{"id":223,"date":"2019-11-12T17:52:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T17:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/chapter\/5-9-expectorants\/"},"modified":"2021-12-07T11:11:18","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T11:11:18","slug":"5-9-expectorants","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/chapter\/5-9-expectorants\/","title":{"raw":"5.9 Expectorants","rendered":"5.9 Expectorants"},"content":{"raw":"Guaifenesin is an example of an expectorant.\n\nMechanism of Action<\/strong>\n\nExpectorants reduce the viscosity of tenacious secretions by irritating the gastric vagal receptors that stimulate respiratory tract fluid, thus increasing the volume but decreasing the viscosity of respiratory tract secretions.\n\nIndication for Use<\/strong>\n\nExpectorants are used for a productive cough and for loosening mucus from the respiratory tract.\n\nNursing Considerations Across the Lifespan<\/strong>\n\nThe medication is safe for all ages. Guaifenesin is only recommended for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding when benefit outweighs the risk.\n\nAdverse\/Side Effects <\/strong>\n\nGuaifenesin may cause a skin rash, headache, nausea, and vomiting.[footnote]Frandsen, G. & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams\u2019 clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice <\/em>(11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.[\/footnote]<\/sup>\n\nPatient Teaching & Education <\/strong>\n\nPatients should take care to avoid irritants that stimulate their cough.\u00a0 Additionally, the medication can cause drowsiness. Patients should avoid taking them with other CNS depressants or alcohol.[footnote]uCentral from Unbound Medicine. https:\/\/www.unboundmedicine.com\/ucentral<\/a>[\/footnote]<\/sup>\n\nNow let's take a closer look at the medication grid for guaifenesin in Table 5.9.[footnote]This work is a derivative of\u00a0Pharmacology Notes: Nursing Implications for Clinical Practice<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Gloria Velarde<\/a>\u00a0licensed under\u00a0CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a>.[\/footnote],[footnote]Frandsen, G. & Pennington, S. (2018).\u00a0Abrams\u2019 clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice\u00a0<\/em>(11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.[\/footnote],[footnote]This work is a derivative of\u00a0Daily Med<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0U.S. National Library of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0in the public domain<\/a>. [\/footnote]<\/sup>\n\nTable 5.9 Guaifenesin Medication Grid\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Class\/Subclass<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Prototype\/Generic<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Administration Considerations<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Therapeutic Effects<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Adverse\/Side Effects<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Expectorant<\/th>\nguaifenesin<\/a><\/td>\nNo eating or drinking for 30 minutes after syrup\n\nEncourage patient to cough and deep breath\n\nStay hydrated (2-3 liters\/day)<\/td>\nHelps loosen sputum (mucus) and thin bronchial secretions to make coughs more productive<\/td>\nIncreased drowsiness in large doses\n\nGastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","rendered":"

Guaifenesin is an example of an expectorant.<\/p>\n

Mechanism of Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expectorants reduce the viscosity of tenacious secretions by irritating the gastric vagal receptors that stimulate respiratory tract fluid, thus increasing the volume but decreasing the viscosity of respiratory tract secretions.<\/p>\n

Indication for Use<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expectorants are used for a productive cough and for loosening mucus from the respiratory tract.<\/p>\n

Nursing Considerations Across the Lifespan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The medication is safe for all ages. Guaifenesin is only recommended for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding when benefit outweighs the risk.<\/p>\n

Adverse\/Side Effects <\/strong><\/p>\n

Guaifenesin may cause a skin rash, headache, nausea, and vomiting.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Patient Teaching & Education <\/strong><\/p>\n

Patients should take care to avoid irritants that stimulate their cough.\u00a0 Additionally, the medication can cause drowsiness. Patients should avoid taking them with other CNS depressants or alcohol.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Now let’s take a closer look at the medication grid for guaifenesin in Table 5.9.[3]<\/sup><\/a>,[4]<\/sup><\/a>,[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Table 5.9 Guaifenesin Medication Grid<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Class\/Subclass<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Prototype\/Generic<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Administration Considerations<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Therapeutic Effects<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n
\n
Adverse\/Side Effects<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Expectorant<\/th>\nguaifenesin<\/a><\/td>\nNo eating or drinking for 30 minutes after syrup<\/p>\n

Encourage patient to cough and deep breath<\/p>\n

Stay hydrated (2-3 liters\/day)<\/td>\n

Helps loosen sputum (mucus) and thin bronchial secretions to make coughs more productive<\/td>\nIncreased drowsiness in large doses<\/p>\n

Gastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

  1. Frandsen, G. & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams\u2019 clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice <\/em>(11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. uCentral from Unbound Medicine. https:\/\/www.unboundmedicine.com\/ucentral<\/a> ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. This work is a derivative of\u00a0Pharmacology Notes: Nursing Implications for Clinical Practice<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Gloria Velarde<\/a>\u00a0licensed under\u00a0CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a>. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. Frandsen, G. & Pennington, S. (2018).\u00a0Abrams\u2019 clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice\u00a0<\/em>(11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. This work is a derivative of\u00a0Daily Med<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0U.S. National Library of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0in the public domain<\/a>. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":9,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":"cc-by"},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[53],"class_list":["post-223","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless","license-cc-by"],"part":195,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/223\/revisions\/224"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/195"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/223\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.publishdot.com\/nursingpharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}