Skip to main content
Logo for WebMD
Logo for WebMD
  • Coronavirus Update
  • Check Your Symptoms
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Dentist
  • Connect to Care
  • Find Lowest Drug Prices
  • Health
    A-Z
    Health A-Z
    Health A-Z
    Common Conditions
    • ADD/ADHD
    • Allergies
    • Arthritis
    • Cancer
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Depression
    • Diabetes
    • Eye Health
    • Heart Disease
    • Lung Disease
    • Orthopedics
    • Pain Management
    • Sexual Conditions
    • Skin Problems
    • Sleep Disorders
    • View All
    Resources
    • Symptom Checker
    • WebMD Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Newsletters
    • Questions & Answers
    • Insurance Guide
    • Find a Doctor
    • Children's Conditions A-Z
    • Surgeries and Procedures A-Z
    • Featured Topics
    • woman experiencing chest discomfort Symptom Checker COVID-19: Check Your Symptoms Now
    • photo of migraine Slideshow Get Help for Migraine Relief
  • Drugs &
    Supplements
    Drugs & Supplements
    Drugs & Supplements
    Find & Review
    • Drugs
    • Supplements
    Drug Basics & Safety
    • Commonly Abused Drugs
    • Taking Meds When Pregnant
    Tools
    • Manage Your Medications
    • Pill Identifier
    • Check for Interactions
    • Drug Comparison Tool
    • Featured Topics
    • assorted vitamins Slideshow Vitamins You Need as You Age
    • berry and yogurt on spoon Slideshow Supplements for Better Digestion
  • Living
    Healthy
    Living Healthy
    Living Healthy
    Diet, Food & Fitness
    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Weight Loss & Obesity
    • Food & Recipes
    • Fitness & Exercise
    Beauty & Balance
    • Healthy Beauty
    • Health & Balance
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Oral Care
    Living Well
    • Women's Health
    • Men's Health
    • Aging Well
    • Healthy Sleep
    • Healthy Teens
    • Featured Topics
    • grocery cart Article Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes
    • walking sneakers Quiz Do You Know the Benefits of Walking?
  • Family &
    Pregnancy
    Family & Pregnancy
    Family & Pregnancy
    All About Pregnancy
    • Getting Pregnant
    • First Trimester
    • Second Trimester
    • Third Trimester
    • View All
    Parenting Guide
    • Newborn & Baby
    • Children's Health
    • Children's Vaccines
    • Raising Fit Kids
    • View All
    Pet Care Essentials
    • Healthy Cats
    • Healthy Dogs
    • View All
    • Featured Topics
    • apple slices and peanut butter Slideshow Smart Snacks When You're Pregnant
    • photo of dogs kissing Slideshow Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats
  • News &
    Experts
    News & Experts
    News & Experts
    Health News
    • Coronavirus News & Updates
    • COVID-19 Vaccines -- Latest Updates Here
    • COVID-19: Check Your Symptoms Now
    • Coronavirus in Context: Interviews With Experts
    • Social Distancing, Quarantine Explained
    Experts & Community
    • WebMD Blogs
    • News Center
    • Featured Topics
    • photo of coronavirus cell WebMD News Get the Latest COVID-19 News Here
    • photo of person typing Newsletters Sign Up to Receive Our Free Coroanvirus Newsletter
  • Mobile Apps
  • Subscriptions
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • My Profile
    • My Tools
    • My WebMD Pages
    • My Account
    • Sign Out

    Child Behavior Problems Home

    • Medical Reference
    • Features
    • Video
    • Quizzes
    • Health Tools
    • Expert Commentary
    • News Archive

    Parenting

    • News
    • Reference
    • Slideshows
    • Quizzes
    • Videos
    • Questions & Answers
    • Find a Pediatrician

    Guides

    • Toddler Milestones
    • Child Development
    • Behavior & Discipline
    • Child Safety
    • Healthy Habits
    • All Guide Topics

    Related Topics

    • ADHD in Children
    • Baby Center
    • Baby's First Year
    • Child BMI Calculator
    • Children's Health
    • Children's Vaccines
    • Kids and Sleep
    • Raising Fit Kids
    • Teen Health
    • More Related Topics
    • Parenting
    • Videos

    Causes and Treatments for Your Children's Cough

    Cough Medicine Abuse in Teens

    Video Transcript

    Brendan: To get drugs, I would leave the campus.

    Narrator: Meet Brendan. He's 16 and a recovering drug addict. He's showing us how easily students can score a highly popular drug during school hours.

    Brendan: And we can just do it any time of the day, even go during lunch because no one knows when you are at lunch.

    Steven Brendan's Dad: You go to the RaceTrac or to CITGO or the Handy Mart and there it's sitting right there on the shelf and you just look around and make sure the cameras aren't on you, slipping it in your pocket, take off and guzzle it down during school.

    Brendan: You can just say, "Hey, can I go to the bathroom?" You go in the bathroom (butt) You take 20 pills of DXM. You just go back to class.

    Narrator: And you would do that?

    Brendan: DXM, yeah, it was a really a popular school drug. All my friends were always strung out on it.

    Narrator: Look familiar? DXM or Dextromethorphan is the active ingredient in most cough medicines. One in ten teenagers say they have used DXM to get high, making it more popular for teens than LSD, cocaine, ecstasy or meth.

    Tricia Brendan's Mom: They don't think there is anything wrong with it actually. It's available. My mom has it at home. We have taken that as a kid. What is wrong with a little bit more? There were liquid cough medicines in this house, asthma, allergies. Older teens had it for for those reasons. There were always pills available. They were not locked up.

    Brendan: I would go into the kitchen where my mom kept it, just open the medicine cupboard and just grab the whole bottle. No one really suspects anything even if there are people around. It would be like, "Oh yeah he needs some cough medicine" but I didn't plan on taking the normal dose. I wanted to go all the way. Like they didn't know I was going to use such a common item just to get high.

    Narrator: Brendan started experimenting at 13 and would use the internet to feed his knowledge…

    Brendan: Well YouTube, if you want to see like a visual representation of what the drug would be like, like for hallucinogens like what your body motions would be like, what your thoughts are. It's a good site for that..

    Narrator: While Facebook has become the new street corner dealer.

    Brendan: Hey man! I need two bottles of Tuss.

    Narrator: Tuss is one of the slang terms for DXM, along with skittles, rojo and triple C's.

    Brendan: They pick fights alot.

    Narrator: Like many kids who experiment, Brendan's drug use escalated until he was caught and sent to rehab.

    Tricia Brendan's Mom: He has 70% chance about of relapse. He could be one of the 30% that make it without ever again having a problem. But he is very aware that he has to be on a look out for that for the rest of his life.

    Steven Brendan's Dad: And it's not a drug that you can do a dipstick urine test on your kid and find it. It has to have a specific blood test in order to find out if they are using Dextromethorphan.

    Tricia Brendan's Mom: I have learned to lock everything up, any pain-relievers, anti-inflammatory, any cough-and-cold medicine. If you need any type of medicine in my house that is over-the-counter that you can walk in a drug store and buy, it is all locked up and no one has the key, but me.

    Steven Brendan's Dad: You need to have a high index suspicion even with the perfect child. I would say it is as important to lock up DXM as it is to lock up the lie that you would use as a drain-opener We had no clue, absolutely no clue.

    Narrator: For WebMD, I'm Sandee LaMotte

    Related Videos

    Editor's Picks

    • woman with cup of coffee

      Video

      The Truth About Coffee
    • tongue scraper and tongue

      Video

      5 Ways to Beat Bad Breath
    • couple having sex in bed

      Video

      Why Orgasms Feel Good

    Latest Videos

    Top Picks

    • How to Discipline Kids Without Spanking
    • 7 Signs You Might Be a Helicopter Parent
    • What to Do About Bedwetting
    • Crazy Things Teens Use to Get High
    • Gross Things Kids Do
    • When Your Child Has Migraines

    further reading

    • Rite of Passage or Cry for Help?
    • Cutting & Self-Harm: Warning Signs and Treatment
    • Stop Yelling At Your Kids
    • Use Your Mind for Fit Behavior Change
    • The Hyperactive Child
    • Understanding the Basics of ADHD
    • Help Kids Resist Drugs
    • Child Behavior Problems Topics

    Today on Grow

    Girl holding up card with BMI written

    Kids’ BMI Calculator: Is Your Child at a Healthy Weight?

    toddler climbing

    Toddler Milestones: What Happens in Your Child’s Second Year

    washing hands close up

    Sick Kids? 15 Tips to Help Stop the Spread of Germs

    picky eater

    Feeding Picky Eaters: Tips for Dealing With Mealtime Mayhem

    Recommended for You

    kid drinking blue drink Slideshow

    Is Your Child Drinking Too Much Sugar?

    child brushing his teeth Slideshow

    The Dirtiest Places Kids Will Find

    Sipping hot tea Article

    10 Tips for Parenting Preteens

    boy drinking from cereal bowl Article

    How to Teach Your Kids Manners

    hand holding a cell phone Article

    Is Your Child Too Young for a Cell Phone?

    mom in boxing gloves Slideshow

    7 Signs You Might Be a Helicopter Parent

    girl being bullied Article

    Teasing vs Bullying: How to Tell the Difference

    teen with serious expression Article

    Is Your Teen a Vaper?

    Tools & Resources

    • Video: Installing a Toddler's Car Set
    • What to Know About Potty Training
    • What Is 'Transitioning'?
    • Should You Care About Child Milestones?
    • Video: Fast Facts About Twins
    • 15 Alternatives to Spanking

    Health Solutions

    • Penis Curved When Erect
    • Could I have CAD?
    • Treat Bent Fingers
    • Long-Term Acute Care
    • Enlarged Prostate Facts
    • Cancer Detection
    • Rethink MS Treatment
    • Is My Penis Normal?
    • Risk of a Future DVT/PE
    • Discover hATTR Symptoms
    • Weight-Loss Surgery
    • Healthy Weight Loss
    • Bent Finger Causes
    • AFib-Related Strokes
    • Preventing Infection
    • Missing Teeth?

    More from WebMD

    • Finding the Care You Need for MS
    • New Hope for Narcolepsy
    • Eat Better in the New Year
    • Psoriatic Arthritis and Your Sleep
    • What Psoriasis Feels Like
    • First Psoriatic Arthritis Flare
    • Talking to Your Doctor About RA
    • Start a Home Fitness Program
    • Avoiding Crohn’s Flares
    • Common Psoriasis Triggers
    • Relief for Blocked Hair Follicles
    • Types of B-Cell Therapy for MS
    • Tackling Pain of Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Why Prostate Cancer Spreads
    • When Ulcerative Colitis Flares
    • Where Breast Cancer Spreads
    • Logo for WebMD
      • Visit WebMD on Facebook
      • Visit WebMD on Twitter
      • Visit WebMD on Pinterest
    • Policies

      • Privacy Policy
      • Cookie Policy
      • Editorial Policy
      • Advertising Policy
      • Correction Policy
      • Terms of Use

      About

      • Contact Us
      • About WebMD
      • Careers
      • Newsletter
      • Corporate
      • WebMD Health Services
      • Site Map
      • Accessibility
    • WebMD Network

      • Medscape
      • Medscape Reference
      • MedicineNet
      • eMedicineHealth
      • RxList
      • OnHealth
      • WebMDRx
      • First Aid
      • WebMD Magazine
      • WebMD Health Record
      • Dictionary
      • Physician Directory
    • Our Apps

      • WebMD Mobile
      • WebMD App
      • Pregnancy
      • Baby
      • Allergy
      • Medscape

      For Advertisers

      • Advertise with Us
      • Advertising Policy

    © 2005 - 2019 WebMD LLC. All rights reserved.

    WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

    See additional information.