What medicine is best for stuffy nose and sore throat

Colds are very common. A visit to your health care provider's office is often not needed, and colds often get better in 3 to 4 days.

A type of germ called a virus causes most colds. There are many types of viruses that can cause a cold. Depending on what virus you have, your symptoms may vary.

Common symptoms of a cold include:

• Fever (100°F [37.7°C] or higher) and chills
• Headache, sore muscles, and fatigue
• Cough
• Nasal symptoms, such as stuffiness, runny nose, yellow or green snot, and sneezing
• Sore throat

Mild symptoms of COVID-19 may be similar to those of the common cold. Always check with your health provider if you are at risk for COVID-19.

Treating your symptoms will not make your cold go away, but will help you feel better. Antibiotics are almost never needed to treat a common cold.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) help lower fever and relieve muscle aches.

• Do not use aspirin.
• Check the label for the proper dose.
• Call your provider if you need to take these medicines more than 4 times per day or for more than 2 or 3 days.

Over-the-counter (OTC) cold and cough medicines may help ease symptoms in adults and older children.

• They are not recommended for children under age 6. Talk to your provider before giving your child OTC cold medicine, which can have serious side effects.
• Coughing is your body's way of getting mucus out of your lungs. So use cough syrups only when your cough becomes too painful.
• Throat lozenges or sprays for your sore throat.

Many cough and cold medicines you buy have more than one medicine inside. Read the labels carefully to make sure you do not take too much of any one medicine. If you take prescription medicines for another health problem, ask your provider which OTC cold medicines are safe for you.

Drink plenty of fluids, get enough sleep, and stay away from secondhand smoke.

Wheezing can be a common symptom of a cold if you have asthma.

• Use your rescue inhaler as prescribed if you are wheezing.
• See your provider immediately if it becomes hard to breathe.

Many home remedies are popular treatments for the common cold. These include vitamin C, zinc supplements, and echinacea.

Although not proven to be helpful, most home remedies are safe for most people.

• Some remedies may cause side effects or allergic reactions.
• Certain remedies may change the way other medicines work.
• Talk to your provider before trying any herbs and supplements.

Wash your hands often. This is the best way to stop the spread of germs.

To wash your hands correctly:

• Rub soap onto wet hands for 20 seconds. Make sure to get under your fingernails. Dry your hands with a clean paper towel and turn faucet off with paper towel.
• You can also use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Use a dime size amount and rub all over your hands until they are dry.

To further prevent colds:

• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue or into the crook of your elbow and not into the air.

Try treating your cold at home first. Call your provider right away, or go to the emergency room, if you have:

• Difficulty breathing
• Sudden chest pain or abdominal pain
• Sudden dizziness
• Acting strangely
• Severe vomiting that does not go away

Also call your provider if:

• You start acting strangely
• Your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 7 to 10 days

Upper respiratory infection - home care; URI - home care

Cohen YZ. The common cold. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 58.

Lopez SMC, Williams JV. The common cold. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 407.

Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

We can send a man to the moon, but we can’t find a cure for the common cold. Still, there are plenty of meds to make waiting it out a little less miserable. In fact, there are so many over-the-counter medications available to treat cold symptoms that sifting through them all can feel overwhelming.

The best place to start? Identify your key symptoms: Is your cold making you congested? Do you have a runny nose? Are you dealing with a fever as well?

From there, you’ll probably be able to figure out which of these categories of over-the-counter cold medications is right for you.

Oral decongestants

When you’re feeling blocked up and stuffy from a cold or a sinus infection, the tissues and blood vessels of your nasal passages and sinuses swell up. “Decongestants work by shrinking the swelling inside your nose, helping you breathe better, says Benjamin Tweel, MD, an otolaryngologist at The Mount Sinai Hospital. There are two main types of decongestants. The first being oral decongestants—including pills and syrups—which typically utilize the ingredients phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine.

TRY: Sudafed Congestion

Regular Sudafed relies on pseudoephedrine to narrow the swollen blood vessels in your sinuses and nasal passageways. This non-drowsy formula offers temporary relief, and adults can take two tablets every four to six hours. You will have to ask a pharmacist for regular Sudafed from behind the pharmacy counter, since pseudoephedrine is tightly regulated by the FDA. You can buy Sudafed PE straight from the shelf, since it only contains phenylephrine (it doesn’t have as strong of an effect, though).

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Topical decongestants

Topical decongestants, on the other hand, come in the form of nose drops and nasal sprays. The most common ingredients you’ll find are oxymetazoline and phenylephrine. Topical treatments work faster and are stronger than their oral counterparts, but generally shouldn’t be used for more than three days because of the risk of rebound nasal congestion, which makes things worse.

TRY: Vicks Sinex Severe Sinus and Nasal Spray

Just like oral decongestants, Vicks Sinex works by shrinking swollen nasal membranes. But thanks to the direct contact of the active ingredient, oxymetazoline, relief lasts longer: 10 to 12 hours. As it starts to work, it may cause temporary stinging, burning, or sneezing—but you’ll be breathing more comfortably in no time.

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Expectorants

Expectorants, most often in the form of a drug called guaifenesin, work by thinning and loosening mucus in the chest, allowing you to more easily cough it up.

TRY: Mucinex

Using an extended-release form of guaifenesin, Mucinex tablets offer up to 12 hours of relief from chest congestion. It works mainly by thinning and loosening mucus in the chest so that you can cough it up, but can aid nasal congestion as well.

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TRY: Wal-Tussin

Essentially a Walgreens version of Mucinex, Wal-Tussin also works by using guaifenesin to loosen and thin mucus in the chest. The main difference is that Wal-Tussin is available in liquid form. Plus, it’s non-drowsy and alcohol-free.

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Cough suppressants

Rather than help you expel phlegm from your lungs, cough suppressants target the part of your brain responsible for coughing, working to stop coughing altogether. Dr. Tweel explains the most common active ingredient in over-the-counter cough suppressants is dextromethorphan, abbreviated as “DM” at the end of many brand names.

TRY: Robitussin 12-Hour Cough Relief

Available in various flavors, this oral suspension liquid medication both soothes your throat and uses an active ingredient called dextromethorphan to stop you from coughing. As the name suggests, relief should last for 12 hours. The formulation is alcohol-free, but contains sodium metabisulfite, which some people are allergic to.

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TRY: Delsym 12-Hour Cough Relief

Delsym is another great extended-release liquid cough suppressant and comes in flavors like orange and grape. It also uses dextromethorphan to offer cough relief for 12 hours. Unlike Robitussin, Delsym is free of sulfites. It’s also alcohol-free.

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General pain relievers and fever reducers

Standard pain relief medication, like acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can help with the body aches and potential fevers that your cold may bring.

TRY: Aleve

Aleve is a NSAID that can relieve minor body aches and pains, temporarily reduce fever, and reduce inflammation (perhaps in the case of any sore throat that may come along with your cold). One capsule will last you 12 hours. Just don’t overdo it; heavy use of NSAIDs can be tough on the stomach.

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TRY: Tylenol Rapid Release Gels

Using acetaminophen to soothe pain and reduce fever, Tylenol can be easier on the stomach than a NSAID, and the rapid-release formulation will get to work quicker. Note that it does not treat inflammation, and will need to be taken more frequently: two gelcaps every six hours.

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Combination drugs

If you don’t feel like you can neatly classify your symptoms into one category, know that many cold medicines serve multiple purposes. For example, you can buy a combination decongestant and expectorant, or a combination cough suppressant and fever-reducer. There’s usually a drug to match all your symptoms.

“As simple as it sounds, when I have a patient who has an upper respiratory infection, if I’m not concerned about a bacterial sinus infection (which would require antibiotics), I’ll usually just ask them to go to the pharmacy to find the box that matches their symptoms,” says Dr. Tweel.

TRY: Robitussin DM

Robitussin DM contains both dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and guaifenesin (an expectorant). “The expectorant thins mucus and promotes clearance of secretions, helping with the appropriate removal of excess mucus [through coughing],” says Dr. Tweel. “If there’s mucus that needs to be brought up, you’ll still cough. If there’s no mucus but your body is overreacting, the cough suppressant will suppress this overreaction.”

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TRY: Advil Sinus Congestion and Pain

If nasal congestion is paired with a fever or sore throat, you’re going to want a drug that can pull off double duty. These Advil tablets use phenylephrine (the decongestant you don’t have to ask a pharmacist for) to help you breathe better and ibuprofen to reduce fever and relieve any pain. You can take one tablet up to every four hours.

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A note on antihistamines

While antihistamines like chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine can treat sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes, they’re intended to treat those symptoms when they’re caused by allergies. “If you have a cold or a sinus infection, antihistamines may make it more difficult to treat,” says Dr. Tweel. “I haven’t found them to be significant in my practice. Plus, there’s a teaching you shouldn’t use antihistamines for a cold.”

TRY: NyQuil Cold & Flu

Sometimes, above all, you just need a good night’s sleep. NyQuil packs a powerful punch, using dextromethorphan to keep coughing at bay and acetaminophen to soothe sore throat, headache, and/or fever. While antihistamines generally aren’t recommended to treat cold symptoms, in this case, the drowsy effect will help get you to sleep.

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Anisa Arsenault is a New York City-based writer and editor covering health, lifestyle, and parenting news.

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