What medicine to take with a cold to get well quickly?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Doctor Tran Quoc Tuan - Head of Resuscitation Unit - ICU - Emergency Resuscitation Department - Vinmec Phu Quoc International General Hospital.
"What medicine to use to get rid of a cold quickly?" - Is a question many people are interested in today, because a cold has very normal symptoms, but if not treated properly, it can leave extremely dangerous complications.

1. Common symptoms of a cold

Colds often begin with fatigue, body aches, feeling cold, chills, sneezing, accompanied by a headache that lasts for a few days, especially a runny nose and cough. These symptoms may begin 16 hours after infection, peak 2–4 days after onset, and usually cease after 7–10 days. However, in some cases, the illness can last up to 3 weeks. In particular, children cough for more than 10 days in 35-40% of cases, which is quite a high number, which can lead to pneumonia, sinusitis, otitis media and many other illnesses.

2. What medicine should I take if I have a cold?

When infected with a cold, sufferers experience a lot of inconvenience and discomfort, typically symptoms of constant sneezing and prolonged coughing. Therefore, when having a cold in the first days, patients should take common medicines to support the most effective cold treatment.
2.1. Nasal vasoconstrictors On the market today there are two main forms, which are nasal drops and nasal spray with the main active ingredients xylometazolin and naphazoline. These are oral sympathomimetic drugs such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine... and nasal drugs such as naphazolin,....

This medicine has side effects such as insomnia or drowsiness, headache, or digestive upset. Do not stop there, if used for a long time can even lead to chronic stuffy nose. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that decongestants and decongestants should not be used in children younger than 2 years of age.
2.2. Pain relievers and fever reducers Antipyretic analgesics often contain paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen, which are used to reduce fever and pain. However, patients should note that when using these drugs, they should not drink alcohol and when they have alcoholic liver disease because this will damage the liver more. Therefore, when you want to use it, patients need to check the packaging of the medicine to see if it contains this ingredient to know how to use the drug properly, to avoid overuse of it, thereby exacerbating side effects. .
2.3. Antibiotics Patients can use antibiotics to prevent superinfection after colds of the beta lactam group (as prescribed by the doctor). However, patients need to be extra careful, do not use the drug for people who are allergic to any drugs in this group or if they have used drugs but liver enzymes increase during use, they must also be careful.
In addition, colds can be completely cured by herbs, vitamins and minerals. Patients can also combine the use of nasal nebulizers to moisten the nose or simply drink panadol with a cold to bring about effective treatment.

3. Notes to know when taking cold medicine

The following issues need to be kept in mind when you want to get rid of a cold quickly thanks to medicine:
Choose a trusted brand: Cold medicines are often produced under many different trade names, so when choosing, patients should Find famous and reputable brands in the drug market to ensure high quality and safety standards.
The time to take the medicine must be reasonable: Only take pain relievers and fever reducers when you have a high fever (over 38.5 degrees Celsius) to avoid harm to the liver. In addition, it is not recommended to use the same active ingredient in different dosage forms at the same time because it will easily cause an overdose. In particular, do not use pain relievers and antipyretics that combine anti-allergic ingredients and special medicines containing this substance for people with asthma attacks, prostate enlargement, bladder neck obstruction, duodenal obstruction, children. newborns, last 3 months pregnant or lactating women...

Note the expiry date of cold medicine: Past the expiry date, the medicine is often degraded and does not guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment. Therefore, users need to be sure to control the shelf life of the drug they take to avoid unwanted side effects for health.
What cold medicine to take quickly will depend on the condition of each person. Therefore, it is better for patients to consult medical staff to overcome cold symptoms as quickly as possible. In addition, to enhance the effectiveness of treatment, patients should maintain a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, combined with exercise to increase resistance. This is the best key to a healthy body and victory over many diseases.
In case a cold does not go away for a long time, the patient can go to reputable medical facilities for examination and treatment. Vinmec International General Hospital is a high-quality medical facility in Vietnam with a team of highly qualified medical professionals, well-trained, domestic and foreign, and experienced. A system of modern and advanced medical equipment, possessing many of the best machines in the world, helps to detect many difficult and dangerous diseases in a short time, supporting the diagnosis and treatment of effective doctors. most fruitful. Hospital space is designed according to 5-star hotel standards, maximum sterilization, giving patients comfort, friendliness, peace of mind..

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