Chemistry:Coricidin

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Short description: Brand name for a cough and pain medicine
Coricidin
Dextromethorphan.svg
Chlorphenamine.svg
Chemical structures of dextromethorphan (top) and chlorpheniramine
Combination of
Dextromethorphancough suppressant
Chlorpheniramineantihistamine
Clinical data
Trade namesCoricidin 'D'
Pharmacokinetic data
MetabolismCYP2D6 isozyme of Cytochrome P450
Identifiers
CAS Number
UNII

Coricidin, Coricidin 'D' (decongestant), or Coricidin HBP (for high blood pressure), is the name of an over-the-counter cough and cold drug containing dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and chlorpheniramine maleate (an antihistamine).[1] Introduced by Schering-Plough in 1949 as one of the first antihistamines, it is now owned by Bayer.[2][3] Varieties of Coricidin may also contain acetaminophen (an analgesic/antipyretic) and guaifenesin (an expectorant).

Medicinal use

Coricidin is used to alleviate common cold symptoms such as coughs and congestion. Other versions of Coricidin are used to reduce fever or as an expectorant, while Coricidin HBP includes chlorpheniramine for people with high blood pressure. Side effects can include diarrhea and hallucination.[4]

Recreational use

Coricidin, in its cough & cold formulation, is sometimes used in high doses as a recreational drug[citation needed] because it contains the dissociative dextromethorphan. In this context, Coricidin is referred to as Cs, Red Devils (Red Ds), Triple Cs, Skittles, trips, or china red.[5]

Use in popular music

Two Coricidin bottles used as guitar slides (second and third from left)

In the late 1960s, blues-rock guitarist Duane Allman began using an empty glass Coricidin bottle as a guitar slide, finding it to be just the right size and shape for this purpose.[6] Allman started to play slide guitar when he received two birthday gifts from his brother, Gregg: a copy of Taj Mahal's debut album, with its version of "Statesboro Blues", and a bottle of Coricidin pills (as Duane had a cold that day).[7][8] Other prominent slide guitarists, such as Derek Trucks (a later member of the Allman Brothers Band), Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rory Gallagher, J. D. Simo, and Gary Rossington also adopted the Coricidin bottle as a slide.[9]

Notes

  1. "Label: Coricidin HBP Cold and Flu". DailyMed. December 30, 2021. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=763a5334-a741-4678-9947-603776622450. 
  2. "Coricidin Meaning". Dictionary.com. March 12, 2018. https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/coricidin/. 
  3. "Schering-Plough profile". adbrands.net. June 24, 2016. https://www.adbrands.net/archive/us/scheringplough_us_p.htm. 
  4. "Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold", WebMD. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  5. "Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of dextromethorphan: clinical and forensic aspects". Drug Metabolism Reviews 52 (2): 258–282. May 2020. doi:10.1080/03602532.2020.1758712. PMID 32393072. 
  6. "Duane Allman's Coricidin Bottle Slide Returns Back to Allman Family After 40 Years". Jambands. May 22, 2013. https://jambands.com/news/2013/05/22/duane-allman-s-coricidin-bottle-slide-returns-back-to-allman-family-after-40-years/. 
  7. "Gregg and Duane Were Brothers". KUVO. February 17, 2014. http://www.kuvo.org/post/gregg-and-duane-were-brothers. "It was his birthday (and he had a cold), so I went and bought him a bottle of Coricidin. . . Then I went by the record store and got that first Taj Mahal record, with all the butterflies on the cover and him sitting on a rocking chair. We’d played with Taj before, borrowed an amplifier from him. So I got Duane that record and the pills.” Gregg took the gifts over to Duane’s and left them on his front porch. Twenty-four hours later, Duane called, “Get over here quick, babybrah (for baby brother). Quick, man!” Duane had taken the pills out of the bottle and removed the label. “He put on that Taj Mahal record, with Jesse Ed Davis playing slide on ‘Statesboro Blues,’ and started playing along with it. When I left those pills by his door, he hadn’t known how to play slide. From the moment that Duane put that Coricidin bottle on his ring finger, he was a natural." 
  8. "The Allman Brothers Band". Guitar Techniques. August 7, 2015. https://www.pressreader.com/australia/guitar-techniques/20150807/281608124142948. 

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