Words of Wisdom

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What are the Different Types of Cough Syrup?

A spoonful of cough syrup can provide soothing relief when a tickly throat or congested chest attacks.

Considering there are so many types, you can avoid confusion at the pharmacy by reading our guide below on the best cough syrups for different purposes. Are there different kinds for adults and kids? Do some formulas tackle dry coughs better than wet ones? What is an “expectorant”, and what can we expect it to do?

Get your answers to those questions and more here!

Man with dry cough

What Does Cough Syrup Help?

When you have a cough, it’s most likely caused by an upper respiratory tract infection, or URTI – like a cold, the flu, or some other school or office virus making the rounds. These usually clear up by themselves in around three weeks – however, we know coughing and hacking up phlegm for that long isn’t very fun. That’s where cough, cold and sore throat syrups come in.

Cough syrups aim to do what they say on the tin: help relieve your nasty, spluttery, hacking coughs that result from mean yet mild URTIs.

At Buckley’s, we have mixtures for different types of coughs, illnesses, and even ages, including:

  • Congestion
  • Cold and flu
  • Mucus and phlegm
  • Dry cough
  • Sniffly children

Types of Cough Syrup & How They Work

What’s the best kind of cough syrup for you? Assess your symptoms and your choices below.

Expectorants

This type of cough and cold syrup works to loosen mucus and lubricate the airways when you have a wet, chesty cough. Expectorants help you to cough up the mucus, clearing some of your chest congestion and helping to remove nasty debris and bacteria from your body – which helps lower your risk of developing an infection.

Buckley’s Mucus & Phlegm expectorant cough syrup helps you get all that yucky stuff up, with fast- acting relief from wet cough symptoms for up to 6 hours.

Antitussives

These medicines are dry cough syrups which help suppress the cough reflex when you have a tickly cough that doesn’t produce phlegm. This is especially useful when your throat tickles just won’t stop, and you have a hacking, unproductive cough that makes you sore and tired.

Grab a bottle of Buckley’s Dry Cough Extra Strength to tackle your irritated throat and dry splutters.

Decongestants

A decongestant medicine helps to relieve nasal congestion when you have a blocked-up, stuffy nose. It does this by reducing swelling in the blood vessels in the nasal cavity, opening your airways to help you better breathe through your nose.

Breathe a little easier with Buckley’s Chest Congestion decongestant cough syrup.

Cough Syrup for Adults

Our adult cough syrups, like Buckley’s Original Mixture, are formulated for people aged 12 years and over. It’s not suitable for younger kids, but they won’t want to take it anyway. If you’ve never tried our sore throat syrup before, be prepared for the funky taste – and then to feel better. Like we’ve always said: “It tastes awful. And it works.”

Cough Syrup for Children

Before giving children any cough syrup or medicine, always check the age suitability on the packet. Some medications and even natural cough-soothing ingredients are unsuitable for kids – for example, did you know that you should never give honey to a child under one year old?

Our Buckley's Jack & Jill Honey Cough & Cold Syrups are specially designed for little people aged 6-12 years. Don’t worry: these honey-flavoured formulas taste better than our adult syrups, in the hope your kids will actually take their medicine. Get them back to their usual rambunctious selves faster with our Honey Cough & Cold syrup or our Bedtime Honey Cough & Cold syrup for soothing late- night sniffles.