Medication (Over the counter)

[Sash17]

Can we have ibuprofen, Advil or cough syrup during whole30? I'm unfortunately starting a cough and would like to know what were my options?

Thanks!

[JulieP757]

I just got back from Walgreens looking for cough syrup that was compliant.  There's no such thing - they all had some form of sugar.  Same for the gel tabs.  

[missmary]

sorry you aren't feeling well Julie, and good for you reading labels and trying to find something compliant. The whole30 does not ask you to forgo necessary medication, so it is up to you to determine if these are necessary for you at this time.

 

If you need a painkiller. Take a painkiller, but do note that something like tylenol will be easier on your gut than advil.

 

If you need cough relief, you might try some other options, like warm lemon/ginger water or throat coat tea, but in the end you get to decide if you need something additional (note to other people reading this thread: this is not license to eat cough drops instead of candy, regardless if you have a cold or not).

 

One more thought: sometimes people will feel like a cold is coming on when it is really a response to the eliminated allergens being flushed out of the body. Try drinking lots of water and see if that helps.

[QuilterInVA]

I just got back from Walgreens looking for cough syrup that was compliant.  There's no such thing - they all had some form of sugar.  Same for the gel tabs.  

Did you ask the pharmacist? They do have cough syrup for diabetics that doesn't contain sugar.

[JulieP757]

No I didn't know you could do that.  I ended up getting some Coricidin liquid-gels, which have propylene glycol and sorbitol in them.  I figured that was a little better than the high fructose corn syrup in some of the cough syrups.

 

 I'm not doing a WF 30 right now, but I like to try to avoid the added sugars as much as possible.  On a positive note, the Coricidin works great.