# Best cold medicine **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004 "2025-05-07T13:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/1 "2025-05-07T13:34:06Z")
Not sure if this is FQ, GD or IMHO so mods feel free to move as necessary I’ve heard that Nyquil/Dayquil is now not as effective as it once was due to a formula change so the first question is: is that true? What is the best OTC cold medicine on the market now? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/2 "2025-05-07T13:48:14Z")
I am wont to say chicken soup. It has worked best. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/3 "2025-05-07T13:49:21Z")
Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/4 "2025-05-07T13:54:07Z")
It still works for me. Since “rest is the best medicine”, and since Nyquil completely wipes me out so I can sleep even though miserable, that’s what works best for me. In fact, it works so well that I have to take it no later than 8:30 pm, otherwise I can barely wake up and function. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/5 "2025-05-07T14:10:30Z")
When I have a really bad cold I buy: Cold & Sinus Relief with Ibuprofen & Pseudoephedrine I always get the Walmart brand, Sudafed is the name brand. It’s behind the pharmacy counter and you have to show your ID to purchase it. It’s the only medicine that really works. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/6 "2025-05-07T14:33:45Z")
I usually start with a decongestant to try to keep my nasal passages clear. The Walgreens brand pseudophenedrine. And I add some Tylenol if I have a headache. Eventually the cold works its way down to my chest so I add an expectorant, guaifenesin (Mucinex) because I hate coughing. At night I’ll take a dose of a liquid nighttime med that usually has a mix of decongestant, expectorant and something to help me sleep. After a hot shower to break up whatever’s in my chest. It’s important to drink a lot of fluids when taking these meds, as they are very drying to your insides. Basically I follow the symptoms and don’t just lean on any old mix. If you stand there and look at all the options you’ll see there’s a ton of different mixes, even within each brand. But you can and should buy individual remedies and mix them yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/7 "2025-05-07T14:45:00Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > But you can and should buy individual remedies and mix them yourself. Quite so, ZippeJJ, quite so. But I’m here just to beg everyone: be cautious of acetaminophen overdose. Many of these remedies have acetaminophen (Tylenol) as an ingredient. When mixing products it’s all too easy to use preparations that each have the drug and end up with too much. I’ve flown such patients. It wasn’t pleasant for them. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/8 "2025-05-07T14:54:08Z")
Yes, absolutely! (I got interrupted by a phone call while writing my post and did leave out that info). One of the main reasons I buy separate ingredients is so I can avoid double dosing. If I bought a decongestant that has acetaminophen and an expectorant that also has it, and I need both, then I have too much acetaminophen. If I have all my stuff separate, I can take it all as needed. Plus there will be plenty of times post-cold when I would want to take either Tylenol or pseudophenadrine on their own, so it doesn’t hurt to have them around in general. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/9 "2025-05-07T15:20:41Z")
Ordinary measures: - Generic Sudafed - Generic Claritin (loratadine 10mg) Extraordinary measures: - Decongestant nasal spray – something that actually works, like Afrin (oxymetazoline), but you have to be very careful; the rebound effect is real. Sometimes I administer a microdose by wetting a Q-tip. - Antihistamine nasal spray such as Astepro (azelastine). This really works if you cannot stop sneezing or dripping, but it tastes disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/10 "2025-05-07T15:49:02Z")
My Daddys cure: Indian or Mexican food.. spicy as you can do it. 2 shots of whiskey. BC powder. Go to bed. (I don’t really recommend it, but he claimed it worked) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/11 "2025-05-07T19:24:37Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The Walgreens brand pseudophenedrine. Yes! And yes! Protip: lightly bite/crush one (of the 2 tab dose) before swallowing for fast relief. You can really feel pseudoeph drain your face and the buzz is not completely unpleasant, especially when waking up so crappy with the cold. Not very tasty, though. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/12 "2025-05-07T19:26:40Z")
Wasn’t pseudoedephrine banned because you could Breaking Bad it? I thought that’s why the Quils are not as effective anymore. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/13 "2025-05-07T19:28:57Z")
Agree- pseudoephedrine is quite effective, and phenylephrine is junk. It really only came to market because “they” really wanted to eliminate pseudoephedrine because it can be used to make meth. So just in case anyone doesn’t know, take the extra 5 minutes to go to the pharmacy counter and get the real stuff. You just have to promise not to make meth with it. ETA What’s funny about that, by the way, is that among those of us who are in the business have known for 20 years this stuff was junk- just took a while for the lay media to notice > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wasn’t pseudoedephrine banned because you could Breaking Bad it? I thought that’s why the Quils are not as effective anymore. Not banned, moved behind the counter. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/14 "2025-05-07T19:30:06Z")
That’ll be tough if the cough syrup is blue. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/15 "2025-05-07T19:41:50Z")
They’re all basically a combination of the same 6 ingredients - an NSAID - DXM for cough - a decongestant - an antihistamine - an expectorant - topical painkillers ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/16 "2025-05-07T19:52:03Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > pseudoephedrine is quite effective, and phenylephrine is junk. The weird part is that biologically, phenylephrine is fantastically effective, unless adminstered orally. Digestion destroys it before it can get into the bloodstream to do its thing. So the whole “replace pseudoephedrine with phenylephrine in pills” was doomed from the start. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/17 "2025-05-07T21:51:42Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Nyquil completely wipes me out so I can sleep even though miserable, that’s what works best for me. In fact, it works so well that I have to take it no later than 8:30 pm, otherwise I can barely wake up and function. I’ve learned the hard way never to take nighttime cold medicine if I have to be awake and functioning the following day. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/18 "2025-05-07T22:00:40Z")
Just a quick question, is @Saint_Cad looking for a good cold medicine that’s “daytime” rated, or is that a non-issue? Because, frankly, for me, all the various non-drowsy options (most of which use the much maligned phenylephrine) did not work at all for sinus-chest-congestion. The pseudoephedrine works well, but causes me to be noticeably sleepy, and the five minutes getting it from my Costco pharmacy makes me far more irritated than the delay justifies. Another +1 for getting your cold medicine a la carte as it were. I have the above for congestion, a generic for the Mucinex, and a half dozen different painkillers to mix and match as needed. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/19 "2025-05-08T11:42:54Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Because, frankly, for me, all the various non-drowsy options (most of which use the much maligned phenylephrine) did not work at all for sinus-chest-congestion. For me, also. Dayquil is a pale shadow of its Nyquil sibling as far as I’m concerned.. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004/20 "2025-05-08T12:55:40Z")
Yes, this is what I do, as well. What are the specific symptoms and what meds address them? The combo cold meds I feel can be dangerous, as some folks don’t realize what’s in them and can end up getting a toxic amount of, say, acetaminophen over time. Better to look at each med individually and dose it appropriately. I don’t feel expectorants do much, but if they did, they wouldn’t calm the coughing…you’d need to cough up what they produce (it’s in the name!) Cough suppressants will quell coughing. ’ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cold-medicine/1018004.md?page=2)