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One of the most popular cough medicines in pharmacies for over 100 years was terpin hydrate. It was an expectorant, meaning that it was prescribed by physicians to loosen mucus and ease congestion. It was derived from compounds found in plants like oregano, thyme and eucalyptus. It was also manufactured from oil of turpentine. This was obtained from the resin of pine trees and used to be applied topically to joints and muscles to ease pain and inflammation. Many readers who remember terpin hydrate want to know what happened to it and how to obtain it. One reader offered this:
What Happened to Terpin Hydrate?
Q. Most people think that the old-fashioned cough medicine terpin hydrate has been banned. That’s not true. Although it’s no longer kept in stock at pharmacies, it can be special ordered from a compounding pharmacy.
Four years ago I came down with a bad cold and wicked cough. I asked my doctor if he could write a prescription for terpin hydrate and was surprised that he was willing to do so. I contacted my local compounding pharmacy and they said they don’t carry it in stock but they would place a special order. They filled my prescription.
Last week I came down with another bad cold and was coughing constantly. I went back to my doctor, who asked if the terpin hydrate had worked. When I said yes, he rewrote the prescription and the pharmacy filled it. Within 48 hours it made a HUGE difference, instead of taking three weeks for the cough to run its course.
A. Terpin hydrate was a popular cough medicine in the early 1900s. By the late 1980s, however, the FDA found inadequate evidence to support continued sales.
Update from the FDA:
On April 1, 2016 the FDA stated:
“A number of active ingredients have been present in OTC drug products for various uses, as described below. However, based on evidence currently available, there are inadequate data to establish general recognition of the safety and effectiveness of these ingredients.”
Under the category of “Expectorant drug products” is “Terpin hydrate preparations.”
As a result of an FDA ruling terpin hydrate pretty much disappeared from pharmacy shelves in the 1980s. An FDA staffer confided to me decades ago that he personally used terpin hydrate and found it helpful. Nevertheless, the agency decided it was inappropriate for OTC cough and cold remedies. There just wasn’t adequate data demonstrating effectiveness. Apparently no drug company was willing to invest in new research.
We’re Left with Guaifenesin:
Pretty much the only expectorant left on pharmacy shelves was guaifenesin. It can be found in lots of cough and cold remedies. The independent Cochrane Collaboration reviews the evidence behind many drugs. In its analysis of OTC cough medicine (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Nov. 24, 2014) it reported:
“Three trials compared the expectorant guaifenesin with placebo; one indicated significant benefit, whereas the other two did not…There is no good evidence for or against the effectiveness of OTC medicines in acute cough.”
That’s hardly a ringing endorsement. One might go so far as to wonder how the FDA gave guaifenesin the green light if the data were equivocal.
Another article in the journal Respiratory Care (July, 2007) noted:
“Although expectorants, such as guaifenesin (eg, Robatussin or Mucinex), are sold over the counter, there is no evidence that they are effective for the therapy of any form of lung disease, and when administered in combination with a cough suppressant such as dextromethorphan (the “DM” in some medication names) there is a potential risk of increased airway obstruction.”
What About Terpin Hydrate?
As the reader reported, terpin hydrate disappeared from pharmacy shelves but compounding pharmacies may still make and dispense it. Many readers remember it to be quite helpful for calming a hard-to-treat cough.
Other comments from readers:
Emily shared this story:
“I used to carry Terpin Hydrate Elixir in my music bag and found it very helpful before voice lessons and singing engagements. It was available at the time at pharmacies w/o Rx (non-codeine), and 1 tsp in a glass of water, or even undiluted tasted like Cointreau (orange liqueur)! I hoarded the last bit when it became unavailable — I may even still have a bottle with dregs in it!”
Brian from the UK offers this:
“Terpin Hydrate and Codeine is still available from chemists [pharmacists] without prescription over here in England. Having had a deep chesty cough for the last fortnight, I found the terpin & codeine mixture was far more soothing, especially at night, than just codeine on its own. Apart from the physical sensation of cooling my throat and lungs I couldn’t really say if it was overly effective in producing anything more than short-term relief.
“The authorities must think that terpin does something, as the daily dosage for terpin & codeine is three eighths of the dosage of codeine on its own. So, effective or otherwise, I’m grateful that they haven’t yet banned it on this side of the water!”
What Else Can you Do for a Cough?
We are not big defenders of terpin hydrate. We agree with the folks at Cochrane that data are lacking to prove effectiveness. What we do like is thyme tea. We brew up a cup with half a teaspoon of dried thyme leaves from our kitchen spice rack. We let the thyme leaves steep for several minutes, remove and add a bit of honey. We find this old-fashioned cough remedy to be quite helpful.
If you would like to learn more about other ways to calm a cough we recommend our Guide to Colds, Coughs & the Flu. You will find other suggestions for kicking a cough.
Share your own experience with terpin hydrate, thyme or other remedies below in the comment section.
Eric
Terps for the win. Add to that a tea with Parsley that will knock back the post-nasal drip and even a CPAP user can get some solid sleep.
But don’t drive on that stuff!!!
Mike
I don’t need FDA data to prove what I, and thousands of soldiers know for a fact: terpin hydrate will stop even the worst cough instantly and provide relief for hours. I’ll go to any lengths required to get my hands on it.
Patty
I was given Terpin Hydrate and Codeine as a child. It always worked for a bad cough.
Krys
I agree 100%. My mom used to give it to us. We hated the taste but it worked for sure!!!!
Leigh
I had many URIs as a kid in the 1960s, and our family doc prescribed Terpin hydrate and codeine. I think it was OTC. It was the only thing that helped my loose hacking cough. I wish I could get it now. I’ve had a hacking cough for almost a week now and can’t sleep more than a couple of hours at a time.
RG
Is the brand Creo-terpin a terpin hydrate? We used it all the time when I was a kid, and it would work almost immediately.
Larry
My wife and I used terpin hydrate for years before it disappeared from pharmacists’ shelves. NOTHING worked as well at clearing up nasty coughs. I had a lingering cough last winter and could not find a compounding pharmacist to mix up a batch. This month, I am again plagued by a nasty cough, which has lingered for weeks. Oh, for the relief of some terpin hydrate!
Laurie
As a young preteen girl I had a raging case of bronchitis. Antihistamines and cough syrup was handed out thru pharmacy. But at night nothing would cut that dry raspy hacking cough except terpin hydrate. The taste was bitter and harsh, like biting into grapefruit peel; burned like white-hot coal going down your throat. But Iquit coughing and slept like rock. The stuff worked. That’s all that mattered.
GAIL
I will be 78 in March. All my life I have had a cough every winter. The only cough medicine that ever worked for me was Terpin Hydrate. It was great. You could get it at any pharmacy, and if you wanted the Codeine in it you just had to sign for it at the counter. We had nurses at work, and when I got a cough I would go ask them for some cough medicine; I could pick the clear stuff or the red. I always picked the clear. I am definitely going to get a prescription.
Robert
I grew up with a nagging post nasal drip and resulting cough. The only medicine that worked was terpin hydrate with codeine, and it was very effective. Then codeine was removed, and it was only somewhat effective. Then terpin hydrate was removed from the market. I’ve had to suffer with cough and mucus for years. This became a problem when COVID hit, and some people became scared when I coughed frequently. This article was a surprise! I’ve scheduled an appointment with my doctor and will ask her to get me a prescription.
THANK YOU!
Pixie
Colorado
I loved the effectiveness of terpin hydrate with or without codeine. I now use Jagermeister and it is great. Half a shot calms cough, warms the throat and promotes loosening of phlegm. But I wish the FDA would get a clue that terpin hydrate worked well. Stupid government hacks.
Roberto H
The Villages, Florida
I was in US Army during 1957-58 and first introduced to GI Gin (ETH) during BOOT CAMP Sick Bay at Fort Jackson, SC. It was a clear liquid in a small 2 oz bottle. and did not have a bad taste as many have stated. It worked GREAT on my nagging cough then, and I really am a fan of it.
The stuff my Doctors prescribe now is red and is very sweet. However, it still works.
I miss my Army GI Gin. Confound those responsible for its discontinuance.
Linda
Texas
When I was young (in the ’50’s) I would be given Turpin Hydrate with Codeine Elixer. I remember that it tasted like what creosote (what they used to put on telephone poles) smells like. It burned my throat, but it stopped the cough almost immediately! To this day, I don’t like alcoholic drinks because they remind me of that cough medicine!
Stephanie
Vermont
When I was a teenager and smoked and often got bronchitis, I also found that terpin hydrate was the only thing that would stop my cough. Once I stopped smoking, I stopped getting bronchitis so I haven’t needed anything in years. Recently I had a horrible cold and cough that kept me up literally all night. Guaiafenesin did nothing at all to stop the cough. I finally, out of desperation, went to my doctor and told her about how terpin hydrate worked great when I took it years ago. She prescribed Vertussin AC, which is Guaiafenesin with codeine. And it worked just like terpin hydrate used to. It stopped my cough! So for all you desperate coughing people, maybe this will work as well for you, too. By the way, I made and drank lots of thyme tea with honey, and it didn’t help at all, unfortunately.
Dennis N
Central CT
I am happy hear that it is still available! I worked in a good sized company in the 1980’s, and the nurses office always had a supply of that, and when anyone had a nasty cough people would refer them to the nurse for the remedy. It was referred to as ETH (Excel Turpin hydrate). It was affectionately known to us as “white lightning”. I think it might have had a decent amount of alcohol and tasted like Ouzo (licorice- like tasting Greek Liquor). It is made from orange peel skins I am told. It was phenomenal!!! It would stop a bad cough in a heartbeat. She served it in a shot-type paper cup! When she retired, and we had a whole cafeteria full of people we shook her hand goodbye and laughingly everyone said “Thank you for the white lightning”! On a serious note, I later in life had a bad cough which morphed into bronchitis and then into asthma.
Margo H
KS., USA
In the 1950’s you could obtain Elixir of Terpen Hydrate w/ codeine w/o a prescription. The FDA evidently has discontinued the product from what I read above. From them to say it is ineffective, they are lying through their teeth. I could take one dose of that cough medicine & my cough was gone for the entire day. I am describing a serious dry hacking cough. One dose in the morning & one before bed at night for two days & nights and the dry hacking cough usually accompanying a severe cold or flu was gone, period; it was also an excellent expectorant!
The FDA is crooked! There have been instances when manufacturers of products similar to a top-selling product would combine & pay them off to have more effective products removed from the shelves; this is because the FDA consistently sells out to Big Pharma!
My son can still obtain Terpin Hydrate otc overseas but you can’t here. Terpin Hydrate can be bought otc there & you can’t obtain here! I will ask for a prescription next time after reading what’s written above. I can tell you from personal experience that terpin hydrate is much more effective that Mucinex!
The reason that the FDA is telling you it’s ineffective is because they’ve sold American patients out to Big Pharma! There are medications here that are extremely effective in fighting serious illnesses like cancer available overseas without using chemotherapy & the FDA bans them here!
Human Health & Services & the FDA are totally corrupt! They have tied the hands of physicians in Amerca to the point that they can no longer properly treat their patients by simply overloading them with excessive paperwork for the government. I am 80 years old & every Dr. I’ve had since the mid to late 1950’s have been telling me this!
There are effective cancer treatments w/o chemotherapy abroad that are refused patients here. All the FDA & Human Health & Services are interested in is killing off the populace by denying them the proper medications that are available abroad! How many times do you read where there are too many people today & that we need to de-populate. Well denying the use of highly effective and safe medications that can be obtained abroad is the one way The FDA has to effectively reduce the population.
Gary L
Connecticut
Does anyone know where and who has ETH with codeine. A specific place please. I’ve called in Canada, Mexico, England with no success so far so if anyone knows please respond.
Gary L
Connecticut
I am looking for Elixir terpenhydrate with codeine and would settle even without. Have been unable to find any pharmacy anywhere in the world that is stocking it, or even heard of it. I know it is still manufactured. can anyone out there help me find a liter of it
Esther
Suffolk, VA
I have been subject to bad coughs since my early childhood. I am now 90. Terpin hydrate with codeine came on the market when I was older and the first thing I asked for when I got a bad cough. It always worked.
This year, 2018, the cough has been so bad I have tried several different remedies from the pharmacy. None has helped. I decided to ask for terpin hydrate (no codeine) and the young pharmacist has not even heard of it. I plan to send him the link so he can learn of it. After all, some old things are the best!
Tom
Mohawk Valley
Terpin Hydrate w/ Codeine was the most effective cough relief med I’ve ever taken. I suspect that the Codeine contributed the lions share of the ability to relieve coughing. I used to have it compounded at my local pharmacy per Doctor’s Prescription. Requests for that, during really bad cold coughs, are simply ignored these days. It has more to do with narcotic control. and record keeping involved in prescribing narcotics, than it’s effectiveness relieving coughs. Cough until you vomit is the current treatment modality.
jema
I am an asthmatic and as a child and young adult, Turpin Hydrate was the only cough medicine that would and could calm my coughing spells. Turpin Hydrate saved my life more than once! Over the counter cough meds simply do not work for me. I now have a severe cough andy I have tried several brands of cough relief meds and THEY ARE NOT EFFECTIVE AT ALL! Those that feel this medication does not do its job are so wrong.
My pharmacy does not know of any compounding pharmacies locally. Could you please advise.
Grammy
Arizona
I remember for years my mother could only get relief from terpinhydrate w / codeine. She’s been gone 26 years. I’m taking promethazine w/codeine for cough which is associated with my COPD or emphysema lung disease /cancer. I just googled terpinhydrate and landed here at this website. I’m glad I did. It’s like going back home for me. I’m about to turn 57 this month which is the age my mother was when she died from the above signs symptoms I’m now experiencing . I’d just like to say that I agree with the positive when it comes to terpinhydrate and thanks to all who submitted its just like going home again and my mother.
Joyce
Oregon
I’ve been missing Terpin Hydrate since I couldn’t find it sometime in the 80s. I remember telling a pharmacist that I was going to Mexico and would ask about it there. She said to please bring her some. Mexico didn’t know what I wanted.
The truth is that TH was cheap and an old remedy that couldn’t be patented. A bottle sold for $1.50 (10 or 15 ounces). Why would a drug company sell a great product for $1.50 when they can sell Guiaphenisin, a mediocre product for $9 or $10. All they have to do is take the great, cheap product off the market. Eli Lilly used to make it.
If you question my information, read a book by Jack Dreyfus, the Wall Street mogul, titled “A Remarkable Medicine That Has Been Overlooked”. It’s hard to find, but it will give you insight to the inner workings of the big drug companies.
What I do now for lung congestion is make a tea from mullien, that big fuzzy leafed plant with the small yellow flowers that grows everywhere. It grows close to the ground early on, then starts shooting up with a stalk of little yellow flowers before the winter comes on. Look it up.
Heating pads, front and back, all night long, drives the congestion out.
LARRY
CA
We used to use terpin hydrate, and it worked. It tasted like the turpentine it was made from, and I hated to take it — but, it WORKED. (Perhaps it was the sub-conscious saying, “If the alternative to coughing is THAT stuff, we’ll just end the cough.)
Bob
Ohio
I remember a physician recommending Terpin Hydrate w/Codeine in the 80s. I don’t recall an Rx necessary, just to sign for it in the pharmacy. . I needed it more for persistent congestion in my throat vs. a cough. I recall it worked well… a few years later, I went to a pharmacy and asked for it and they could not provide it (maybe without an Rx, I can’t recall). But they did sell me Terpin Hydrate without codeine. I’m taking guaifensen (sp?) expectorant pretty much constantly after I get bronchitis or a bad cold. Was googling for an alternative. Sounds like I wont be able to get it. Thanks for everyones contributions.
Patty
Boise, ID
I was given terpin hydrate years ago and it worked amazingly well. I had had a horrid, hard cough that felt like a rock in my chest, and it broke it up right away. After that, I kept it in my med cabinet, but the last time I tried to find it, the pharmacist said he’d never heard of it.
Danny J
Indiana
As of 2018-NOT ONE Compound Pharmacy could get or Order the TH wC…the VA will NOT give anything with Codene anymore. I have had a Tickle with Congestion going on 5 Months now and my Doctor at the VA will give me Nothing to help- I am in the Process of changing Doctors-mine at the VA is a Woman and I cant understand most of what she says- a looser to me! Seems the VA is NOT giving the best Meds to the Vets YET- civilians can get another w/Codeine at most Hospitals- WHY ? The VA now has NOTHING with Codeine and IF you check the Definition of Turpin Hydrate w/Codeine it says- Stops the Tickle and breaks up Congestion and I, at 72 -know very well- it was the BEST one could get to STOP Congestion and that Nagging Tickle!
Alice
OR
I remember when you could purchase terpin hydrate with codeine, over the counter. I was really surprised the time I looked for it and had to ask the pharmacist. He said it was by prescription only. It’s all I remember ever having when growing up. I knew it worked and wanted it for my family. I think it was late 60’s or early 70’s. I have found the DM cough syurp works better than most available now.
OH for the good old days.
Rainbo
Indiana
I took Terpin hydrate from the mid 50’s thru he 80’s..I though my Parents were trying to kill me…couldn’t catch my breath…but it’s the BEST cough suppressant in the world! My 2 Sons (48 & 44 yrs old) swear by it also and wish they still had it at times now. If you can find some…guard it with your life!
Tammy M
RI
I grew up with my grandmother giving it to me every year when I got bronchitis or a cold. It cleared up in a day or two. As a am fighting these year’s bout and nothing works, i would love a dose of good old terpin hydrate w/ codeine.
Mike
Kentucky
Back in the eighties, I used to get bronchitis so badly that I was literally down on my hands and knees from coughing so hard. Terpin hydrate is the only thing I have ever found that is effective against bronchitis. I always held my nose while taking it because it tastes like week-old roadkill. If I could find it again, I would gladly pay a premium for it.
JOAN
NJ
Used terpin hydrate back in the 80’s. One teaspon at night calmed your cough. Always assumed it was banned due to it being so effective.
Dean
Tx
I ordered 1 kilo of Terpin Hydrate Powder from India a couple of weeks ago. It took 6 days to arrive. Just yesterday I mixed up 1000ml of Terpin Hydrate Cough Syrup without codeine. I used only 17gm of the powder, plus 95% Alcohol, Orasweet Simple Syrup, Orange Peel tincture, water & glycerin. I have been coughing since October…tried all guaifenesin products…young doctors today don’t know what ETH is (Elixir of Terpin Hydrate)….also known as “G.I. Gin” in the military.
Happy to say my cough is subsiding rather quickly since I started taking my homemade ETH. If you want me to post more on this let me know…it took a month or more to find a reputable supplier of TH powder from India.
Kristy
Peoria, Illinois
YES! Please share! I have been up and down sick since I received a flu shot in 11/2011 as advised by my Dr.
Eugene
US
Thank you for the info.
Could you please post the contact information for the reputable supplier and more precise details of your recipe?
Bob
Utah
Please post the supplier. I’ve just gotten the runaround so far.
Vickie
Kentucky
In 1977 my daughter and I contracted tuberculosis. Both of us became active TB, the remainder of family were just listed as contacts. The only thing that helped the TB cough was Turpin Hydrate. I sure hated to see it go away, because I do have bronchitis now and I am sure it would help and not cause more damage like broken ribs from coughing
Janet
NEW JERSEY
I’m looking to purchase Terpin hydrate cough syrup. It’s the only cough syrup that ever worked for my hard, dry coughs. Anybody who knows where to purchase, please contact me.
yzoldowl
Ohio
When I was a child, my grandfather gave me terpin hydrate for cough and cold. I continued to use it through my mid-30s. Now I miss it terribly! Guiafenisin does not work at all well and nauseates me. Yes, I know codeine is addictive. I was never addicted. I used it as necessary and no more. Now because young people are abusing drugs like these for some sort of silly “high” I can’t get it any more? Canada, maybe?
Ralph
Claymont, DE
I used terpin hydrate when I was a kid, and it worked GREAT.
Now, I am a middle aged adult, and still have the phlegm/mucus issues, and nothing I use works as good.
I think the brand was called ”Terpex”, and I remember a blue cross in the bottle….
I will look for this , either here or overseas…….
Maggie
Thousand Oaks, Ca
Can anyone refer me to a compounding pharmacy that will make up a bottle of terpin hydrate? My local pharmacy can’t get hold of the ingredients. Any place in US or Canada or Mexico? I need it so badly. It is the only thing that works for me. I think I gave myself a hiatal hernia from coughing for 17 days. I’m on the mend now, but what about the next time? Help!
Sandy
Maine
Terpin hydrate was what my dad used in the Navy and he always had it on hand for me and my sibs when we had coughs. I was able to buy it from Michigan pharmacies until approximately 20 years ago. The last time I asked a pharmacist he told me that it was no longer available. Looking at the comments on this page I see that if I am persistent I can find it again. It always worked well and I actually got to like the taste!!
Bill
Tucson
I, too, used Elixer of Terpin Hydrate when I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman in the early ‘60’s. It was very effective for cough.
Adrienne
Akron, OH
Started using turpin hydrate in the 60’s. I am a nurse. I have never found anything as effective for harsh coughs than turpin hydrate with codeine except for tessalon perles. Both are available with a prescription. You might have to use a compound pharmacy for the turpin hydrate with codeine though.
Monica
Michigan
I used terminal hydrate many years ago and it was the only medicine that worked to break up mucus in my chest. . Mucinex and Robitusson DM are no where near as effective. I have been unable to find terpin hydrate anywhere. I would love to have some
Salty Doc
California
SSKI (Saturated Solution of Potassium [chemical symbol”K”] Iodide is an ancient but effective expectorant. Its use was curtailed in past because it interfered with assays of thyroid function, but I suspect modern tests would obviate that objection.
Rich
New Mexico
I have found Terpin Hydrate to be extremely effective in knocking out a bad cough, additionally a beneficial side effect of easing the twitches and spasms of my Tourettes Syndrome
Tony
Victoria BC Canada
Used to be my favourite – partly because it was flavoured with orange essence instead of the nauseating artificial strawberry used in most mixtures these days. It tasted almost like Cointreau. Boots-UK and amazon.co.uk do not list it. I have found sites in India but somewhere closer to home (Canada) would be preferable. Buckley’s plus a couple of T1s (acetaminophen/paracetamol with codeine) makes an effective substitute but tastes AWFUL. Anyone had any luck ordering online recently (2017)?
Jim K
Brockton, MA
Terpin Hydrate with Codeine had a long history in my family. My grandparents kept a bottle pretty much as a tonic for any and all uses for us kids. They called it “Dr. Burack’s Medicine” and had a prescription written by said Dr. Burack….dated in the year 1925 !! I can remember at age 15 in 1960 bringing the now tattered piece of paper to the drug store more than once to refill it. I guess the medicine kept us kids cough-free, and more importantly quiet, when they needed us to be quiet.
Marcie
California
Turpin Hydrate is a wonder medicine for coughs. Guaifenesin in the other hand does not work!
Sean
Super saturated potassium iodide (SSKI) is an expectorant. I asked my PCP at the VA for a prescription for my cough. She had to look it up. It was in the VA’s formulary and I was able to walk out with it that day.
Barbara
Currently, in the United States, a prescription is required for anything containing codeine. However, ANYTHING that contains codeine will help you feel better. It doesn’t matter if the other ingredients are useful. Codeine is an opiate, derived from morphine. You can’t determine if a cough remedy works on its own if it is combined with codeine.
Barbara
Seattle, WA
I use guaifenesin in the single ingredient cough syrup as an expectorant and have had very good results. I am currently taking it to reduce the pain from pleurisy. It works amazingly well for the pleurisy, to the extent that I can usually avoid taking a pain reliever (acetaminophen is the only one I can take). I might try terpin hydrate if it were readily available in stores, and if I thought it would work better than what I am now taking.
Bruce
Richmond, VA
I have been hunting for a source for Terpin Hydrate (non codeine) for a few years now. That stuff always worked for me for years as a great expectorant. I can’t even find a compounding pharmacy that has it! Any recommendations where to get it?? Possibly import it???
Thanks.
Scotty
Winston-Salem, NC
I have been on a quest to get Terpin Hydrate back in my medicine chest for years. I have even tried unsuccessfully to “import” it from Canada. Thought I hit a home run when my compounding Phamacist discovered he could get the ingredients to make it. However, unlike the Pharmacist at the beginning the above article, he “did the math” and figured out that it would cost him a major amount to buy the ingredients and he would have to charge me way more than anyone could afford to pay for a couple of bottles.
Mrsb62
Eloy, AZ
I understand when used properly Terpin hydrate with codeine did stop the cough and chest congestion. Let me tell you the other side of Terp. I hand the unfortunate task of having heroin addicts for parents. Although most of my childhood was in foster care, the time with my parents was spent every Saturday going from drug store to drug store from county to county in southern California loking for the cough syrup to replace the heroin. They both took a half a bottle several times a day so the need was great. They allowed my appendix to rupture when I was twelve rather than take me to the hospital. This was because the drug stores in the fifties and sixties were closed on Sundays. Not trying to bore you but there was a good reason to take it off the market. My mother died in 1965 at the age of 42
joyce
IL
In the early 70’s, I ordered drugs for an outpatient pharmacy and sometimes helped cashiering. I remembee this drug and hadn’t noticed that it disappeared from the shelves as I moved to an inpatient pharmacy.
I thought that terpin hydrate with codeine was very helpful vs. guiafenesin with DM. Now in 2015 I was prescribed promethazine DM which had an ill effect that didn’t help serious coughing and sore abdominal muscles.
Jerry
WI
Sorry for your loss but what a drug is abused that doesn’t mean that it needs to be taken off the market it means it needs to be regulated a whole lot more this particular cough syrup was as far as I’m concerned one of the best Miracle drugs for a cough that they ever invented
Evelyn S
North Carolina
Thank you for writing about terpin hydrate – made from oil of turpentine. It brought back memories of PineX along with a smile. It always tasted so terrible that just the threat of having to take it made us get over a cough within a day! Back in the mid-1960’s was when we had it and thru the years we occasionally have recalled it & wished it was still available.
Sheila
I remember using this cough syrup up until the 1970’s, maybe the 80’s. Worked great.
I want to ask about a treatment similar to Terpin hydrate: in the 1970’s, I had a serious case of walking pneumonia/pneumonia. My old timey doctor gave me a very painful injection of what I called a miracle. It reminded me of Terpin hydrate.
The injection used a huge needle and big syringe. The injection was thick. It smelled, but I loved the scent. Right before he gave me my injection, he asked me to tell him, immediately, of what I tasted or smelled.
Within seconds, I could taste, and smell, what tasted like a telephone pole that was freshly coated in creosote! It worked amazingly! It was like pulling a stopper from a bath tub drain. All that gunk seemed to drain from my sinuses and lungs. Doc said the med did have creosote or some thing like it! Years later, an osteopath gave me a shot that seemed similar. Wow.
Bruce
NC
I used Terpin Hydrate for many years when all you had to do was sign for it at the local pharmacy. When I was a medic in the 60’s we used it as well in our ER. During my many many years as a Physician Assistant I wish I had availability of that medication as it did work very well. Why the FDA chose to stop it makes one wonder. It would be nice to have it available again as you didn’t need a lot of it to have a reasonable effect.
Brent
NW IL
I definitely remember the old Creo-Turpin cough medicine, especially since my late grandpa had emphysema. There’s a wise man in Canada named Tony Pantalleresco, a veteran of the health food industry and he sometimes recommends turpentine. I would also recommend N-acetylcysteine to break up mucus, and I do use guaifenesin sometimes too. Will have to try the thyme and sage and oregano is also useful. Also you might want to check out the Smallflower site — it is a Chicago emporium which sells a lot of imported remedies. I would highly recommend it and they also have fun video reviews of products!
Judy
Eugene, Or
I have to laugh about the lady who says she still has some “dregs” left of terpin hydrate as I still have a half bottle of it on my kitchen shelf. It was the ” best ” for coughs and colds. I am glad to hear that you can still get it at a compounding pharmacy.
Jackie
Lake Geneva, Wi.
For a hacking dry cough I have used mullein tea. I picked the leaves from nature or my yard, using 3 or 4 leaves about 4 inches long. Boil or steep them in 2 cups hot water about 10 minutes and drink hot. Tastes a little like camomile and “green bean” water, sunny yellow.
In a very short time the coughing subsides and the phlegm gets loose. It will let you finally get sleep. When I had a bookstore, I sometimes gave it to someone who was going to “cough up a lung”, If you have a hard painful cough this will calm it down fast. I even had customers knock on my door after closing, asking for little more so they could sleep.
Mullein is a soft fuzzy leaf that grows wild in a lot of the U.S. I’m in Southeast Wisconsin. I have dug it out of the snow or even picked and dried in the Summer, keeping it in a ziploc. I’m told it was a Native American remedy, but it grows wild in Germany too. Mullein oil is used for earaches and that is available in health food stores.
Andie W.
W. Bloomfield, MI
I have a Question. Is Elixir Terpin Hydrate an NSAID?
Terry Graedon
Terpin hydrate is not an NSAID.
neva
Texas
My memory of terpin hydrate was that it was nearly 100% alcohol…you could sip on all day and stay drunk!
Jim K
Brockton, MA
Yes, I believe that is right – the whole ‘recipe’ for Dr. Burack’s magic medicine was Terpin Hydrate Codeine and Alcohol. No wonder the kids stayed happy.
Stanley C Parks
Washington
As a boy I worked in a compounding pharmacy back in 1939. It was by far the best and most effective cough syrup and each doctor wrote for a favorite. As a dentist 1950 to 1983 I used it personally and in my practice when a patient arrived coughing. I would give them a teaspoon of Elixir Terpin Hydrate with codeine, wait 20 minutes and proceed doing dental work with a patient that was not coughing in my face. Stanley c Parks DDS
John
Florida
Ask anyone who served in the armed forces in the 50’s or 60’s if GI Gin (Terpin Hydrate) was good to kill a cold. I couldn’t count the times I went to work with a bottle in my pocket.
Barbara
And yet the patient was still breathing after being given this cough syrup with codeine? I am just guessing, but if you also administered novocaine, there may have been a risk involved of the patient being over-medicated. I hope my dentist doesn’t “dope” me up before proceeding with my dental work.
Victor K
West Palm Beach, Fl.
Turpin hydrate was given to me when I was in the military service pneumonia ward and Japan surrendered in WW11. It was our toasting cocktail.
ladyliza
Los Angeles
My family uses mullein for a cough. But neither my husband nor I get sick anymore since we watch our vitamin D levels. My children however are another matter. Since they both work and go to grad school, they say they don’t have time to take pills. So they get colds and flu like anyone else. My son swears by mullein..56 drops in a couple of tablespoons of anything warm. We buy it on Amazon. My son came down with the flu last week. So he put 5 peeled cloves of garlic on a piece of bread and ate it. Then I gave him 4 drops of oil of oregano and the next morning his fever and aches and pains were gone. Both of those items are natural antibiotics. His flu is gone so now we treat the cold left behind.
Robert
Tarboro, NC
I remember a college fad of mixing it with gin. It was considered an excellent substitute for a “Tom Collins.”
Jane O
McKinney,Tx
I was prescribed Terpin-hydrate in the middle 60s when I was pregnant and had an uncontrollable cough. It worked.
Betty
Missouri City Tx
I remember my mother and grandmother preparing hot toddies from hot water, lemon juice, honey and a “splash” of whiskey. Sipping on the mixture seemed to relieve the cough and help with other cold symptoms.
Ginny g.
Raleigh
In the 60s we had a cough syrup called Brown’s Mixture and it tasted wonderful! Is this the same thing?
Jawhiteman88@yahoo.com
Indianapolis, Indiana
Ginny, my father used tea, lemon juice, honey, and a teaspoon of whiskey to relieve our symptons from about age 14 on. When ever I had drainage down the back of my throat from a sinus infection, which usually caused a severe case of laryngitis, Dad’s “hot toddy” did the trick. You are actually the first person in my life (I’m 66) who knows what a “hot toddy” is.
Bella
I would buy it
Rosie LaLonde
Illinois
I have a clear memory of my mother using terpin hydrate for years. I always wondered why it had disappeared—-if it was determined to be dangerous or addicting. Unfortunately I have an asthma cough that comes and goes for various reasons even when not sick. I might need to try that or your thyme tea suggestion. I appreciate the information about it and all the information you provide each week!
Stephanie
Colorado
I do remember Terpin hydrate and codeine from my childhood, it was very effective and had a pleasant taste. Fast forward many years I came down with a terrible cough where I could not get any sleep and a friend suggested Mucinex. It was very effective for me as long as you drank all of the water they suggest. I was amazed. I am sure that if more folks asked their physicians for Turpin hydrate more pharmacies would carry it. Sometimes the old stuff is still the best stuff.
Jack
Florida
Regarding Terpin Hydrate & codeine – as a kid, and young man, I used it liberally & regularly for severe coughs, and found it helpful. A psychiatrist friend with whom I was working at the time noticed me adding a big dollop of it to my coffee one morning and opined that he was glad I was not his patient. Never used it when not pretty sick.
Stan
NC
As a youngster (1950’s & 60’s) we were always given Elixir Terpin Hydrate And Codeine for a bad cough. I always heard that they took it off the market because it had codeine in it.
Jim
Many folks felt it was the high alcohol content of terpin hydrate that makes it a good expectroant , brandy and water works too.
David, RPh
Texas
Terpin Hydrate with Codeine was the victim of Big Brother. If it does no harm why not let those that think it works have it. Would any company study such a product for efficacy? Of course not. It is not economically feasible. As a pharmacist practicing in the early ’60s when there are repeated request for a product would you not have a clue that the patient was satisfied with that product. Oh, I see. Some non practicing gad fly like Sidney Wolfe (Ralph Nader’s hatch man under the guise of Public Citizen) decides what is best. Absolutely ridiculous. Terpin Hydrate with Codeine worked. Another example would be the demise of propoxyphene (Darvon) products. Sidney said they didn’t work so off the market they go only to be replaced by hydrocodone addictive products. A tremendous number of people certainly were prescribed and took those propoxyphene products. Were they really duped?
Terry
San Antonio, TX
I totally agree with you about medications. I used elixir of terpin hydrare years ago when I had chronic bronchitis and guafenicin would cause nausea and vomiting. I used to call it elixir of turpentine because it tasted so bad. I really didn’t want to take a second dose and I used to joke that I was better because it cured me because of the taste. When that was no longer marketed, I was switched to phenergan syrup which didn’t really help. A few years later, I was diagnosed with asthma and under control I don’t get ill as often, but still miss the turpin hydrate when my muscles become sore from constant coughing. Also, removing Darvocet and other Darvon medications after 50 years on the market hurt more people by because it was an effective medication for pain without causing sedation. Because of multiple chronic conditions, I had some Darvocet that I rationed out once it was off the market because I had to work 12 hour days as an RN and some days didn’t have time to eat, drink or use the restroom. After 3 back surgeries that have not relieved the pain, I have kidney disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, psoriasis, fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy, it’s difficult to find anyone who will prescribe medications for pain. They want to put in a pain pump for my back that will force me to take medication at their rate, not when I need it. None of the specialists will no longer prescribe medications for ANYONE. The anesthesia doc who I went to for years for injections for bursitis and spinal issues and is a pain specialist will not prescribe any even though I have been taking urine screens for years and only take when necessary. So at 60, I am basically reduced to doing nothing as I can only sit or stand for an hour. I still have opioids and ration them out when I need to go outside the house. I can understand why the doctors don’t want to be on a list that is monitored for narcotic prescriptions, but when my supply runs out, they will be signing my death certificate. This has only hurt those people with a medical need because the drug addicts will find something to get high on while the rest of us are in constant pain which impacts our life and ability to be productive.
Terry
Texas
Sorry about misspelled words, but lying down using my phone limits my ability to see my draft easily.
Sara H
Lackawanna, NY
I like sage leaf tea for cough. Learned of it from a docent at Mumford, NY who was talking about the Shaker herb garden.