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Carbocisteine

Medication mucolytic cold & flu
Aka: Rhinathiol, Mucosolvan alternative, carbocysteine
Brands seen in Singapore: Rhinathiol, Mucodin, Solmux, SCMC, Mucopront
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Chesty cough — thins and loosens mucus in the airways
When to take
Morning, midday and evening per the rhinathiol 5% label
Take with
HealthHub: with or without food · rhinathiol label: without
Pros & cons
Pros
  • Two rhinathiol syrups are general sale list
  • Cochrane: one trial favoured mucolytics over placebo
  • HealthHub: syrup, tablet or capsule forms in SG
Cons
  • Cochrane: no good evidence for or against otc cough
  • Nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhoea are common
  • Rhinathiol 5% label: under 15 years — do not use
Sources
  1. HealthHub (MOH Singapore) — Carbocisteine, uses / administration / side effects (article last reviewed 16 Dec 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “This medication is also known as carbocysteine. It is a mucolytic that works by thinning and loosening mucus in the airways … in the form of a syrup, tablet or capsule … taken with or without food”
  2. HealthHub (MOH Singapore) — Carbocisteine, precautions and side-effect sections (article last reviewed 16 Dec 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “gastric ulcers, liver or kidney problems and lung conditions e.g. Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) or severe uncontrolled asthma … Nausea Vomiting Stomach pain Diarrhoea … pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breastfeeding”
  3. MOH National Drug Formulary — RHINATHIOL ADULTS SYRUP 5% [SIN02759P], Dosing section · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “one measuring cup in the morning, at midday and in the evening, without food and without exceeding 3 measuring cups per day … one 15 ml measuring cup contains 750 mg of carbocisteine”
  4. MOH National Drug Formulary — RHINATHIOL ADULTS SYRUP 5% [SIN02759P], age limit, duration and contraindications · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Do not use this medicine in children under 15 years of age … Do not exceed 5 days of treatment without medical advice … if you have a stomach or intestinal ulcer … methyl parahydroxybenzoate”
  5. HSA register of therapeutic products (data.gov.sg d_767279312753558cbf19d48344577084) — 7 carbocisteine / carbocysteine rows, filtered locally 27 Aug 26 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “RHINATHIOL ADULTS SYRUP 5% … General Sale List … RHINATHIOL 2% CHILDREN SYRUP … General Sale List … MUCODIN SYRUP 250 mg/5 ml … Pharmacy Only … SOLMUX PAEDIATRIC SUSPENSION … SCMC SYRUP 100 … Mucopront Capsule”
  6. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews — OTC medications for acute cough in children and adults in community settings (Smith, Schroeder, Fahey 2014; PMC7061814) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The results of one trial favoured active treatment with mucolytics over placebo … There is no good evidence for or against the effectiveness of OTC medicines in acute cough”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.