# Why are Cold/Flu 'remedies' so ineffective? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914 "2010-12-12T19:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/21 "2010-12-13T18:32:18Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > PSE was replaced with phenylephrine in OTC medications that don’t require an ID to purchase. The two medications you mentioned have nothing to do with what PSE treats, which is sinus congestion. Lordy be, I know that. I was listing common cold medications taht I haven’t found to be at all effective at treating the things they’re supposed to treat. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/22 "2010-12-13T18:32:35Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > **Brown Eyed Girl** , this is not medical advice, since I REALLY doubt I’m licensed in your state, but… if you were in Georgia and asked me, I would probably recommend Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for you. Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine, and it should help dry you out, and stop the sneezing… However, it will make you very drowsy (it is actually the drug they put in all the PM pain meds in order to make you sleep). It doesn’t have that effect on everyone. I have found that when I take that I am completely unable to sleep at all. My doctor basically said, yeah some people it does that. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/23 "2010-12-13T18:43:30Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > It doesn’t have that effect on everyone. I have found that when I take that I am completely unable to sleep at all. My doctor basically said, yeah some people it does that. Go figure. There seems to be a significant minority of people who get very hyped up on diphenhydramine. I get that with the different “old” antihistamine, brompheniramine (which is in Dimetapp). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/24 "2010-12-13T19:20:53Z")
I’ve found various cold remedies work well enough–if I treat one symptom at a time. Because I usually don’t have all of the symptoms every day throughout the course of the infection. That first feverish, sore throat feeling? Ibuprofen. Plus the non-medical “remedy” of taking time off from work, if possible. And hot, spicy liquids (soup) & orange juice; don’t know about Vitamin C, but it feels good on a rough throat. Antihistimines will help the running nose phase. Or, if I’m home alone, just kleenex-the kind with lotion. A dry cough and/or bronchitis tends to be the last phase. I usually try an OTC remedy to loosen up the chest, with plans to see an MD if symptoms persist. They never do. The onset of my last cold was timed so I could take Friday off & veg out for 3 days; no dry cough or bronchitis afterward! Flu? They gave me Paregoric for the Asian Flu–back in the late 50’s. I felt no pain. Nowadays, I just take my flu vaccine & hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/25 "2010-12-13T19:54:29Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > No help for you at this point, but one thing I have noticed over the years is how many people are really stupid when starting to come down with a cold or flu. > They wait until they are flat in bed before taking any remedy. > If you are starting to feel slightly ill, start drinking that orange juice, take an aspirin, and for ogsake, stay home! Rest. Eat chicken soup. Whatever. But stay home!. THANK YOU! Last week, every single one of my friends started coming down with the same plague at the same time. As soon as my throat startled to tickle and I got a little achy, I started popping vitamin C like it was going out of style (yes, I realize I was probably just peeing most of it out-- humor me), taking ibuprofen, and making myself go to bed earlier. I also was very careful to make sure I ate healthy meals for that 2 day period and that I drank a lot of water (I let myself have OJ if I wanted something more than water). I was fine within 2 days. . . everybody else was dead. Ok, not literally dead, but probably wishing for death. When I asked what they had done. . . nothing. Nothing. And there they were loading themselves up with cough medicine and cold medicine. Most of them are still sick. Eesh. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/26 "2010-12-13T21:55:27Z")
If you’re already having symptoms, vitamin C isn’t going to do anything for you. The only thing it’ll do is cost you money. Unless you have scurvy, but if you do, then you have bigger problems than a cold. That said - neither will anything else. Some things will help reduce symptoms; what works for you may not work for someone else. The one universal thing that will work is rest. Stay hydrated, eat and drink what feels good, stay in bed for a day, and suck it up. Also, if you don’t want to get sick, forget about vitamins. Wash your hands. Frequently. I guarantee you will get sick less. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/27 "2010-12-13T21:58:11Z")
I find Aleve Cold & Flu to be extraordinarily effective. The first time I ever used it I was shocked, and to this day I suspect either Elves or Starfleet were involved in their creation. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/28 "2010-12-13T22:06:31Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > If you’re already having symptoms, vitamin C isn’t going to do anything for you. The only thing it’ll do is cost you money. Unless you have scurvy, but if you do, then you have bigger problems than a cold. I can’t believe you’d put my lack of fresh citrus fruit on blast here in this thread about colds like that. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/29 "2010-12-14T00:15:16Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > **Brown Eyed Girl** , this is not medical advice, since I REALLY doubt I’m licensed in your state, but… if you were in Georgia and asked me, I would probably recommend Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for you. Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine, and it should help dry you out, and stop the sneezing… However, it will make you very drowsy (it is actually the drug they put in all the PM pain meds in order to make you sleep). Thank you for your non-medical advice. I have just got home and taken 50 mg of Benadryl on the off-chance that it will do something. I am feeling slightly better today, but still with the sneezy, runniness that currently is my schnozz. It’s also bright red and angry. And it doesn’t like any smells anymore. In fact, it starts to tickle at the slightest scent and forget about cold air. It was freezing in the warehouse today. Every time I went to the back for shoes, my eyes started to water and I walked around looking like I was going to sneeze any moment…but I didn’t even though I wanted to badly…oh wait, here it comes…WTH! SNEEZE ALREADY GODDAMN IT! :mad: ☹ I’m off tomorrow and if this Benadryl doesn’t do something tonight, I’ll be calling the doc tomorrow to list off all the antihistamines that don’t work. EDIT: I would like to get back out tomorrow for a run, so this needs to be rectified post haste! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914/30 "2010-12-14T03:40:01Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > It doesn’t have that effect on everyone. I have found that when I take that I am completely unable to sleep at all. My doctor basically said, yeah some people it does that. Go figure. I think I read somewhere once that it has that effect on something like 15% of people, which is about 1 in 6, so it’s not _that_ usual. The effect is apparently most commonly seen in children, which sort of implies some people grow out of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cold-flu-remedies-so-ineffective/563914.md?page=1)