Guaifenesin
expectorant medication
Guaifenesin, also known as glyceryl guaiacolate, which is sold under many brand names including Mucinex, is an expectorant medication taken by mouth and marketed as an aid to eliminate sputum from the respiratory tract. Chemically, it is an ether of guaiacol and glycerine. It may be used in combination with other medications. A 2014 study found that guaifenesin does not affect sputum volume in upper respiratory infections (the upper respiratory system includes most breathing parts above the lungs). In 2023, guaifenesin was alleged to work by increasing the liquid content in airway secretions.
Side effects may include dizziness, sleepiness, skin rash, and nausea. While it has not been properly studied in pregnancy, it appears to be safe.
Guaifenesin has been used medically since at least 1933. It is available as a generic medication and over-the-counter (OTC). In 2023, it was the 291st most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 500,000 prescriptions.
“Guaifenesin” enters the record as expectorant medication. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Guaifenesin, expectorant and medication can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q420682. The first chronological checks are 2014, 2023 and 1933.
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This entry incorporates text from “Guaifenesin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.