Robitussin, Guaifenesin, & Mucinex

I took a trip to Walgreen's today and stood there in the cold, cough and sinus section for a good 15 minutes, trying to decide what would be the best brand of expectorant to buy (with guaifenesin in it).

They had Mucinex on sale - for something like $18.99 for like 40 pills. I thought, Good Lord that is like a dollar a pill. They call that a SALE? So I looked at some other options, like Robitussin. But it is so hard to figure out which one you're supposed to take.

They say "avoid the one with the letters on it" but there was more than one box with letters on it, like CM or DM. They say that the DM is an ingredient that can cause birth defects. I'm not sure about the other letters but - it's enough to make me want to look for a different option. I wish they could just write it on the back of the box: "Yes Ladies, this is the one you want to take if you're trying to get pregnant."







I'd read in an online chat that you can just take the less-expensive guaifenesin pills (not a name brand) - like in a basic expectorant. I took a look at a very large bottle of Walgreens' brand expectorant pills after I saw they had an active ingredient of guaifenesin - 400 mg. There were 240 tablets in the bottle, and it was $19.99 - so I'd be getting like 6x more than with the Mucinex (which must have a huge advertising budget). Love how it says "MUCUS RELIEF" in big capital letters on the bottle.




I analyzed the ingredients on the back of the bottle, trying to make sure none of them were dangerous. The only "active ingredient" in the pills was the guaifenesin. Still, I wanted to look up the ingredient "maltodextrin" when I got home, but luckily it seems to be some kind of harmless corn starch, so I think it's pretty safe to take the stuff.


I stood there for a while, trying to figure out if I'd really need that many pills. That's like - 3/4 of a years' worth. But then again life does have this funny way of working, where, the odds seem like they'd be much higher that you'd get knocked up right after buying this huge bottle of pills, whereas if you just got the 24 pack of Mucinex, you'd find yourself having to run back to the drugstore, spending another $20, month after month. Kind of like the rule with women where, if you want to get lucky with a guy, you should wear the most horrible pair of panties in your whole drawer. Fate just can't resist setting you up for comedic relief.

Here's the article I read on Robitussin / Guaifenesin:

http://www.pinelandpress.com/faq/cm.html