I believe that many non-medical professionals, when it comes to the “cold”, should they not take medicine? Or should I use medicine? What kind of medicine should I use? There are so many cold medicines on the market, how should I choose? Should I still use antibiotics? In 2012, our physicians’ association released the “Expert Consensus on the Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Cold”, which contains a paragraph that has attracted everyone’s attention: “There is no specific antiviral drug for common cold, so there is no need to use antiviral drugs for common cold. Overuse of antiviral drugs has significantly increased the risk of related adverse reactions”. Not only in China, but also abroad, there is no clear basis for recommending antiviral drugs on a large scale when it comes to respiratory infections, such as guidelines. First of all, we should get to know the “common cold”, which is a mild, self-limiting (understandably self-healing in most cases) infection of the upper respiratory tract. The common culprits of the cold are viruses (e.g. rhinovirus, coronavirus, etc.). Generally speaking, colds often occur during the cold season, alternating between hot and cold (frequent entry and exit from air-conditioned rooms). The way of transmission: “droplets”, contact infection (for example, hands have contact with secretions, and then through hands to the nose, nasal cavity, etc.). Since the culprit of the common cold is a virus, why can’t anti-viral drugs be widely used? WHY? That’s because viruses are actually very cunning. Otherwise, how can the powerful human beings always be harassed by viruses, such as bird flu, SARS, Ebola, etc.? Viruses are intracellular parasitic microorganisms, which means that they need a colony in order to reproduce and survive. And that colony is the cells of our body. And the key point at which the treatment of our antiviral drugs works is to stop the virus from replicating at either point. But there are so many variations in the structure of the virus that it is impossible to accurately combat the replication link of the virus in it. Even if it is possible to choose accurately, it takes 48 hours to work slightly, and in the case of a body with normal immune function, the gains from oral antiviral drug treatment are actually very limited. So what should I do if I have a cold if I can’t use an antiviral? The guide says: “Since there are no effective antiviral drugs for colds, symptomatic treatment is given to relieve cold symptoms, while paying attention to rest, proper hydration, keeping indoor air circulation, and avoiding bacterial infections.” Then let’s talk about symptomatic treatment in layman’s terms. The combination of these symptom-relieving drugs tasted together into our common cold medicines on the market, such as: Neo-Contec, Tylenol cold tablets, day and night pepto-bismol, senkang tablets, white plus black, fast gram and so on. Commonly used decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine, can be sinus vasoconstriction, reduce secretions and thus relieve nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing symptoms; antihistamines: is our common anti-allergy drugs, common such as paracetamol (chlorpheniramine), benadryl, terfenadine. The main purpose is to inhibit vasodilation and reduce vascular permeability, thus reducing or eliminating the symptoms of sneezing and runny nose. One thing to note is that using these drugs can cause fatigue, drowsiness and other symptoms, so with these drugs, it is best to avoid driving and other activities that require a high degree of concentration. Cough medicine: common types are dextromethorphan, pentoxifylline, etc. Expectorants: common ones are aminoglutethimide, acetylcysteine, and bromoxynil. Antipyretic and analgesic: common types are acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc. These ingredients mentioned above are often combined to become various cold medicines, so careful netizens, you can turn over their own home to see the various cold medicines. Comparison is not the ingredients contained in more or less the same? The purpose of listing these drugs here is to tell you that the more types of cold medicine you take, the faster you get better. On the contrary, the repeated use of drugs increases the dosage and triggers various adverse reactions. Common cold, meaning no other complications. But there are still some colds, which can be secondary to bacterial infections (sinusitis, tonsillitis, otitis media, etc.), thus requiring additional antimicrobial treatment. There is even the possibility of viral infections leading to myocardial damage and causing myocarditis. So if the symptoms do not improve after a week of using cold medication, it is recommended that a hospital visit be made to avoid delaying the condition yet.