Cough syrups--do they work in acute cough?

703 VOLUME 46__AUGUST 17, 2009 Acute cough is perhaps the single most common presenting symptom in children wherein treatment is demanded and/or initiated. Often it is clinically trivial but very disturbing for the child and family; at other times it can appear harmless but reflect underlying disease. In addition, there is sometimes dichotomy between the physicians’ and patients’ perspectives; the former are concerned about cough representing respiratory disease requiring management, whereas the latter are anxious for immediate symptomatic relief. This dichotomy is the basis for a thriving pharmaceutical industry and the frequent (often injudicious) use of cough medications in our country and elsewhere.