Overdose on cough syrup or just alcohol poisoning? i keep hearing about kids overdosing on cough medicine...i thought it was all alcohol. how does this happen? is it really alcohol poisoning or something else?

When : When children overdose on cough medicine, it is not generally the alcohol that hurts them, but other ingredients. The most dangerous for kids are the decongestants, such as Pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine. Some prescription cough syrups contain narcotics such as codeine, but it is difficult to overdose on this unless taken in doses larger than recommended. Alot of the hooplah over cold medicines in children is not only the fact that they can be overdosed on (which is true of any medicine), but that they don't make kids feel any better, so there is no benefit to having them on the market. Now, if by "kids" you are referring to adolescents, you might be thinking about dextromethorphan containing cough syrup. It is not uncommon for you people to try to take these substances to get high. The effects of dextromethorphan in high doses include euphoria and hallucinations, but reasons that these folks end up in the hospital include tachycardia (fast heart rate), inability to urinate, and injuries due to doing stupid things while taking these drugs.

Codeine: The most effective cough suppressant is Codeine which is often in a cough syrup that is an elixer which contains alcohol. Thus with children there is a risk of both drugs causing a problem. One needs to be careful to follow the directions and use the appropriate dose depending on both age and size of the patient.The younger the patient the more the risk. A teaspoon of honey may be much safer.

Overdose: Cough syrup is very dangerous in large amounts. Dextromethorphan can cause boring holes in your brain called Olney lesions. It is not alcohol poisoning and often can be confusing to the ER docs when these kids present as intoxicated.