The risk of catching an acute respiratory illness haunts people at any time of the year, even in the hot summer. But especially often colds annoy us in the winter months, as well as in the off-season. What cold medications can help get rid of it most quickly and effectively? The answer to this question is devoted to our review.
Antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs
When we catch a cold, then, as a rule, our temperature rises, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough are observed - symptoms are unpleasant, to be sure. What colds will help to quickly alleviate the condition, lower the temperature, relieve swelling in the nasopharynx, slow down or even stop the development of inflammatory processes in the body? There are three proven, reliable and universal medicines:
- "Aspirin";
- "Ibuprofen";
- "Paracetamol."
All of these cold pills are widely used in therapy against ARI, but today it is believed that Paracetamol is the safest. It is available not only in tablets, but also in the form of rectal suppositories, syrups and drops (for small children). Analogs are drugs "Panadol", "Efferalgan", "Kalpol", "Flutabs" and other drugs. On the basis of paracetamol, many modern drugs for flu and colds are produced:
- Fervex;
- Solpadein;
- Caffetine
- Coldrex
- Teraflu;
- Rinza
- Maxicold;
- "Parkocet";
- Sedalgin;
- "Flux" and others.
The question may arise: "If paracetamol combines all of these cold medications, how do they differ from each other?" The fact is that all of these medicines include various additional components that help the body cope with the disease faster. For example, the notorious "Fervex", in addition to paracetamol, also includes substances such as ascorbic acid and pheniramine; “Solpadein” contains low doses of codeine and caffeine, etc.
What can be dangerous paracetamol
This drug is well tolerated by most patients, it has relatively few contraindications. Paracetamol is supported by the fact that this medicine is approved for use even in infants (in droplets and syrups). Nevertheless, even the safest cold medications are capable of exerting certain side effects on the body. And the drug "Paracetamol" is no exception.
The press writes a lot about medical studies claiming that this drug, taken in childhood, can further provoke the development of asthma in adolescents, and also contributes to the onset of eczema and allergic rhinitis. Therefore, medicines for colds for children should not be used without good reason and without first consulting a doctor.
Paracetamol negatively affects the liver (however, like many other drugs), therefore, patients with severe diseases of this organ should take this drug with great care.
Cold preparations
What cold and flu remedy can effectively fight nasal congestion with a cold? Such a medicine should be sought among the so-called decongestants - drugs that have the ability to narrow blood vessels, as a result of which they can relieve swelling of the nasopharynx, and the sick person gets the opportunity to breathe relatively freely.
These drugs are available in the form of tablets, as well as drops, ointments and sprays. The most popular today are sprays, drops and emulsions. All vasoconstrictor drugs can be divided into three groups: short acting, medium and long.
Short-acting cold preparations include:
- Sanorin
- "Tizin";
- "Naphthyzin"
The advantage of these drops is their quick action and inexpensive price, and the disadvantage is that they "work" only a few hours, and sometimes even less. Meanwhile, digging them into the nose is allowed no more than 4 times a day.
Medications of medium duration:
- "Rinostop";
- Xymelin;
- Galazolin
- Xylene
- Otrivin.
The listed drops and sprays include the substance xylometazoline. Thanks to him, in these medicines, the duration of action (up to 10 hours) is successfully combined with high efficiency. Disadvantage: these drugs should not be buried in the nose for children under two years of age, and their use should not last more than 7 days.
Cold preparations with a runny nose
Use these funds is permissible only twice a day and no more than 3 days in a row. They are able to provide free breathing for a long time. The disadvantages include the fact that a prolonged spasm of the vessels acts destructively on the nasal mucosa. Contraindications for use are the age of the child up to 1 year, pregnancy, as well as diabetes and kidney disease.
If sore throat
We will continue to study how to fight the flu and colds. The drugs that are used for this can not be limited to only tablets from the temperature and drops for the nose. If the throat hurts, and this happens with acute respiratory infections in most cases, then effective medications are needed for it.
Today, various absorbable lozenges and pills that can have a local anti-inflammatory effect, as well as aerosols, are very popular:
- Ingalipt;
- "Proposol";
- "Cameton";
- "Faringosept";
- "Aqualor throat";
- Yoks;
- Laripront
- Strepsils
- Hexoral;
- "Teraflu LAR";
- Septolet Neo;
- Septolete Plus;
- "Anti-Sore Throat";
- Agisept;
- "Sebidin";
- "Stopangin" and others.
A big plus of these drugs is that they are indicated for topical use, their penetration into the body is negligible, they practically do not enter the bloodstream. Meanwhile, these drugs have a strong effect against viruses and microbes, which, with a cold, actively multiply in the mouth and cause inflammation and sore throat.
However, you must understand that with severe angina, such medications will not be able to completely cope with the disease. The attending physician usually prescribes also effective pills for flu and colds, sometimes it can even be antibiotics. You can read about them in our article.
What will help cough
Runny nose, sore throat, fever - these are not all the symptoms of acute respiratory infections. If a person coughs badly with a cold, what to drink then? It will be better if the doctor prescribes the medicine on the basis of the diagnosis, because the cough can be caused by various reasons (bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, tracheitis, etc.). In addition, the cough may be dry or wet, with sputum discharge.
To get rid of dry painful cough, such means are used as:
- Codelac
- Stoptussin;
- Terpincode;
- Tussin Plus;
- Sinecode
- Neo-Codion;
- "Cofanol";
- Insti
- Glycodin;
- "Butamirat";
- "Bronchicum";
- "Falimint";
- "Hexapnevmin" and other drugs.
Expectorants for the treatment of wet cough:
- "Bromhexine";
- "Lazolvan";
- "ACC";
- Mukaltin;
- Tussin
- "Glyceram";
- Ambrobene et al.
Antibiotics
Sometimes the disease is so severe that the doctor decides to prescribe the most powerful drugs to the patient that are available in the arsenal of modern pharmacology. What antibiotics for colds need to be taken by the patient - only a qualified doctor can decide. The fact is that different bacterial drugs affect different types of bacteria. Here is a list of modern antibiotics that are most often used in the treatment of acute respiratory infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, tracheitis, etc.:
1. Penicillin group:
- Amoxicillin;
- Amoxiclav;
- "Augmentin" and others.
These drugs are effective against bacteria that cause inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
2. The group of cephalosporins:
Medicines of this group help with bronchitis, pneumonia, pleurisy.
3. The macrolide group:
These are one of the most powerful antibiotics of the last generation. They are able to quickly cope even with SARS.
Antiviral drugs
Often people identify flu with a cold. This is due to the fact that the symptoms are much similar. With the flu, the throat also hurts, the nose does not breathe, the head hurts, the body temperature rises, etc. That is why, while self-medicating, unfortunate patients try to fight the flu by taking the usual cold medications, including antibiotics, which can hurt themselves .
Meanwhile, you need to know that the nature of the flu is not bacterial, as in ordinary ARI, but viral. And this means that antiviral drugs are required here to combat the disease . The following medicines are most often used in complex therapy in the treatment of influenza:
- Amiksin;
- "Kagocel";
- Arbidol;
- Relenza
- Grippferon;
- Rimantadine
- Midantan
- Ribamidil
- Interferon
Immune Strengthening Medicines
When we are already sick, flu pills and colds, of course, will help to quickly overcome the disease and get better, but there are medicines that can help strengthen immunity and avoid infection even at the peak of the acute respiratory infection epidemic.
Very popular and safe are immunomodulators that are produced on a plant basis:
- "Immunal";
- "Tincture of Echinacea";
- Echinacea extract "Doctor Tyss";
- "Ginseng tincture";
- "Eleutherococcus extract";
- "Tincture of Schisandra chinensis ".
You can also increase the body's resistance to colds with drugs that contain in microscopic doses the enzymes of various pathogens (streptococcus, staphylococcus, pneumococcus, etc.). The following drugs for the prevention of colds from this group are sold in the pharmacy network:
- "Lycopid";
- Ribomunil;
- Broncho Munal;
- Imudon
- IRS-19.
Vitamins
With a cold, what else to drink? Usually, the doctor always prescribes vitamins for his patients who have ARI. In no case should you neglect this recommendation, because such drugs effectively strengthen the body of a sick person, stimulate immunity, help damaged cells regenerate, and so on. Here is a list of vitamins that we need to successfully fight the common cold:
1. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, or ascorbic acid). This is the most powerful assistant for acute respiratory infections. It is able to actively inhibit the reproduction of viruses and bacteria. In case of illness per day, it is recommended to take 1000-1500 mg of vitamin C;
2. Thiamine (B1). It promotes the regeneration of damaged epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract.
3. Riboflavin - vitamin B2. The body needs to synthesize antibodies.
4. Pyridoxine - vitamin B6. Participates in the recovery processes of nerve endings when the disease of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract is affected.
5. Nicotinic acid - vitamin PP. Thanks to him, blood circulation improves, blood vessels are restored.
6. Retinol - Vitamin A. This is a very necessary element for the successful regeneration of epithelial cells.
7. Tocopherol - Vitamin E. It has powerful antioxidant properties; able to stimulate the immune system.
Of course, vitamins enter our body with food, but this is not enough, especially in winter and spring. In the pharmacy you can buy universal multivitamin complexes, for example:
- Complivit;
- "Multivit";
- Watering;
- Undevit;
- "Pangexavit";
- "Oligovit";
- Nutrisan
- Macrovit
- "Hexavit" and many others.
There are multivitamin preparations, the effect of which is enhanced by useful minerals. It is difficult to figure out the abundance of vitamins on your own, so it's better to rely on the choice of a doctor.
Medicines for children
Medicines for colds for children should be prescribed by a pediatrician. After all, certain drugs from an adult home medicine cabinet can be harmful to children. But having some proven medicines on hand in a family with a baby is also necessary.
Antipyretics for children:
- "Panadol" for children in candles or in suspension.
- Analogs of "Panadol": "Tsefekon", "Kalpol", "Efferalgan".
Cough Medicine:
- Syrup "Tussin".
- Solution or syrup "Lazolvan".
- "Sinecode" in drops or syrup (for dry cough).
For ears, throat and nose:
- "Nazol Kids" and "Nazol Baby" (spray and drops) - from a runny nose.
- Otipax - drops for the ears that do not contain antibiotic.
- "Aqua Maris" - a weak solution of sea salt in the form of a spray. It moisturizes and cleans bacteria from the mucous membrane of the throat and nose. Analogs: "Salfin" and "Valleys".
The funds listed are enough to hold out until the doctor arrives.
Folk remedies
Good cold pills are definitely great! But some people, for various reasons, prefer to heal exclusively by natural means. Well, traditional medicine can offer many excellent recipes and recommendations. Here are some of the most versatile and effective:
1. Raspberry tea - a remedy for colds and flu, which has been used by mankind for centuries. Raspberry berries in dried form or in the form of jam will help to quickly lower the temperature, they have an antipyretic property, because they contain natural salicylic acid. In addition, in raspberries in large enough quantities there is vitamin C.
2. Honey is added to the pulp from garlic (1: 1 ratio), the drug is thoroughly mixed and given to the patient twice a day, one or two teaspoons. Garlic is also recommended for inhalation. To do this, several of its cloves are crushed, filled with water (1 tbsp.) And boiled for 10 minutes. Then this “shock” medicine can be put before the patient so that he breathes over it.
3. Another remedy (and very effective) for the common cold is ordinary milk. Perhaps you do not know that it contains enzymes that enhance immunity, and there is also the substance tryptophan, which promotes the production of serotonin in the body - a powerful sedative. In a liter of milk you need to add a few tablespoons of honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, bay leaf and a couple of allspice peas. Bring the milk product to a boil and insist before use for 5 minutes.
4. If the patient suffers from a cough, you can try using a proven remedy such as black radish juice mixed with honey. The drug is prepared as follows: the tip is cut off from the washed root crop, part of the pulp is scraped out from the middle, so that an empty cavity is formed. Honey (2 tsp) is put in the hole, and the radish is closed with a cut-off top, like a lid. Wait 12 hours - during this time juice will stand out, which, when combined with honey, will turn into an antitussive medicine. It is recommended to take the drug as follows: for adults - 1 tbsp. l 3 times a day, for children - 1 tsp. thrice a day.
Prevention
We are used to having to fight flu and colds from time to time. Drugs in pharmacies are abundant, so most meet the disease with the confidence that it will not be difficult to recover. But prevention is a great and necessary thing. Therefore, now we recall what preventive measures help to happily miss the heavy ailment:
1. Flu shot. Every year, doctors warn the population about the need for timely vaccination, but many of us simply ignore it, and in vain.
2. In the cold season, when there is little sun on the street, and there are not enough fresh fruits and vegetables on the table, you can and should feed yourself with synthetic vitamin complexes and do not forget about lemon, cranberries, decoction of rose hips - all this will save the body from vitamin deficiency FROM.
3. Oxolinic ointment, carefully applied before going out onto the nasal mucosa, is a strong shield that can repel the attacks of bacteria and viruses.
4. Personal hygiene should be on top. That is, the motto "wash your hands with soap more often" is more relevant than ever!
5. The room in which you are located needs to be aired and obligatory wet cleaning, since microbes feel incredibly comfortable in dry dusty air.
6. During the flu epidemic and acute respiratory infections, it is not recommended to go to crowded shopping centers, cinemas, cafes and other places where many people gather. But walks (especially skiing) in the fresh air in a country park or forest perfectly strengthen the body.
Conclusion
Having become acquainted with the information about which drugs to take with a cold, you can meet acute respiratory infections or flu fully equipped. But it’s better, of course, to never catch a cold and not get sick! Take care of yourself, we wish you good good health!