What is it used for?
- Chesty coughs in children aged six years and over.
How does it work?
Calcough six plus syrup contains the active ingredient guaifenesin.
Guaifenesin is a type of medicine called a cough expectorant. Expectorants are used to treat a productive or chesty cough, in which phlegm is coughed up.
Expectorants such as guaifenesin are thought to work by stimulating receptors in the stomach, causing a reflex increase in the volume of fluid produced in the airways. This decreases the thickness of the secretions in the airways, thus loosening phlegm and making it easier to cough up.
How much do I give?
- Children aged 6 to 12 years can be given 10ml syrup (two 5ml spoonfuls) up to four times a day.
- Carefully follow the dosage instructions provided with this medicine. Do not exceed the recommended dose. The medicine should be administered carefully using the spoon or measuring device supplied to make sure the child does not receive more than the maximum dose.
- Don't use this medicine for more than five days without consulting a doctor.
- If your child has any of the following symptoms you should consult your doctor so that their cough can be investigated further: coughing up phlegm that is green, rusty brown, yellow, blood-stained or foul smelling; asthma; shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing; sudden weight loss; recurrent night-time cough; or a long-term persistent cough.
- Consult your doctor if your child's cough lasts for more than five days, gets worse, comes back, or is accompanied by a fever, rash, or persistant headache.
- Do not give your child other cough and cold medicines in combination with this one. Different products may contain the same active ingredient(s) and using more than one at the same time could lead to you exceeding the recommended dose for your child. For further advice talk to your pharmacist.
Not to be used in
- Children under six years of age.
This medicine should not be used if your child is allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if your child has previously experienced such an allergy. If you feel your child has experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Use with caution in
- Severely decreased kidney function.
- Severely decreased liver function.
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Just because a side effect is stated here does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Abdominal discomfort.
- Feeling sick or vomiting.
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine's manufacturer. For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.
How can this medicine affect other medicines?
You should not give your child other cough and cold medicines in combination with this one. Different products may contain the same active ingredient(s) and using more than one at the same time could lead to you exceeding the recommended dose for your child. For further advice talk to your pharmacist.
You should not give this medicine in combination with medicines that contain cough suppressants, such as dextromethorphan or pholcodine, as these would have an opposite effect to this medicine.
This medicine is not expected to affect any other medicines. However, if your child is already taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines and those bought without a prescription, you should always check with your pharmacist before giving them this one as well, to make sure that the combination is safe.
Other medicines containing the same active ingredient
|Benylin children's chesty coughs||Benylin mucus cough menthol||Boots chesty cough relief oral solution|
|Boots chesty cough syrup 6 years plus||Family meltus chesty coughs honey and lemon flavour||Lemsip cough chesty|
|Liqufruta garlic cough medicine||Robitussin chesty cough medicine||Tixylix chesty cough|
|Vicks cough syrup for chesty coughs|