What is the treatment of the common cold? Matching OTC medicines to symptoms
The common cold is a self-limiting upper respiratory illness. Because no single treatment addresses every symptom, management is guided by which symptoms are most prominent in the individual patient, with appropriate over-the-counter medicines selected accordingly.
Clinical approach
Treatment is symptom-driven. The medicines chosen depend on whether the predominant complaints involve fever and pain, nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, sneezing, or a combination — and whether single-symptom or multi-symptom products are more appropriate.
Treatment overview (partial)
The protocol recommends over-the-counter symptomatic agents drawn from several drug classes — each matched to a specific symptom category. Available as individual medicines or as combination multi-symptom products. The full selection, agent choices, and structuring of the regimen are in the protocol.
References
DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2023.1224988
- The most common treatments of the common cold are in category 3.
- For symptom relief and the different symptomatic treatments are listed in Table 2 and have been reviewed by Eccles.
- These medicines are marketed as over the counter (OTC) medicines that are freely available to consumers as single medicines or as multi-symptom medicines containing several actives.
View source ↗