Since cold's a virus, what exactly does taking OTC medicine do?

Question

I just took some cold medicine and was wondering what exactly does the medicine do in your body?

Answer 1

OTC medication decreases the symptoms of the illness.  By doing this, you not only feel better, it decreases the chances of getting a bacterial infection by decreasing the congestion...gunk that can later start to grow bacteria.  NSAIDs also decrease inflammation and pain.  Pain increases your stress hormones, which decreases the body's ability to heal.

Answer 2

It just makes you feel better... typically cold medicines are a combination of several drugs, such as:

-Decongestant (like pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine)

-Pain reliever/fever reducer (like ibuprofen or acetaminophen)

-Cough suppressant (like dextromethorphan)

PM formulas like NyQuil usually contain an antihistamine (most commonly diphenhydramine) that causes you to become drowsy and also alleviates nasal congestion.

They don't actually cure the disease itself, but they make you feel better while your body is fighting the infection.

Answer 3

It relieves the symptoms so you can cope with letting the cold run its course and go away on its own.

Answer 4

will treat the the symptoms of the cold to ease your suffering but will not get rid of the virus.

Answer 5

Cold commonly is due to a viral infection....although it doesn't have to be - it sometimes is caused by bacteria. What the cold medicine does to increase your immunity. They do this by supplying your body with extra vitamins such as vitamin C to combact the cold. Hope this helps!!

Answer 6

It alleviates the symptoms (just makes you feel better).

Answer 7

It's supposed to make the stockholders happy. And as an aside, it might have some slight effect on some of your symptoms, though it won't make them go away and it won't alter the course of the illness.

Phenylephrine has become the most popular decongestant. What it's supposed to do is cause enough vasoconstriction to decrease the blood flow in the nasal mucosa and therefore decrease congestion. It doesn't do that in kids, it shouldn't do it in people for whom vasoconstriction isn't a good idea (hypertensives, people with heart disease, etc.), and it doesn't work in very many of the remainder.

Dextromethorphan is the common cough suppressant. It decreases the sensitivity of the nerve tissue that makes you cough when you need to. That way, if it works, which fortunately isn't very likely, the gunk you're supposed to cough up gets to stay in your chest.

Often in combination with the stuff to keep you from coughing is guafenesin, an expectorant, that makes it easier to cough up the stuff you're taking the dextromethorphan so you won't cough it up. Still with me? In a couple of comparison studies, it's been shown to be almost as effective as chicken soup.

And then there are the analgesics, typically acetaminophen or ibuprofen, for relief of aches and pains. They're pretty self-explanatory.

Last, there are the antihistamines. They have no role in treating cold symptoms, but they may make you drowsy, and they have the advantage to the drug companies of making their combination different from the competition.

Now aren't you glad you have that medicine?