Hi Michelle,
The question about cough drops - assuming these are with menthol as the
active ingredient. Menthol is what makes peppermint minty. It also makes up
over 90% of the essential oil (EO) of this plant. Peppermint essential oil
is traditionally taken internally to slow milk production.  Incidents of
accidental milk suppression involving this EO have been noted on lactnet.
And those curiously strong peppermints in a tin have been successfully used
to help downregulate milk supply though a mom has to eat a fair number per
day to see an effect. In comparison, ordinary peppermint tea would need to
be taken in quarts to affect most women' supply as the menthol content is
very low per cup. So, dose matters.

How much it would take for a noticeable effect would depend on the
individual mom and the state of her supply. While eating a few per day would
be unlikely to have any effect, eating 1-2 big bags of strong mints in a day
just might ( When sick, I have eaten this many in a day, so maybe this mom
would too!).
( ps - cough drops are not topical - they are internal).
Regards,
Sheila Humphrey
BSc RN IBCLC
Marine on St. Croix Minnesota

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