...and The New Arguement for Chocolate
...This combination product is used to treat symptoms caused by the common cold, flu, allergies, hay fever, or other breathing illnesses (e.g., sinusitis, bronchitis). Decongestants help relieve stuffy nose symptoms. This product also contains a narcotic cough suppressant (antitussive) that affects a certain part of the brain, reducing the urge to cough. Antihistamines relieve watery eyes, itchy eyes/nose/throat, runny nose, and sneezing...
Creep Out. I started taking this medicine for my terrible awful no good very bad flu, and while last night I received the first good night's sleep I've had in three nights, free entirely from coughing and the hot sandpaper scratchiness in my throat, I have been horrified at what I've found after just a little research about this drug.
Firstly, the bottle in which my miracle cure was delivered contains little more than a shred of evidence as to what is inside it, referring to it only as ED-TLC 5-2-1.67 SYP EDWARDS. Now while I could have assumed that this stood for nothing more than Edward's Tender Loving Care, I decided I wanted to know more.
On first Google search, the one hit returned was a list of drugs eligible for rebate with some Iowa state medical somethingorother, in Excel form. The list is organized by pharmaceutical company and, as could've been expected, nearly all of them were unfamiliar--all except one, that is. 3M. That's right, our friendly office supply company is extending their reach further than Post-It's and Scotch tape. Now they're manufacturing a gel to treat bacterial vaginosis, and Tambocor, a drug to suppress cardiac arrhythmias, along with a number of others. This, for some reason, makes me squirm.
But back to the drug in question: Edward's TLC. Half a dozen Google searches after my 3M discovery, I had it's full name: Phenyleph-Chlophen with Hydrocodone, in Syrup form. And, wading through the innumerable drug rebate web pages, I came across the above stated description.
Now I really don't like to think of my cough medicine interacting with my brain in any way, let alone suppressing any of it's urges. Maybe this is rather naive. After all, upon more reasonably consideration, this must be how all cough suppressants work, even the over the counter ones. Even cough drops must be communicating with the brain, I suppose. So probably this is just a silly over-reaction. However, this morning after waking from my blissful sleep, I received a note from a friend sputtering on about Irish dancers in the Crown Plaza and dark chocolate being an expectorant. As it happened, the latter was a bit of information I stumbled across again, amidst an article on antitussives. It turns out she was pretty close to right.
A recent study published by Gaia Vince in the New Scientist (a source I did, at first, question, but which upon further scrutiny seems to be respectable enough) says...
...theobromine, a compound found in cacao, is more effective as a cough suppressant than prescription codeine. This compound suppresses the "itch" signal from the nerve in the back of the throat that causes the cough reflex...
The article goes on to say that this effect can be achieved through consuming only 50 grams of dark chocolate, just under two ounces! How had I not heard of this before?! Perhaps because the New Scientist may not be as credible as I had initially assumed, and the author of this particular study is a bit of a nut...
While he has published articles like "Mind altering drugs: Does legal mean safe?" and "Cosmetic chemicals found in breast tumours", I also came across two entitled "Erotic images can turn you blind" and "Goth subculture may protect vulnerable children." All articles were published in the New Scientist. He has, to his credit, also written for Seed Magazine, a publication which has received a number of semi-prestigious awards, though the articles were, well, semi-puff pieces. However, it's true that is was only the author reporting on these studies, not the scientist doing them. So the credibility of chocolate is not lost!
The Imperial College London (an institution in extremely high standings) reports that...
...a methylxanthine derivative present in cocoa, effectively inhibits citric acid-induced cough in guinea-pigs in vivo. Furthermore, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in man, theobromine suppresses capsaicin-induced cough with no adverse effects. We also demonstrate that theobromine directly inhibits capsaicin-induced sensory nerve depolarization of guinea-pig and human vagus nerve suggestive of an inhibitory effect on afferent nerve activation. These data indicate the actions of theobromine appear to be peripherally mediated. We conclude theobromine is a novel and promising treatment, which may form the basis for a new class of antitussive drugs...
And if that is not enough (though it very well should be!), Reuters has reported on the study, along with ABC and more than a handful of online journals.
And, as icing on the top of my chocolate (theobromine) cake, researchers at the University of Bristol published an article in the British Medical Journal stating...
...some [over the counter] cough medicines are no more effective than placebos for acute coughs in adults...
...which I feel just suggests even more strongly that I ought to get out of bed and procure some of Harry Potter's favorite medicine.
