When you’re sick, a persistent cough can make you feel worse. Although it doesn’t treat the cause of the cough, many people still ingest cough suppressants to calm the cough and soothe the sore throat that may accompany it. But how much cough medicine is too much, and can too much cough medicine make you sicker?
Cough drops are often used to relieve coughs. Some cough drops contain pharmacological ingredients that tend to calm your cough, while others contain ingredients that soothe a dry cough. Like any other medicine, cough suppressants have negative effects when consumed more than prescribed. So you have to be careful with cough drops, even though they may look like candy to you.
What Happens if you Eat too many cough drops?
Menthol is the main active ingredient in most cough lozenges. In case of an overdose of cough medicine, menthol is one of the possible side effects. On average, cough drops contain about 5mg to 10mg of menthol. Symptoms of a menthol overdose vary from person to person. Age, weight, and current health status play an important role.
common symptoms of menthol overdose are:
- Stomachache
- Nausea
- Headache
- Sleepy
- Vomiting
- Arrhythmic heartbeat
- Panic
Also, it is not known whether menthol cough drops are safe to use during pregnancy. It’s best to talk to your doctor before taking cough suppressants during pregnancy. Be sure to check with your doctor to see how many cough suppressants you can safely take in a day without experiencing any negative side effects. If you are still worried about cough medicines and their dosage in a day, you can always choose a cough medicine without menthol.
If you think you have taken more cough medicine than recommended or begin to experience signs and symptoms of a menthol overdose, seek emergency help. The sooner you seek medical help, the better your chances of recovery. However, you are more likely to experience indigestion before serious side effects occur. You can always call the National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) and let your doctors know what cough medicine you have taken, how much you have taken for the day, any signs and What symptoms do you have? and the amount of menthol in a cough drop.
Can you overdose on cough drops?
Although possible, an overdose of cough suppressants is unlikely. When we say “overdose”, we are referring to ingesting too much of the menthol they contain. However, the lethal dose of menthol is one gram per kilogram of body weight, and cough suppressants typically contain about 3 to 10 milligrams. This means that you would have to consume thousands of cough pills for a limited time to get menthol poisoning.
Homemade Cough Drops:
What happens if you eat too much cough suppressant? It has been answered. Because of the possible side effects of an overdose of cough medicine, you can try making your own at home. Homemade cough drops are effective and contain only natural herbal ingredients, which means there is no risk of side effects. Here’s how to make cough cough drops with ginger and honey at home.
Ingredients-
- ½ cup honey
- 1.5 cups of sugar
- 1.5 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- A 1.5-inch segment of fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ cup of superfine sugar, needed for dusting
Directions-
Before you start cooking this homemade cough medicine, peel the ginger.
- After peeling, you also cut it into thin slices. Ginger can help fight inflammation. For this reason, it is used in many cough medicines, such as decongestants and antihistamines.
- Use a lemon peeler to remove 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Start cooking cough medicine
What happens if you eat too much cough suppressant? No need to worry about this with homemade cough drops.
- Boil a cinnamon stick with sliced ginger and water. When the pan is completely boiling, you will need to reduce the heat.
- Let it simmer for about 10 minutes
- After boiling for about 10 minutes, remove the cinnamon and ginger. A great way to do this is to use Chao.
Add the rest
- Once you’ve removed the ginger and cinnamon sticks and have a clear liquid in the pot, add the other ingredients like ½ honey and 1.5 cup sugar.
- You need to heat this mixture over high heat, constantly stirring until the liquid dissolves. Make sure the added sugar is completely dissolved.
Use a candy thermometer
- Once the sugar has completely dissolved, use a candy thermometer to monitor the heat. It takes 300-305 degrees F to bring the liquid to a hard and sweet phase.
- When the required temperature is reached, remove the pan from the heat.
- Make sure the liquid does not burn
Add the final ingredients
- The final ingredients needed to make homemade cough drops are a lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Be careful when adding these ingredients as they can splash and you could get burned. Mix the liquid thoroughly, stirring for a few minutes.
Pour hot liquid into the mold
- When you’ve finished cooking the cough medicine, pour the liquid into the candy mold.
- It will take a few hours for them to cool down. Once cooled, the crack will fall out of the mold.
- Once you’re done making your cough drops, put them in a jar with a lid. You can sprinkle more fine sugar so the cough drops don’t stick. You can also use regularly powdered or granulated sugar.
- Cough suppressants do not need to be refrigerated. You can use them whenever you need.
When to seek medical care
Although a cough medicine overdose is unlikely, there may be other reasons to seek medical attention. First, if you’re taking cough medicine because symptoms like a sore throat or cough don’t go away within seven days or get worse, you should make an appointment with your primary care provider.
Also, some people have reported allergic reactions to ingredients in cough suppressants. Call 911 if you see side effects related to an allergic reaction, such as:
- Wheeze
- Shortness of breath
- Sudden rash or hives
- Swelling of the face, tongue, throat, or lips
So, can you eat too many cough drops?
If your throat is sore and a cough suppressant helps relieve that pain, the chances of you having to take a cough suppressant are minimal. You’d have to take thousands of drops to stand a chance of self-harm from afar – with that in mind, though, there’s no reason to drink more than you need.
