Delsym

Delsym is an American brand of over-the-counter cough medicine. It is different from most brands of cough medicine as the active ingredient is "time released". The time release allows for the drug to suppress coughing for a longer period of time without taking more.

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The active ingredient per teaspoon (5 ml) is dextromethorphan polistirex, equivalent to dextromethorphan 30mg.

Method of Action

The active ingredient, dextromethorphan, is surrounded by an edible plastic called polistirex. When the Delsym arrives in the stomach, an amount of dextromethorphan is directly released into the blood stream while the rest is surrounded by a plastic that is slowly dissolved by stomach acid. After the polistirex is dissolved sufficiently, more dextromethorphan is released.

Recreational Use

Intentional misuse by consuming more than the recommended dosage of Delsym may lead to effects of euphoria, lack of coordination, empathy, even dissociation of mind from body. This is due to dextromethorphan, a dissociative drug, which works as a NMDA receptor antagonist the same way nitrous oxide, ketamine, and PCP do. Because of the abuse potential many pharmacies and larger stores have begun taking precautions such as restricting age sales to 18, and limiting sale amounts of dextromethorphan containing products per customer.