal drip, chronic bronchitis, lung tumors, heart failure and medications such as ACE inhibitors. Treatment should target the cause; for example, smoking cessation or discontinuing ACE inhibitors. Cough suppressants such as codeine or dextromethorphan are frequently prescribed, but have been demonstrated to have little effect. Other treatment options may target airway inflammation or may promote mucus expectoration. As it is a natural protective reflex, suppressing the cough reflex might have damaging effects, especially if the cough is

title: Erdosteine
text: cough (both frequency and severity) and sputum viscosity more quickly and more effectively than placebo and reduced the adhesivity of sputum more effectively than bromhexine 30 mg twice daily. Co-administration of erdosteine and amoxicillin in patients with acute infective exacerbation of chronic bronchitis resulted in higher concentrations of the antibiotic in the sputum, leading to earlier and more pronounced amelioration of clinical symptoms compared with placebo. Erdosteine is associated with a low incidence of adverse events, most of which are gastrointestinal and generally mild. The is very high, 3,500-5,000 mg/kg. Europe: Other regions: Erdosteine Erdosteine is a mucolytic. Specifically it

title: Acute bronchitis
text: and avoiding other lung irritants. Frequent hand washing may also be protective. Treatment of acute bronchitis typically involves rest, paracetamol (acetaminophen), and NSAIDs to help with the fever. Cough medicine has little support for its use and is not recommended in children less than six years of age. Salbutamol is not effective in children with an acute cough who do not have restricted airways. There is weak evidence that salbutamol may be useful in adults with wheezing due to a restricted airway; however, it may result in nervousness, shakiness or a tremor. Antibiotics should generally not be used. An exception

title: Cold medicine
text: cases of pneumonia. They are not recommended in those who have COPD, chronic bronchitis, or the common cold. There is not enough evidence to make recommendations for those who have a cough and cancer. Honey may be a minimally effective cough treatment. A Cochrane review found the evidence to recommend for or against its use in children to be weak. In light of this they found it was better than no treatment, placebo, and diphenhydramine but not better than dextromethorphan for relieving cough symptoms. Honey's use as a cough treatment has been linked on several occasions to infantile botulism and

title: Whooping cough
text: with the disease, antibiotics are useful if started within three weeks of the initial symptoms, but otherwise have little effect in most people. In pregnant women and children less than one year old, antibiotics are recommended within six weeks of symptom onset. Antibiotics used include erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Evidence to support interventions for the cough, other than antibiotics, is poor. About 50% of infected children less than a year old require hospitalization and nearly 0.5% (1 in 200) die. An estimated 16.3 million people worldwide were infected in 2015. Most cases occur in the developing world, and people

title: Cold medicine
text: caution in children. The FDA in 2015 warned that the use of codeine-containing cough medication in children may cause breathing problems. Cough medicines can be used as recreational drugs. Heroin was originally marketed as a cough suppressant in 1898. It was, at the time, believed to be a non-addictive alternative to other opiate-containing cough syrups. This was quickly realized not to be true as heroin readily breaks down into morphine in the body. Morphine was already known to be addictive. Some brand names include: Benilyn, Sudafed, Robitussin and Vicks among others. Most contain a number of active ingredients. Sudafed is

title: First-dose phenomenon
text: bedtime to avoid standing position. This effect is also observed after the administration of the first dose of drugs in the ACEi class (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor). This may occur with the class's better known side effect of dry cough (due to decreased breakdown of bradykinin), though there is no clear relationship between the two side effects. The first dose phenomenon in ACEi is reduced and made safer by avoiding diuretics for 24 hours prior to first dose, taking first dose at night (so avoiding falls, etc) and starting on low doses and titrating upwards. First-dose phenomenon The first-dose phenomenon is

title: Cough
text: cough can be triggered by dryness from mouth breathing or recurrent aspiration of food into the windpipe in people with swallowing difficulties. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are drugs used in diabetics, heart disease, and high blood pressure. In 10-25% of the people who take it, it can cause them to have a cough as a side effect. Cessation of ACE Inhibitor use is the only way to stop the cough. Such medicines for hypertension are very common in use such as ramipril and quinapril. There are cases of "cough of unknown origin" who had resolution with stopping the drug. A

title: Whooping cough
text: catarrhal stage (a runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever, symptoms of the common cold) through the third week after the onset of paroxysms (multiple, rapid coughs) or until 5 days after the start of effective antimicrobial treatment. Effective treatments of the cough associated with this condition have not been developed. While most healthy older children and adults fully recover, infection in newborns is particularly severe. Pertussis is fatal in an estimated 0.5% of US infants under one year of age. First-year infants are also more likely to develop complications, such as: apneas (31%), pneumonia (12%), seizures (0.6%) and encephalopathy (0.15%). This

title: Post-viral cough
text: disappeared. Post-viral cough can be resistant to treatment. Post-viral cough usually goes away on its own; however, cough suppressants containing codeine may be prescribed. A study has claimed theobromine is more effective. Post-viral cough A post-viral cough is a lingering cough that follows a viral respiratory tract infection, such as a common cold or flu and lasting up to eight weeks. Post-viral cough is a clinically recognized condition represented within the European medical literature. Patients usually experience repeated episodes of post-viral cough. The heightened sensitivity in the respiratory tract is demonstrated by inhalation cough challenge. One possible cause for post-viral

title: Cold medicine
text: Cold medicine Cold medicines are medications used by people with the common cold, cough, or related conditions. There is, however, no good evidence that cough medications reduce coughing. While they are used by 10% of American children in any given week, they are not recommended in Canada and the United States in children 6 years or younger because of lack of evidence showing effect and concerns of harm. There are a number of different cough and cold medications, which may be used for various coughing symptoms. The commercially available products may include various combinations of any one or more of

title: Chlorphenamine
text: more common 4-to-6-hour regimen for other narcotic cough suppressants. Chlorphenamine/dihydrocodeine immediate-release syrups are also marketed. The antihistamine is helpful in cases where allergy or common cold is the reason for the cough; it is also a potentiator of opioids, allowing enhanced suppression of cough, analgesia, and other effects from a given quantity of the drug by itself. In various places in the world, cough & cold preparations containing codeine and chlorphenamine are available. In the drug Coricidin, chlorphenamine is combined with the cough suppressant dextromethorphan. The adverse effects include drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, constipation, anxiety, nausea, blurred vision, restlessness, decreased coordination,

title: Ventilator-associated pneumonia
text: causative bacteria are known and continued until symptoms resolve (often 7 to 14 days). For patients with VAP not caused by nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli (like Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) the available evidence seems to support the use of short-course antimicrobial treatments (< or =10 days). People who do not have risk factors for MDR organisms may be treated differently depending on local knowledge of prevalent bacteria. Appropriate antibiotics may include ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, or ampicillin/sulbactam. As of 2005, there is ongoing research into inhaled antibiotics as an adjunct to conventional therapy. Tobramycin and polymyxin B are commonly used in certain centres