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Difference Between Antitussive and Expectorant
Antitussives are a type of drug that might help alleviate your persistent cough. Taking an expectorant might help you cough up phlegm more easily. Read this article to learn more about Antitussives and Expectorants and how they are different from each other.
What is an Antitussive?
An antitussive significantly reduces coughing by inhibiting the brain's cough reflex. Antitussive drugs reduce the frequency and severity of a person's cough.
Ingredients − Dextromethorphan, a synthetic substance related to codeine, is the main component of an antitussive. Although it is highly addictive, codeine can help relieve pain and suppress coughing. Dextromethorphan, like codeine, is produced from an opiate but has the major benefit of reducing the risk of tolerance and dependency. Levodropropizine, while likewise an antitussive, works on the cough reflex in a different way.
In terms of its action, levodropropizine targets the sensory afferents rather than the medulla itself in the brain stem. Dextromethorphan is a centrally-acting medication because it has an antagonistic impact on the cell receptors in the medulla that control the cough reflex. The medication binds to certain receptors, which disrupts cell signalling pathways involved in the cough reflex.
An antitussive is used for certain types of coughs in which there is not an overproduction of mucus. They often are good medications where coughing is because of an allergic reaction or due to a sinus problem or rhinovirus infection.
What is an Expectorant?
To loosen mucus and facilitate coughing, a variety of medications known as "expectorants" can be used. This is used to stifle a cough rather than alleviate it, thus it shouldn't be mistaken with an antitussive.
The active element in expectorant cough medication is guaifenesin. There are situations when guaifenesin is used with other medications like salbutamol or bromhexine. Glycerol guaiacolate, the precursor of guaifenesin, was extracted from the gum of the guaiacum tree.
Guaifenesin's action makes the mucus less thick and sticky, making it simpler to cough up and easing the chest and airway congestion that often accompanies respiratory infections. Salbutamol is commonly used with guaifenesin in expectorant medication because it operates on adrenergic receptors of the airway cells to help relax the muscles and make breathing easier in situations when there is significant chest congestion. Bromhexine is a mucolytic, therefore it aids guaifenesin in its mission to remove mucus from the airways.
When excessive mucus production is a symptom of a disease or sickness, an expectorant cough treatment might be useful. Numerous conditions cause severe chest congestion, including bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and bronchiectasis. Since the expectorant greatly dilutes the mucus, it is much simpler to cough up and expel.
Some cough formulations include both guaifenesin and dextromethorphan, however expectorants are often reserved for the treatment of infectious coughs and antitussives for the treatment of allergies. If you want to know which drug will work best for you, it's better to see a medical professional.
Differences: Antitussive and Expectorant
The following table highlights the major differences between Antitussives and Expectorants −
Characteristics |
Antitussive |
Expectorant |
|---|---|---|
Definition |
An antitussive is a chemical substance that specifically acts to reduce the coughing reflex of the brain so you cough less. |
An expectorant functions to reduce the viscosity of mucus so it is easier to expel. |
Ingredients |
The ingredients in an antitussive include dextromethorphan, levodropropizine, and codeine. |
The ingredients in an expectorant include guaifenesin, bromhexine, and salbutamol. |
Impact on the medulla of the brain |
An antitussive directly influences the cough reflex center in the medulla oblongata by binding to cell receptors. |
An expectorant affects the viscosity of the mucus and does not directly impact the medulla of the brain. |
Direct impact on the mucus |
An antitussive does not directly impact mucus but rather it affects the coughing reflex of the brain. |
An expectorant directly impacts mucus because it functions to make mucus much thinner and easier to cough up. |
Conclusion
Antitussives are used to treat coughs due to irritation such as in allergies, including hay fever or sinusitis. Expectorants, on the other hand, are used to treat coughs due to infections like bronchitis and bronchiectasis.
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