How Many Cough Drops Is Too Many? Here's What Medical Experts Say
While there's no official "magic number," too many cough drops can cause damage.
Dealing with constant coughing is both annoying and agonizing because let's face it: Getting a restful night’s sleep is virtually impossible when your throat is tickling you every few minutes. If you have a job that requires talking in any way, it makes working literally painful. On top of that are the looks. You know the ones: strangers giving you the side-eye every time a cough escapes your lips, tempting you to shout that you don’t have COVID.
For many people, cough drops are the first thing they reach for at the hint of a cough. And if one has already developed, there’s a good chance they’re unwrapping them throughout the day. But is there such a thing as too many cough drops? And if so, how many cough drops is too many? If you're prone to consuming them throughout the day, here’s what doctors want you to know.
Related: 7 Reasons Why Your Throat May Be Sore—and How To Get Relief Fast
How Many Cough Drops Is Too Many?
“In general, cough drops are meant for temporary and short-term use,” says Dr. Rabia De Latour, MD, an assistant professor at the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Regular, heavy usage can cause issues for someone based on the ingredients within the formulation.”
Dr. De Latour explains that while formulations in cough drops can vary, the active ingredient in most of them is menthol—an ingredient found in peppermint. Short-term, menthol can soothe the throat, but as with almost everything in life, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.
Related: Dealing With a Sore, Scratchy Throat? Load Up On These 20 Foods to Get Some Relief
Dr. Alexa Malchuk, MD MPH, a family medicine doctor with One Medical, says that people who are prone to acid reflux can actually experience worse symptoms if they suck on too many cough drops. Dr. De Latour agrees. “Peppermint is recommended to calm down GI motility, but this can also lead to relaxing or the lower esophageal sphincter—the junction between your esophagus and stomach—which can potentially make acid reflux worse,” she says. If your cough drops contain other acidic ingredients (such as lemon), this can also potentially contribute to acid reflux.
Also, Dr. Malchuk says that consuming menthol in high amounts can actually irritate the vocal cords—the exact opposite of the job you are hoping they can do. “If I have patients where their livelihood depends on speaking, such as a teacher or singer, I’ll actually tell them to avoid cough drops with menthol,” Dr. Malchuk says. “Even though menthol can feel soothing in the short-term and help with congestion, it can still irritate the vocal cords.”
Here’s the good news: It’s virtually impossible to OD on cough drops. Dr. Malchuk says there has only been one reported case of lethal menthol poisoning, which happened to someone who worked in a peppermint factory. “According to toxicology textbooks, menthol is considered lethal when it’s consumed in doses between 3,500 and 10,000 milligrams. On average, a cough drop has 19 milligrams of menthol. So someone would have to consume anywhere from between 200 and 500 a day to reach the lethal range,” she explains.
Still, even if you aren’t consuming lethal amounts of cough drops, you still want to avoid the tipping point where it can make your health worse instead of better, right?
Both doctors say that there’s no "magic number" of how many cough drops are too much, but they emphasize that they should be used sparingly—thing only a handful or so a day—and for short-term use only. They also reiterate that if you are prone to acid reflux or want to protect your vocal cords, cough drops with menthol may not be the best solution for you.
Fortunately, there are other ways to treat a cough.
What To Do if Your Cough Drops Aren’t Working
If you’re sucking on cough drops all day, it’s likely because your cough isn’t going away, which is a good indicator that you may want to try something else. Dr. Malchuk says that sipping on a hot beverage is another way to troubleshoot a cough or sore throat. She says that this can be in the form of tea (licorice, ginger and chamomile are all scientifically linked to killing germs), but adds that even sipping on hot water can be helpful.
“A spoonful of honey can also help, which is something I often recommend for my pediatric patients who are too young to take cough medicine,” Dr. Malchuk says, offering up another solution. Scientific studies show that honey can, in fact, help reduce coughing.
If your cough simply won’t go away and it’s something you’ve been dealing with for weeks, it’s worth it to book an in-person or virtual appointment with a healthcare provider. Dr. Malchuk says that this is important to figure out the underlying reason for the cough, which is key for treatment.
In general, cough drops can help provide short-term relief for a cough or sore throat. But they aren’t meant to be sucked on all day or used long-term. Think of them as the medicinal form of your favorite holiday cookie—best enjoyed seasonally and in moderation.
Next up, find out if gargling salt water can actually help with a sore throat.
Sources
Dr. Rabia De Latour, MD, assistant professor at the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Dr. Alexa Malchuk, MD MPH, family medicine doctor with One Medical
