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When you’re feeling bad because of a cold, you just want to fix something. Unfortunately, many remedies are placebos, but some things at drugstores work better than others.
Before you talk Which of The medicine is best. Here are some important notes to consider: Cold medicines do not cure the cold or shorten the period. If you are reading this, you want to know how to get rid of cold fasting, or what a doctor will prescribe you to get rid of the cold – sorry. Colds are caused by viruses and there is no drug that kills them so that antibiotics can kill bacteria. The point of cold medicine is to help you become a little miserable while waiting for your immune system to fight.
Ignore the brand name of the cold medicine
Companies that make cold medicines rely on our stifling memories. If you bought a sudafed (or mucinex, or daikiel) the last time you caught a cold, this time I hope you will buy the same one. However, the brand name shows little about what actually exists in the package.
Each major cold medical brand sells a variety of products with completely different materials. Sometimes there are so many that the same brand sells the same thing under two different names. My favorite example of this is the maze of Mucinex products: their maximum strength, high-speed attitude, severe congestion and coughing same Dosage and ingredients Maximum strength sinus pressure, pain, cough. On the other hand, severe congestion and pain of the maximum strength sinus type sounds very similar to other sinus type products, but eliminates the exchange of cough-related ingredients in acetaminophen (which is Tylenol). . It’s never often you’ll navigate coughs or cold aisles just by brand names and symptoms.
So where will you go instead? Well, to quickly save the crowds, you need something good they keep behind the counter.
Pseudoephedrine (original sudaphed) is good
If your nose is blocked, Pseudoephedrine It’s a real deal. In the olden days, you could find it on the shelves of the store. Sudafed was one brand name. (Sudafed, pseudoephedrine, do you get it?) But Pseudoephedrine can be converted to methamphetaminetherefore the 2006 law restricted sales. It’s still an over-counter medication, but if you want to buy some, you’ll need to take the time to show your ID to the pharmacist.
Studies have shown that pseudoephedrine is effective in eliminating nasal congestion. If your nose feels “stuffed” with dry or sticky mucus, then that’s literally not true. The blood vessels and sinuses in the lining of the nose swell, That narrows the air passages. Pseudoephedrine constricts these blood vessels, reduces swelling, opens the airways, and makes breathing easier.
(Pseudoephedrine also constricts blood vessels in other parts of the body. That’s why it’s the case. It raises blood pressure in some peopleand is it sometimes used off-label? For PriapismIt is also known as a long-term erection. )
Anything with a “PE” in the name is not worth buying
Phenylephrine is a urinary product that replaces pseudoephedrine with a commercial product. Phenylefrine, a “PE” ingredient, has long been known to be useless in treating cold symptoms when ingested in the mouth. This has led to two pharmacists writing. paper In 2022, “Why does oral phenylephrine come to the market after persuasive evidence of ineffectiveness as an intestinal weave?”) Finally, as of November 2024, FDA has concluded that phenylephrine products have been (final). I agreed to it being removed (finally) from the store shelves.
Phenylephrine is found in sudafed PE. This is another case of the brand name that has lost you. Regular sudafed is good, but Sudafed PE has some ingredients that are ineffective. Don’t be fooled – anything with PE in the name will not work.
Most cough medications don’t work either
But it’s probably not the only cold medicine that does little for your cold. The “active” ingredients in cough drugs are probably useless. Dextromethorphan is considered a cough inhibitor, but there is little evidence to suggest that it actually does the job. It is also not a “expectorant” that aims to thin out mucus and make it easier to cough. Cochrane’s review concluded that There is not enough evidence It tells whether these or other over-the-counter drugs actually work.
Incidentally, children under the age of 4 should not use it Any According to the FDA, coughs and cold medicines mentioned so far. Luckily, home remedies such as drinking liquids and snorting with bulb syringes are safe and tend to provide real relief.
Tylenol and ibuprofen can help with fever and pain
There teeth When you think about cold medicines, this may not be what you’re thinking, but another category of over-the-counter medications that may actually help you feel better.
Acetaminophen (usually Tylenol) and ibuprofen (motorin or advil) are known as painkillers and fever reducing agents. They are do It is thought to work for these jobs and can be used safely by young children. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics caveat You should everytime Contact your pediatrician for fever in babies under 3 months of age. Fever at that age can be life-threatening and needs to be evaluated in a medical setting, so you will not take medication unless instructed.
If you’re used to looking at brand names, turn around the packaging and make sure your ingredient list contains what you’re looking for. Normally Tylenol is just acetaminophen, but the company also exposes Tylenol to the flu because it’s cold All three The above ingredients that do not work against colds or coughs. Advil manufactures similar products. These are not what you want.
Another important note: Tylenol, or acetaminophen, is laced with many cold medicines as part of the mixture of ingredients. That too Potentially toxic If the recommended amount exceeds. If you are combining medications, make sure you are not giving this ingredient double dose.
The best cough syrup is honey
So there is a working dispersant (Pseudoephedrine) and something to control fever and headaches (acetaminophen or ibuprofen). Is there anything you can do about that annoying cough? There is, but I would like to leave the aisle of the pharmacy and head to the grocery shelf.
Honey is not going to cure your cold, but it seems to relieve sore throats and relieve coughs. Studies have shown that in many cases it works better than over-the-counter cough syrup. (Is this because honey is great or cough syrup sucks? Perhaps the latter, to be honest) But don’t bother honey-based cough syrup. For hot water or tea. It’s cheap and easy.
Incidentally, important warnings about honey: Honey is not considered unsafe to feed babies under 1 year old. The risk of botuhrism is small, and babies are particularly susceptible to the effects. Honey doesn’t help that Because many, it is not worth the risk.
Almost all cold medicines for children are fraudulent
Almost all “children’s” cold medicines are garbage. Ultimately, those with urinators and antihistamines are not considered safe for children under the age of 4. But as you’re in the aisle of medicine anyway, the “natural” brand is there to fill that gap with a formulation of vitamins, honey and herbal supplements. These don’t actually do anything either, but somehow they cost you like $8 for a bottle.
But that gets worse. In both the children and adults sections, there is homeopathic therapy. This is almost a scam It should be illegal. Note what is marked “homeopathy” with components measured with “x” or “c” rather than actual units like milligrams. As the label suggests, these are not just natural supplements, homeopathy is not do not have Another word for home treatment. Homeopathic “drugs” are beneficiaries of the strange loopholes of the FDA and FTC policies, allowing them to be sold as drugs while claiming to work by magic. I wish I had made this up, but I am not. Save your money.
