If you’re worried about overdosing, follow the dosage on the label or avoid menthol lozenges completely. There has been one report of an 86-year-old man who experienced serious symptoms after eating two entire bags of menthol cough drops every day for 20 years. He experienced: Menthol helps cool your airway passages and soothe your throat. It may be paired with benzocaine, a local anesthetic. Keep in mind that cough drops also contain a fair amount of sugar. Eating an excessive amount of cough drops on a regular basis may also lead to weight gain over time.

Sugar-free varieties of cough drops are available, but eating too many of them can have a laxative effect. This is especially true for cough drops that contain a sugar substitute known as sorbitol. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/labelrss.cfm?setid=6d5fe101-2e06-2208-e053-2a91aa0a2202 To receive all DailyMed Updates for the last seven days People with diabetes should use extra caution when eating cough drops, as they can cause your blood sugar to rise. Our effective lozenges are delightfully tasty and provide soothing relief when you’re suffering from a cough, sore throat and the effects of seasonal distress, or you need a boost to your body’s wellness. You should keep cough drops out of the reach of children, as children may think they’re candy. Cough drops also present a choking hazard to young children.

Get Label RSS Feed for this Drug

If you’re worried about overdosing, look for cough drops that don’t contain menthol. Talk with a pharmacist or healthcare professional about what cough drops are best for you. To put it in perspective, a typical cough drop contains between 5 and 10 mg of menthol. There’s no accepted standard for a menthol overdose, but research suggests anywhere between 50 mg/kg and 1,000 mg/kg could cause a lethal overdose. This suggested range is based on the weight of the individual, so the amount of menthol it takes to cause an overdose in one person is different from what it would take in another. For example, if an individual weighed 175 pounds (79.5 kg), anywhere from 3,975mg to 79,500mg could cause a menthol overdose. This would mean ingesting 397 to 7,950 drops containing 10 mg of menthol each.

It’s possible to overdose on cough drops containing menthol, but it’s incredibly difficult. Most people with menthol poisoning get it from ingesting pure menthol. Over-the-counter cough drops don’t contain pure menthol. The menthol is usually diluted.

Rewards For Life

There’s no standard limit to how many cough lozenges can be consumed. This is largely due to the amount of active ingredient variation between brands. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/labelrss.cfm?setid=6d5eba0a-88a5-72e0-e053-2991aa0aee15 To receive all DailyMed Updates for the last seven days