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Brand name: Benadryl Cough Medicine for Dry Coughs TM
Active ingredients: dextromethorphan + diphenhydramine, dextromethorphan + pseudoephedrine
What it is used for
Relieves symptoms of dry cough and cold.
How to take it
The way to take this medicine is: Oral. This medicine is taken by mouth.
- Store below 30 degrees Celsius
- Shelf lifetime is 18 Months.
You should seek medical advice in relation to medicines and use only as directed by a healthcare professional.
Always read the label. If symptoms persist see your healthcare professional.
Visual appearance
Clear dark red viscous liquid
Do I need a prescription?
This medicine is available from a pharmacy without prescription.It is
Over 65?
This medicine contains the active ingredients:
If you are over 65 years of age, there may be specific risks and recommendations for use of this medicine. Please discuss your individual circumstances with your pharmacist, doctor or health professional. For more information read our page on medication safety for older people.
Reporting side effects
You can help ensure medicines are safe by reporting the side effects you experience.
You can report side effects to your doctor, or directly at www.tga.gov.au/reporting-problems
Need more information?
These trusted information partners have more on this topic.
Top results
Dry coughs - myDr.com.au
A dry cough is non-productive and irritating, and sometimes causes a tickly throat. Find out what products are available for a dry cough.
Read more on myDr website
Cough | myVMC
Medical information about causes of coughing, whooping cough symptoms, kennel cough dry cough medicine, chronic cough, whooping cough symptom of croup cough with cough remedies.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Cough: dry cough - myDr.com.au
A dry cough is a cough where no phlegm or mucus is produced. Dry coughs are often caused by viral illnesses such as colds and flu, but can also be caused by allergies or throat irritants.
Read more on myDr website
Cough and cold medicines for children - changes | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
This TGA behind-the-news article was published on 26 November 2012.
Read more on TGA – Therapeutic Goods Administration website
Cough: productive or 'wet' cough treatments - myDr.com.au
Treatment for a productive or wet cough: find out about different treatments and what not to do.
Read more on myDr website
Chesty coughs - myDr.com.au
When you have a chesty cough (wet, productive or phlegmy) your chest feels heavy and you may cough up mucus or phlegm. Find out what products are available for a chesty cough.
Read more on myDr website
Whooping cough symptoms, vaccine and treatment | myVMC
Whooping cough produces a barky type cough, with a whooping sound. Dr Joe explains it is preventable with vaccination and can be treated with antibiotics.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Whooping cough - Better Health Channel
The major symptom of whooping cough is a severe cough, which is often followed by a 'whooping' sound.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Whooping cough (pertussis)
Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease that can be a life threatening infection in babies.
Read more on WA Health website
Whooping cough overview - myDr.com.au
Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease that causes sudden attacks of coughing that often end in a high-pitched whooping sound. The cough commonly persists for up to 3 months.
Read more on myDr website
Top results
Treatment of the cough in whooping cough | Cochrane
We reviewed the evidence from 12 studies about the effect of treatments for cough in patients with whooping cough.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Leukotriene receptor antagonist for prolonged non-specific cough in children | Cochrane
Children with non-specific cough (dry and non-productive cough without any other respiratory symptom, sign or systemic illness) are commonly treated with a variety of medications to treat the symptom of cough. This review examined whether there was any evidence for using leukotriene receptor antagonist in children with non-specific cough. There were two randomised controlled trials that included, but was not restricted to, children with non-specific cough, whereby no significant advantage over placebo was found in both studies. There is no RCT evidence to support the routine use of leukotriene receptor antagonist for the symptom of non-specific cough in children. Further research examining the effects of this treatment using child appropriate cough outcome measures is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Honey for acute cough in children | Cochrane
Cough is a cause for concern for parents and a major cause of outpatient visits in most clinics for both children and adults. Cough can affect quality of life, cause anxiety and affect sleep for parents and children. An immediate remedy is usually sought by the caregiver and patient. Cochrane reviews have reported on the effect of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines, but none have studied honey as a cough relief.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Methylxanthines for prolonged non-specific cough in children | Cochrane
Children with non-specific cough (dry and non-productive cough without any other respiratory symptom, sign or systemic illness) are commonly treated with a variety of medications to manage the symptom of cough. This review examined whether there was any evidence for using methylxanthines in children with non-specific cough. There were no randomised controlled trials that assessed methylxanthines for prolonged non-specific cough in children. In four non-randomised controlled studies, the researchers described that dramatic improvements in cough were seen within 2-14 days of taking oral theophylline. However, this is possibly a placebo and/or time period effect. There is no RCT evidence to support the routine use of methylxanthines for the symptom of non-specific cough in children. Further research examining the effects of methylxanthines using child appropriate cough outcome measures are needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Codeine for the treatment of chronic cough in children | Cochrane
We sought to answer the question of whether codeine (or medications produced from codeine) are safe and effective in the treatment of chronic cough (four weeks or longer) in children.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Anticholinergics for prolonged non specific cough in children | Cochrane
Children with non-specific cough, (non-productive cough in the absence of identifiable chest disease) are commonly treated with a variety of medications for control of cough symptoms. This review examined the effect of inhaled anti-cholinergic drugs in children with non-specific cough. Currently there is no evidence to support the use of inhaled anti-cholinergics as no randomised-controlled trials of inhaled anti-cholinergic medications in the management of prolonged non-specific cough in children were found.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Inhaled cromones for prolonged non-specific cough in children | Cochrane
Children with non-specific cough (coughing not due to a diagnosed respiratory disease), are commonly treated with a variety of medications to treat the symptoms of cough. This review examined whether there was any evidence for children with non-specific cough to inhale cromoglycate and nedocromil (commonly called 'cromones'). There were no randomised controlled trials identified that assessed inhalation of cromones for prolonged non-specific cough in children. In two non-randomised studies, the researchers found that improvements were seen within two weeks of taking cromones. Because cromones have few adverse effects, they are an attractive treatment for children. However, there is no evidence to support their routine use for the symptoms of non-specific cough in children. Further research examining the effects of this treatment is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Anti-histamines for prolonged non-specific cough in children | Cochrane
Children with non-specific cough are commonly treated with a variety of medications to treat the symptom of cough. The objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-histamines in children with prolonged cough that is not related to an underlying respiratory disease, that is, non-specific chronic cough. We included three therapeutic studies with 182 randomised participants. Two studies found that chronic cough significantly improved in both treatment and placebo groups with no difference between the two groups. One small study however described that children who had chronic cough associated with seasonal allergic rhinitis treated with cetirizine improved significantly more than children on placebo and this difference was evident by two weeks. Four studies that evaluated safety profiles included 3166 randomised participants and described a non significant increase in cough in participants who received the active medication. Despite the limitations of this review, our findings are similar to the review on anti-histamines for acute cough which showed no good evidence for or against the use of anti-histamines. In contrast to recommendations in adults with chronic cough, anti-histamines cannot be recommended as empirical therapy for children with chronic cough. Further research examining the effects of this treatment using child appropriate cough outcome measures is needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Over-the-counter medications to help reduce cough for children and adults on antibiotics for acute pneumonia | Cochrane
Over-the-counter medications to help reduce cough for children and adults on antibiotics for acute pneumonia
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications for acute cough in children and adults in community settings | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
