If you just listen, you are likely to hear the sound of sneezing, coughing or nose blowing around here right now. In Charlotte, this is the time of year that everything gets covered in yellow pollen and allergy sufferers buy out all the tissues in town. Many people confuse allergies for a cold and telling the difference can be tricky even for doctors. Here are some of the usual symptoms and where they fit in:
Even if you can figure out if you are suffering from a cold or allergies, there is no cure for either one. If you can find the right allergy medicine for the type of allergy you suffer from you may be able to halt the symptoms. Otherwise the only relief comes about by treating the symptoms. There are countless medications and combinations available for colds and allergies. Asking the pharmacist for help is a great idea, because they can help you pinpoint what medication will best work for your combination of symptoms. Here is a little information to arm yourself with on the meds that are available:
Nasal Decongestants are taken orally in pill or liquid form or nasally as spray or drops. They help to unclog stuffy noses. Using nasal sprays for more than 3 days can make nasal congestion worse.
Expectorants are taken orally in pill or liquid form and help thin mucus so it can be coughed up more easily. Drinking more fluids is important to help these work.
Antitussives or cough suppressants help to quiet coughs. They can be taken orally in pill, liquid, or lozenge form or used topically as an ointment rubbed on the skin or in humidifiers and vaporizers.
Antihistamines work against allergies. They stop your body from reacting to the allergen. While there is debate over their effectiveness against colds, they may help with some of the symptoms.
Pain Relievers/Fever Reducers are taken orally in pill or liquid form. There are many different types, such as aspirin (NEVER give aspirin to children without a doctor’s approval), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).
If you have other health issues or take medications always ask your doctor before taking over the counter medications. Check with a doctor before giving medications to children. Thoroughly read labels for all ingredients. For example, a medication that has a “D” after it (like Claritin-D) also has a nasal decongestant in it. You may not need the decongestant and it may make it difficult to sleep after a few doses, so you may want to choose a medicine without it. Also, if you are taking multiple medicines, be sure you are not taking duplicate doses of the same medicine. An example of this is you don’t want to take acetaminophen tablets at the same time you are taking cold medicine with acetaminophen in it.
Both cold and allergies can lead to sinus infections or lower respiratory infections like bronchitis (also called a chest cold) so see your health care provider if you run a fever over 102 for more than 2 days, have thick yellow or green mucus, facial pain for more than a week, wheezing, shortness of breath, cough up blood or have a cough that lasts more than 2 weeks. A side note-if symptoms are fever and sore throat without any other cold symptoms, it could be strep throat and needs to be treated by a doctor.
If you have any of these symptoms and need help figuring out what to do about them, please email me. I’m happy to help.
Lynne
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