My brother recommended this to me very enthusiastically, and he usually saves his enthusiasm for things that revolve around guitars. I found it at Walmart--not easily, though, because since it's not a large group of many flavors and varieties, it's easy to miss one box among lots of larger brands on either side. But it's worth the hunt.

Delsym tastes like the St. Joseph's baby aspirins (remember the orange flavor?)--really pleasant. Slightly gritty, if you bite down while it's in your mouth, but not unpleasant at all, just different in a nice way. Almost immediately (within just a few minutes, literally) you stop coughing. I have never felt such immediate relief from any other OTC or prescription cough medicine, and I've had bronchitis, allergies, etc. to deal with on and off throughout my whole life. I've downed about every medicine out there if it has "cough relief" on the side of the bottle. This is great stuff. It has a soothing feeling in your throat as it goes down, coating your irritated throat along the way, and then the cough relief kicks in within 5-15 minutes at most.

Now, the 12-hour thing is a bit of a stretch. Eight hours definitely, but not always 12. If you have a light coughing problem, maybe 12, but for serious coughing, you're going to be redosing before that. So don't take a dose and leave the bottle at the house for 12 hours. Take it with you if you'll be gone for more than 8 hours.

Delsym is made to relieve the coughs that accompany colds and the coughs that occur when you inhale irritants like dust. It's not meant to be taken when you have bronchitis or pneumonia or emphysema--if you have a lot of mucus or a chronic coughing condition, this is not the medicine for you.

I've taken this at night before bed as well as during the day before work. It doesn't affect my sleep, and it doesn't make me drowsy. I can't detect any side effects from this medicine. No dry mouth, no dry nose, no headaches, nothing. It just does its job and no more. Don't we wish all drugs did that?

The active ingredient is dextramethorphan polistirex; each teaspoonful of Delsym is equivalent to 30 mg of dextromethorphan hydrobromide. The only drug interaction precaution is for MAOI's. The dosages are 1/2 teaspoon for 2-6 year olds, 1 teaspoon for 6-12 year olds, and 2 teaspoons for 12 years +. The dosages are for 12 hours, not to exceed two doses a day.

Delsym is nonnarcotic, has 0.26% alcohol, and tastes great. It goes down easily (no funny faces) and works fast. It's in most stores, but hard to find since it's just one box among brands that have many flavors and formulas. But it's worth the hunt. If you only want a cough suppressant, don't want to become drowsy, don't want to gag at the taste of the usual red syrup, and want it to work fast, this is your medicine. One 89mL (3 oz) bottle has right at 9 adult doses, and costs about $4.

Recommended: Yes