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(KSL News) -- During cough season many people take over-the-counter cough syrups, but a new study finds the medicine doesn't do anything but make people drowsy.
Researchers from the American Academy of Chest Physicians studied the effects of cough medication. They found no matter how much they are used, cough medicines usually don't do any good.
Dr Richard Irwin Univ. Of Massachusetts: "And found very little evidence for the efficacy of these over-the-counter cough preparations for cough due to the common cold."
The one exception is medicines containing anti-histamines, but that ingredient makes people so drowsy most medicines leave it out.
Doctors say typical winter coughs usually go away within a few days, whether or not you take treatments for the cough. Americans spend nearly 3- billion dollars a year on over-the-counter cough syrups.
Since they don't seem to be effective in treating colds, parents may want to avoid giving cold syrups to their kids. That's according to the American College of Chest Physicians. They now recommend parents avoid giving the medication to kids under the age of 14.
The organization, which previously approved over-the-counter medications for children, said it changed its stance because it now recognizes that children should not be treated the same as adults.
