The cold and influenza aisles of drugstores are rupturing with choices, though most share a fairly little lineup of active activeingredients in numerous mixes. MedPage Today spoke with a pharmacist and a doctor to discover out which overthecounter (OTC) drugs are really efficient — and which ones clients oughtto leave on the racks.
Jack Kann, RPh, MPA, MBA, director of drugstore at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, New York, informed MedPage Today that the finest technique to cold and influenza medication is matching the particular signs with the right active activeingredient.
A lot of typical OTC drugs have multi-symptom solutions, which Kann stated can lead to taking unneeded medication with possibly unneeded side results.
Pieter Cohen, MD, of Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts who has long studied OTC supplement items, concurred that multi-symptom drugs aren’t the finest method.
“I advise preventing the ones with mix activeingredients, duetothefactthat when you have mix activeingredients, it’s much harder to comprehend what you’re dealingwith,” Cohen informed MedPage Today. Having many active activeingredients makes it “really hard to figure out what result it’s going to have,” he stated.
Instead, he advises a single-ingredient method targeting particular signs. Cohen stated that acetaminophen (Tylenol) — which can decrease fever and discomfort — and antihistamines, like loratadine (Claritin) or diphenhydramine (Benadryl) — which can relieve signs like sneezing and runny nose — are the workhorses of cold and influenza, and tend to be a excellent beginning point.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil) or acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) work well for dealingwith discomfort a