What causes a cold?

Before going to talk in detail about the best medicines for the treatment of colds , we must know the causes of this widespread problem, in order to avoid them and, therefore, prevent it.

The main cause that determines the appearance of the cold is a virus which, in turn, can be transmitted from one individual to another through direct contact.

The virus responsible for the cold is mainly transmitted through sneezing or coughing as these gestures favor the contagion of healthy subjects with infected saliva microdroplets.

Other causes of colds include the following:

• The fact of washing your hair and not drying it well before going out;
• Sweating and not covering up properly;
• Talking to or coming into contact with infected people;
• Have too low immunity;
• The sudden changes in temperatures;
• Age is a risk factor as children and the elderly are most at risk.

How should you behave in case of a cold?

To realize that we have a cold , as it happens for many other pathological conditions, we must refer to the symptoms with which the disease usually manifests itself.

The symptom picture of a cold generally includes the following symptoms:

• nasal congestion;
• asthenia;
• muscle aches;
• itchy throat;
• sore throat;
• fever;
• cough;
• watery eyes;
• frequent sneezing.

Intuitively, if these symptoms occur, it would be advisable to contact your family doctor who, after a check-up, will surely prescribe all the medicines you need to solve the problem.

So let’s see in the course of our article what cold medicines consist of and, above all, which are the best we can find on the market.

What medicines do doctors recommend for colds?

First of all, it must be remembered that a cold can also heal spontaneously, after about 7 days from the first symptoms, that is, without taking particular medicines.

However, some medicines, more precisely, some active ingredients, are essential precisely to control the symptoms of a cold, especially if we cannot afford to lock ourselves up at home for a week.

In principle we can say that there are many different types of active ingredients that are used in the case of a cold, each of them designed to remedy or cure different aspects of the condition.

In fact, as we will see better in the next paragraphs, there are medicines to lower body temperature in case of fever, those for sore throats, those for nasal congestion, those for coughs and so on. Let’s see what they are more specifically.

What are nasal decongestants? What are they and how do they work?

Let’s start with one of the main symptoms of a cold : nasal congestion. In this case, drugs that fall into the category of nasal decongestants take over and can be sold without a prescription.

These drugs are found in different types of formats, from nasal spray, to tablets or syrup and it is generally advised not to abuse them otherwise side effects may appear.

Among the nasal decongestants we find above all the following active ingredients:

• Pseudoephedrine , known under its trade names Actigrip® and Actifed® , is undoubtedly the most widespread and effective nasal decongestant. This active ingredient is not used only and exclusively for the treatment of colds, in fact it can also be combined with other drugs, such as antihistamines, to solve problems of a different nature;
• Phenylephrine : one of the characteristics of this active principle is that it can also be taken in the form of chewable tablets but it is also found in the most common formats, such as effervescent tablets or plasters;
• Oxymetazoline hydrochloride, in 0.025% to 0.05% solution, is known under the drug trade names Vicks Sinex. These are nasal sprays that help us clear the upper respiratory tract by making a few sprays a couple (or even three) times a day.

When should you use antipyretic drugs? Which ones are they?

Among the symptoms of a cold , as we have already seen above, we can also find an increase in body temperature, or rather, fever. To relieve this symptom, intuitively, we need to resort to anti-febrile drugs and, among these, paracetamol certainly stands out .

Surely you will have come into contact with this active ingredient , famous in its trade names which are:

• Tachipirina® ;
• Sanipirin®;
• Efferalgan®.

All these medicines have been designed to achieve a single goal: to lower body temperature and, as happens in many other cases, the dosage of paracetamol depends above all on the conditions of the individual patient, his age and his body weight.

What are the best sore throat medications? How do they work?

If the cold is accompanied by a bad sore throat, then it is possible that bacteria are attacking our body and to completely eradicate them, it would be advisable to resort to a treatment based on antibiotic drugs.

Obviously, the choice of the type of antibiotic belongs to the doctor who, after examining us, will determine the pathogen with which we have been infected and will prescribe the most suitable drug for us.

Usually, among the most used active ingredients for cold-related sore throats we mention the following:

• Amoxicillin , commonly known by its trade name Augmentin . It is prescribed when we recognize the attack of bacteria from the first symptoms of a cold. This does not exclude that this drug can also be taken when the sore throat occurs late, but it will be necessary to take larger doses to solve the problem;
• Clarithromycin , known for drugs containing it, such as Veclam, Macladin, Soriclar and Klacid. Doctors generally recommend taking this drug every 12 hours in tablets ranging from 250 mg to 500 mg, obviously based on the seriousness of the situation.

What are the best cough medicines? How do they work?

Cough is one of the most recurring symptoms of a cold and, precisely for this reason, we can take different types of medicines to relieve this symptom. Generally a division is made between mucolytic drugs and expectorant drugs.

In the first case, i.e. in the case of mucolytics, these are medicines that are used to thin the mucus and are used above all in the presence of a particularly heavy cough.

In the second case, i.e. in the case of expectorant drugs, these are drugs that help facilitate the emission of phlegm that often accumulates in the case of a cold.

Among the mucolytic drugs we especially mention bromhexine  known by its trade names such as Bisolvon®.

Are there any natural remedies for colds?

As often happens in the medical field, even in the case of a cold, at least in the mildest conditions, we can ask for help from mother nature who offers us excellent natural remedies to control the symptoms of this problem.

Among these natural remedies we certainly have the following:

• Elderberry herbal tea;
• Herbal tea with zinc and linden;
• L’Echinacea;
• Meadowsweet Spirea herbal tea.

In addition to these infusions which, in addition to being beneficial are often also very tasty, we can make fumigation, especially useful for dissolving mucus. To get more benefits from fumigation, we recommend adding particular essential oils such as menthol or eucalyptus.

In any case, remember that, even if the cold is a very common and often trivial condition, it would always be advisable to contact your doctor in order to restore your normal state of health.