Coricidin

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Coricidin, Coricidin 'D' (decongestant), or CoricidinHBP (for high blood pressure), is the name of a drug marketed by Schering-Plough that contains dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and chlorphenamine maleate (an antihistamine). Varieties of Coricidin may also contain acetaminophen (an analgesic/fever reducer) and guaifenesin (an expectorant).

1 Medicinal Use
2 Recreational use
3 Use in popular music
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Medicinal Use

Coricidin is used to alleviate coughs and and includes chlorphenamine for people with high blood pressure. Other versions of Coricidin are used to reduce fever or as an expectorant.

[edit] Recreational use

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Coricidin is sometimes used in high doses as a recreational drug because it contains the psychoactive drug dextromethorphan. In this context, Coricidin is referred to as C's, Corey (Cori), Red Devils (Red D's), Skittles (they are the same size and color of a red skittle) or Triple C's (the coricidin used for recreational activity used to have three c's on the front, which has now been replaced by two c's). Use of Coricidin for this purpose became dangerous after chlorphenamine, an anticholinergic that causes serious reactions in high doses which is worsened by the fact that dextromethorphan and chlorphenamine are both metabolized by cyp2d6 enzyme increasing blood levels of both, replaced the less harmful pseudoephedrine, which the Cough and Cold variety contained prior to 2002. Fatalities have resulted from overdoses of chlorphenamine.^[1]

[edit] Use in popular music

In the 1960s, blues-rock guitarist Duane Allman (1946-1971) of The Allman Brothers Band began using an empty glass Coricidin bottle as a guitar slide, finding it to be just the right size and shape for this purpose. Other prominent slide guitarists, such as Derek Trucks, Rory Gallagher, and Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd adopted the Coricidin bottle as well, but such bottles eventually went out of production in the early 1980s (although replicas have been produced since 1985).^[2]^[3]