Decision-Making Processes Relevant to Cough Medicine Strips - Research Paper Example

As cough helps the human body to get rid of foreign bodies that can cause harm to the lungs and body, it is considered a helpful mechanism. Cough basically occurs due to colds and allergies. In order to treat such cough, one can have a medicine containing guaifenesin that can help in bringing phlegm up, pseudoephedrine that helps in running nose and post-nasal drip or dextromethorphan for a dry and hacking cough.
Some types of cough are caused by a bacterial infection like Pertussis that can cause a serious breathing problem in infants. Coughs are mainly caused due to hygiene problems. Cough caused by smoking, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma should be treated well with the consult of a doctor.
Middle-class consumer behavior towards cough medicine is very general. They either avoid medicines for cough or purchase a combination of drugs that has various treatments in one. But cough medicines like guaifenesin are very harmful to the body.
Before purchasing cough medicines for children, a certain thing should always be kept into consideration. One of the major uses of cough medicine containing noscapine is that it helps in controlling birth and growth of tumors of prostate cancer (Illions, Deena, “Study shows further benefits of noscapine for prostate cancer”).
Cough suppression can cause many problems in human life like airway obstruction, hypoxemia, secretion and secondary infection. Whooping cough caused by Bordetella pertussis can be a reason behind permanent disability and even sometimes the death of infants. This disease is also easily spreadable and can cause epidemics (Articles Base, “Whooping Cough-Cause, Symptoms and Treatment”).
Consumer needs among the middle-class state that medicines should be cost-effective and can treat many diseases at once. But this belief is not fruitful. They also think that cold is a self-treated disease and does not need any treatment. If the situation gets worse, they prefer to have the counter medicine treatment.
The middle-class populace can be motivated through educational activities and advertisements in television and newspapers about the side effects of cough and why it is important to treat cough and that of doctor’s consultancy. It should explain the side effects that are caused by cough medicines and the reason behind it. Education is the prime way of making people aware of the side effects of simple cough in their life.
Children and students should be provided education at schools and colleges so that they can motivate their parents to purchase the right medicines and should when a doctor is to be consulted.