5.9 Expectorants
Guaifenesin is an example of an expectorant.
Mechanism of Action: 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.
Indications: Expectorants are used for a productive cough and for loosening mucus from the respiratory tract.
Nursing Considerations: Avoid in children under the age of four. Guaifenesin is only recommended for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding when benefit outweighs the risk.
Side Effects/Adverse Effects: Guaifenesin may cause a skin rash, headache, nausea, and vomiting.[1]
Health Teaching & Health Promotion: Clients should take care to avoid irritants that stimulate their cough. Additionally, the medication can cause drowsiness. Clients should avoid taking them with other CNS depressants or alcohol.[2] Encourage increased fluid intake to thin secretions, if not contraindicated.
Now let’s take a closer look at the medication grid for guaifenesin in Table 5.9.[3],[4],[5]
Table 5.9 Guaifenesin Medication Grid
Class/Subclass |
Prototype/Generic |
Nursing Considerations |
Therapeutic Effects |
Side/Adverse Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expectorant | guaifenesin | No eating or drinking for 30 minutes after syrup
Encourage client to cough and deep breathe Encourage increased fluid intake to thin secretions, if not contraindicated |
Helps loosen sputum (mucus) and thin bronchial secretions to make coughs more productive | Increased drowsiness in large doses
Gastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea |
- Frandsen, G., & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams’ clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵
- uCentral from Unbound Medicine. https://www.unboundmedicine.com/ucentral ↵
- This work is a derivative of Pharmacology Notes: Nursing Implications for Clinical Practice by Gloria Velarde licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ↵
- Frandsen, G., & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams’ clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵
- This work is a derivative of DailyMed by U.S. National Library of Medicine in the Public Domain. ↵
