Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Choosing the Right Cold Medicine
• Method 2 of 2: Taking Cold Medicine Safely
• Tips
• Warnings

When a person is sick, they buy cold medicine to relieve symptoms. But walking through the pharmacy, you will be surprised at the huge selection of different medicines. Deciding which cold medicine to choose is sometimes quite difficult. A little information and you will find yourself the most suitable medicine that will help you recover faster.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Choosing the Right Cold Medicine

1. 1 Buy a decongestant for a stuffy nose. A decongestant should be taken if you have sinus congestion.It will help clear up a stuffy nose. These can help ease congestion so you can blow your nose. A decongestant can disrupt sleep.
   • Taking some blood pressure medications can adversely affect decongestants. Talk to your doctor and find out if you can take these drugs.
   • Nasal sprays can temporarily relieve congestion, but prolonged use will only make it worse. Saline sprays are better at relieving congestion than drug sprays.
2. 2 Take antihistamines for allergies. Antihistamines should be taken for allergy symptoms. They dry out secretions, including runny nose, postnasal syndrome, and itchy eyes. Antihistamines can thicken mucus.
   • Antihistamines cause drowsiness.
3. 3 Take expectorants for wet coughs. Expectorants can help with a wet cough with phlegm. Expectorants help loosen and clear mucus in your chest so you can cough it up. Expectorants thin the mucus, allowing you to cough it up.
   • One of the side effects of taking this drug is drowsiness.
4. 4 Take pain relievers for high fever and muscle pain. Cold medicines can contain a variety of pain relievers. They may also be sold separately. Decide which medicine is best for your symptoms.
   • If you have sore throat, muscle soreness, or high fever, choose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen. Do not take another NSAID if you are already taking it for another medical condition.
   • Acetaminophen is usually found in Tylenol. It will help with fever and muscle aches. If you have a sensitive stomach or acid reflux, acetaminophen is the preferred choice. Do not take it if you have liver problems or drink a lot.
   • Do not take a second pain reliever if your cold medicine already has it. Read the ingredients carefully or ask your pharmacist if in doubt.
   • If you have kidney disease or kidney failure, NSAIDs can harm your organs. If you have kidney problems, talk to your doctor before taking NSAIDs.
5. 5 Take a cough suppressant for dry coughs. Antitussives help suppress coughs. Medicines marked as DM contain dextrometrophan. This is the most common antitussive drug.
   • Cough suppressants should only be taken for dry coughs without phlegm and mucus.
   • Some cough medicines contain codeine. These medications are prescribed for severe coughs; you cannot buy them without a prescription.
6. 6 A combination of various medications. Most cold medicines treat multiple symptoms at once. This means that they contain several drugs (decongestant, pain reliever and expectorant). With their help, it will be easier for you to cure a cold.
   • A combination of drugs can cause you to take a drug that you don't need. If the medicine you are taking relieves a dry cough but you have a headache, find a medicine that only relieves the headache. Take medications that only relieve your current symptoms.

Method 2 of 2: Taking Cold Medicine Safely

1. 1 Identify the symptoms. Before choosing the right medicine, you need to know what your symptoms are. Each medicine is aimed at treating specific symptoms. If you buy a cold medicine without thinking about the symptoms, you run the risk of getting a medicine that does not have a positive effect on the common cold.
2. 2 Read the instructions for use carefully. This instruction contains the composition of the active ingredients. Read them carefully before buying any medicine.The instructions for use also list the symptoms for which the medicine should help.
   • Pay attention to the concentration of medicines, which is indicated in the instructions. Some drugs may have a stronger drug concentration than others. For example, one drug may contain 120 mg of pseudoephedrine, while another may contain as little as 30 mg.
   • If you have a sore throat, you need a pain reliever or sore throat reliever. In this case, a cold medicine with an expectorant may not be the best choice.
3. 3 Try not to mix medications. Be very careful when taking cold medications. Avoid taking multiple medicines of the same type, such as multiple decongestants. If you are taking medication to treat multiple symptoms, do not take anything else.
   • Cold medicines, even over-the-counter medicines, sometimes work poorly with other medicines and can cause serious adverse reactions. Before purchasing a particular medicine, you should consult with your pharmacist and inform him about other medicines (including vitamin supplements) that you are taking. The pharmacist will tell you if it is safe to take this cold medicine.
4. 4 Follow the dosage directions. When taking cold medicine, do not overdo it. Read the instructions for use carefully.
   • When taking acetaminophen, be especially careful not to swallow more than the recommended daily dose. Also, do not take multiple medications that contain acetaminophen.
5. 5 Look for drugs that are and don't cause drowsiness. Depending on the active ingredients in the cold medicine, it may or may not cause drowsiness. The instructions for use should indicate whether it causes drowsiness and whether you should exercise caution when working with equipment and while driving. If you are going to work and your job requires you to be alert and physically fit, choose a medication that does not cause drowsiness.
6. 6 Give cough medicine to children with caution. Children's cough medicines can make them worse. Do not give cough medicine to a child between the ages of 4 and 6 without first talking to your doctor. Parents should be careful when giving cough medicine to their child. It is quite easy to overdo the dosage, so parents should be extremely careful. Be sure to read the dosage instructions carefully.
   • Look, do not give your child medicines of different brands, especially if they contain the same components.

Tips

• Keep in mind that cold medications do not cure it. They only relieve and relieve symptoms so that you feel better.
• To heal a cold, you need to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Warnings

• See your doctor if your cold lasts more than ten days or gets worse over time.