This article explores the effectiveness of over-the-counter cold and flu medications. It features expert advice from a GP, virologist, and pharmacist, examining how these medications work and whether they truly alleviate symptoms or simply mask them.
Presenter James Gallagher is getting ahead of himself and stockpiling with remedies for the dreaded winter flu season. It's almost inevitable that many of us will be hit by colds at this time of year, so what can we do to fend them off? For help navigating the stacked pharmacy aisles, James turns to Dr Margaret McCartney, Inside Health 's resident GP and an expert in evidence-based medicine, Dr Lindsay Broadbent, a lecturer in virology from the University of Surrey, and pharmacist Reshma Malde.
The group discuss the plethora of medications available, and whether they really help at all. Almost all cold and flu medications reduce the symptoms of the illness, not treat the illness itself. Dr Lindsay Broadbent explains that 'when we get infected with a virus, particularly a respiratory virus, it's our immune system that actually causes a lot of the symptoms that we experience.' We generate mucus, which has protective enzymes to fight off bacteria, while down-regulating our bodies' natural processes for clearing this mucus. We also release cytokines and chemokines to activate and direct immune cells respectively. Unfortunately, these are responsible for the fever, aches and pains of more serious colds. The first bit of advice that I would give all my customers is increasing the amount of fluid that you're taking in.Bed rest and time are the best solutions for cold and flu, but sometimes you have to get to work or take the kids to school. By inhibiting the symptoms of these natural bodily processes, medications can allow us to push through the day.James talks to pharmacist Reshma Malde from John Bell & Croyden to examine the full range of cold and flu medications out there. The cold and flu tablets you grab off the shelf are mainly determined by one thing – flavour. Some people will also swear that hot-drink sachets work better than tablets despite having the same active ingredients – and there might be some logic to thi
COLD FLU MEDICATION IMMUNE SYSTEM SYMPTOMS
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