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[–] 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

There's a lot of that bullshit going on for cold/flu meds getting lumped into allergy medication which is confusing the hell out of everyone. Then there's useless fucking NyQuil which is an expensive scam.

The few things that work on a cold or flu :

Decongestant: sudafed

Pain, fever, aches: ibuprofen

Cough: Dextromethorphan, kinda. Middling evidence.

Runny nose/sneezing: antihistamines... Here's where it's related to OP. Only the older, sedating ones (diphenhydramine/Benadryl, chlorpheniramine) help cold symptoms. The non-drowsy ones like loratadine (Claritin) DO NOTHING.

Less days spent sick: Take zinc, cells use it to combat infections.

Preventative to be sick for less time: Vitamin C supplement. Does not work if you only start taking it when already sick.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 days ago (4 children)

    Lortadine does help my like allergy level runny nose if I make sure to take it daily. Whatever's in NyQuil dries me out regardless of if it's a cold or allergies but it also knocks me on my ass too hard to be functional.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (3 children)

    It could help for actual allergies yeah. It's just useless against a viral infection as I understand it.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 days ago

    The non-drowsy antihistamines work okay for runny nose/sneezing with colds as well; it doesn’t have to be just Benadryl. You could at least start with a non-drowsy one, and see if that cuts it for you.

    Personally I think the main benefit of something like Benadryl when you have a cold is that it puts you to sleep, not necessarily that it works better on the cold symptoms.

    Source: I’m a pharmacist.

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