Hello,
My 11 yr old son has severe bronchitis and was perscribed a cough syrup called Tussionex Pennkinetic. I looked it up on a drug info board and it say that it has Hydrocodone in it! That makes me a bit nervous he's only 11! I didn't know the doctor that saw him - it was one of those walk-in places because it was late last night.
Is anyone out there farmiliar with this medication? Will this make him feel funny? If the cough wasant so severe I would probably just stick to OTC but it's so bad that he can't even sleep at night.
Any feedback would be appreciated!

The fact is that cough syrups with codeine (or related meds) are often just about the only thing that can suppress a cough. This is pretty much to be used at bedtime so the cough won't keep him awake. OTC meds don't do anything for that.

I asked my GP for a medication for cough that really worked to suppress cough but was non-narcotic; she said such a thing doesn't exist. So I coughed my way through another night and then finally took the medicine she gave me. Slept like a rock for the first time in days.

dust off is right and also the amount of actual narcotic in any cough syrup is usually not a huge amount,not like if you took an actul tablet of vicodin or something,really.it works as a good cough suppressant and will make the coughs that he does have,much more productive.you will be glad you gave it to him if his cough is currently just hacking and non productive,he needs to keep all that crap from settling into his lungs and possibly causing even worse problems down the road.this is perfectly safe within the normal dosing guidelines for any normally healthy 11 year old.the cough syrups that do contain any narcotic are usually some of the best.really.if you want to make sure of the dosing if he is under wieght or something,either call your primary or the pharmacy where you got this filled,they will be able to tell the exact dosing for his wieght which really is the way to go when dosing children,not actually the age in some cases.but it is safe for him at his age to take,and will help tons with the cough.good luck,and i hope he is feeling better soon.marcia