When you have a cough, sore throat or fever, you probably just want it to go away, right? Well, to quiet your cough and relieve your pain, there are countless over–the–counter (OTC) medications that drug stores sell, but which ones are the best? Here’s a guide to the best OTC medication.
Fever reduction and pain relief
There are quite a few OTC medications to bring down your fever and relieve minor aches and pains. Tylenol, Motrin and Advil are a few of the top contenders for reducing fever because of the active ingredient acetaminophen (in Tylenol) and ibuprofen (in Motrin and Advil) said Jennifer Fass, Pharm D., clinical assistant professor at the Drug Information Center of Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy.
These OTCs will work best. However, Fass issues two warnings: if your fever lasts longer than three days, you need to stop taking OTCs and go see a doctor. You should also stay away from medications with multiple ingredients.
“It’s always better to take an OTC that has one ingredient in it,” said Fass. “If you take Tyelnol and other medications, you may be taking too much of the active ingredient acetaminophen over the course of one day. The maximum dosage of Tylenol has been reduced to 3,000 milligrams per day and people need to make sure they’re not taking too much.”
For pain relief, the medications listed above are the best OTCs to take, in addition to Aleve, said Fass. Aleve has the active ingredient naproxen, which helps relieve pain.
Common cold and congestion
Having a stuffy head can be uncomfortable and blowing your nose every five minutes can be just plain annoying, but don’t fret, there are OTCs here to save the day.
Fass said that saline nasal spray is great for congestion because it has no medication in it. The spray contains salt water, which is designed to help clear the nasal passages.
People can also use decon-gestants, like Sudafed, but they need to avoid these types of medications if they have high blood pressure or diabetes because of the active ingredient pseudoephedrine that decongestants contain.
Cough
Disrupting your professor’s lec-ture from continuous hacking and wheezing? A cough is one of those annoying symptoms that seems hard to treat, but the reason could be because you’re using the wrong medication. Fass said there are two different types of coughs, productive and nonproductive coughs, and there are two different types of treatments for each.
For a productive cough, which is the one where you’re coughing up fluids like mucus, the best types of OTCs are expectorants. Expectorants help you cough up the fluid and mucus and get it out of your body. Fass said that people with coughs should use Robitussin or Mucinex because they contain the active ingredient guaifenesin.
“The best way to make medications with guaifenesin work better is to drink plenty of water,” said Fass.
For a nonproductive cough, which is the one where you’re dry coughing or hacking with no mucus, it is best to use a suppressant (antitussive) OTC said Fass. Halls cough drops work well with a non-
productive cough, as well as Delsym (dextromethorphan) and dextro-methorphan-containing products.
If your cough lasts longer than seven days, though, it’s time to give up the OTCs and go to a doctor.
Sore throat
The best products for sore throat relief are chloraseptic throat sprays, said Fass.
“Most chloraseptics contain menthol or phenol that helps with throat pain. Halls cough drops also work well because of the active ingredient menthol in them,”
said Fass.
However, individuals should always read the label on OTC medicines because they need to check what they’re allergic to, said Fass. Always remember to check with your local pharmacist or doctor to make sure these products are appropriate for you.
These medications are all available without a prescription, so go ahead and stock up your medicine cabinets. And with cold and flu season fast approaching, these OTC medicines will help you ride out the storm when you’re “under the weather.”
