Drugstore Debriefing: A guide to combating your cold

Cold and flu season can be tricky. Take into account the array of symptoms, and add a haggered trip to the drug store to store to try and find the right relief, and the host of anecdotes and products can cause your already heavy head to spin even more.

Todd Gerking, RPh., a pharmacist with Lewis Drug in Spirit Lake, recently offered a few hints to help remove some of the cloudiness from your upcoming visits to the cold and flu care aisles. Read below to find some hints on what ingredients to look for, and what to stay away from if high blood pressure, diabetes, or the search for a product for children under two are obstacles you face.

Loosening Coughs and Chest Congestion

For those looking to cure symptoms of a heavy cough and chest congestion, Gerking recommends looking for products that have an "expectorant," a product that will loosen congestion. He notes that ingredients containing an expectorant include those that say "Tussin."

"Anybody that wants to make their cough more productive and just feels that tightness in their chest or post nasal drainage type of thing, that's what we'd recommend," Gerking said.

Products to look for with Expectorants:

*Robitussin

*Mucinex

Corralling the Cough

If a cough is causing the coworker one cubicle over to consider a restraining order, or if you find your hacking keeping you up at night, Gerking points to products containing

Dextromethorphan, an ingredient that contains an actual cough suppressant.

Gerking notes that while the Dextromethorphan will help contain the cough, it isn't necessarily going to help you reach your REM cycle quicker.

"The cough suppressants that cause drowsiness are prescription drugs, mainly, with codeine in them as their cough suppressant, and that's not something you can buy off the shelf," he said.

Products to look for with Dextromethorphan:

* Products containing "DM" in the name

* Mucinex DM

* Robitussen DM

Attacking Allergies

When fall allergies strike, Gerking recommends combating the symptoms with antihistamine products.

"The antihistamines are really designed to treat allergies," Gerking notes, "But they will help with symptoms of a cold, the runny nose and that type of thing."

Also important to note are that antihistamine products do not raise blood pressure, but will very likely cause drowsiness.

Products to look for with antihistamines:

* Claritin (Gerking notes this medicine does not cause drowsiness)

* Zyrtec

* Benadryl

Fighting Fever

With the onset of the H1N1 epidemic, and ensuing panic, drug store aisles are well stocked with fever reducers, which Gerking notes is a major symptom of the virus.

If you're ready to take control of your fever, Gerking points out that the fever reducing products containing active ingredients Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen offer options depending on your symptoms or time of day you're fighting them off.

"There will be some that will be labeled 'non-drowsy' or 'daytime use' and some that will say 'nighttime use' on them," he said. "The difference is always that antihistamine; that they say 'nighttime use' they have an antihistamine in them which treats the allergy symptoms."

Products to look for containing Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen:

* Tylenol products (ranging from infant drops to capsules for adults

* Advil (anti-inflammatory and fever reducer)

Soothing scratchy throats

For many, there is no illness more annoying that the nagging, scratchy sore throat. Gerking recommends for most that sore throat sufferers make sure they stay hydrated with plenty of fluids. After that initial stage, there are options that will allow you to numb your throat and make it easier to swallow.

Benzocaine and phenol products contain local anesthetic, including throat sprays and lozenges. Gerking often points patients to lozenges, noting they provide longer amounts of symptom relief.

Products to look for with Benzocaine and Phenol:

* Vick's Chloraseptic Spray

* Cepastat lozenges

* Cepacol products

Uncloggin' your Noggin'

When your nose feels like it's been better insulated for winter than your house, you're probably looking for a decongestant.

With recent widespread abuse of the active ingredient "pseudoephedrine" to manufacture meth, many products have opted to now include "phenylephrine" in their products instead.

While it is still possible to purchase products containing the original psuedoephedrine ingredient by presenting your driver's license and signing at the pharmacists' counter, Gerking hasn't found much difference between the two active decongestant ingredients.

"I don't think there's really any studies saying it's not as good of a product," Gerking said.".....the government obviously wants the product on the shelf that's not going to be abused and used for illegal purposes."

Products to look for with Phenylephrine or Psuedoephedrine

* Dayquil

* Psuedofed

* Actifed Cold and Allergy

Zapping it with Zinc

If you're looking to take advantage of more natural remedies this cold and flu season, Gerking notes an upswing in the amount of products marketed with Zinc, a supplement credited with immune-boosting properties.

Gerking is not about to make a hard sell on any get-better-quicker tricks purely from zinc.

"(Am I) going to tell somebody that that's going to make them better quicker?" He said. "I don't know if I'd ever say that to anybody. I think zinc is proven to kind of boost your immune system."

Products to look for with "Zinc"

* Cold-eeze Cough Drops

* Halls Defense with Zing

* Zinc vitamin supplements

Finding Victory with Vitamin C

Another vitamin mentioned often during cold and flu season is Vitamin C, prompting many sufferers to load up on OJ and supplements with the sniffles strike.

Gerking shows some hesitancy in suggesting Vitamin C as the ultimate cure-all.

"It supposedly boosts the immune system and helps fight colds, kind of like the zinc, its very debatable, but it definitely can't hurt you," he said.

Products to look for with Vitamin C

* Vitamin C-infused Cough Drops

* Oranges, Orange Juice

* Vitamin supplements

Precautionary Medicines:

Treating Tots: Weight Guidelines and Medicine

Its hard to watch your little one suffer with cold and flu season woes, but Gerking warns that precautions are necessary to safely relieve the symptoms of children, especially under the age of 2, with over the counter products.

"I would advice people to follow the weight guidelines," he said. "You're guaranteed to have a safe outcome if you go by weight. Sometimes, kids aren't always (aligned) weightwise by age group, necessarily where they should be - light or heavy, either way."

Gerking also notes that any one with questions regarding the safety of dosage for children should not hesitate their doctor or pharmacist for help.

Products to Avoid for Children Under Two:

* Cough syrups with Dextromethorphan

* Antihistamines (those including Chlorpheniramine found in some Benadryl products)

Heeding Heart Health

While decongestants can be a God-send for many stuffed noses, their vessel-constricting properties are a real danger for patients with high blood pressure. Gerking notes that many products will let consumers in on the dangers.

"They will have a warning on it always, (that) if you are on high blood pressure medication or have certain diseases, heart disease and so forth, talk to your doctor before using this," he said.

Gerking points to an over the counter product called Coricidin, which leaves the decongestant products out of its ingredient list, making it safe for those with heart issues.

Products for high blood pressure:

* Coricidin

* Safe Tussin

Dealing With Diabetes/Dodging Drug Interactions

Gerking has customers approach him with other precautions effecting their medication choice, including diabetes, or a host of other prescription medications that may interact with traditional products.

"I'll go right to a product I know is a sugar free cough syrup for them," he said,

Other customers worry about drug interactions from other medication.

"If they say 'I'm on a bunch of medication and I have a bad cough,' there's a couple cough syrups that we sell," Gerking said. "Safe Tussin is a cough suppressant with no alcohol, no decongestants, no sugar, basically anybody that has other conditions - diabetes, high blood pressure - these are products we know are safe and aren't going to interact with their medicine."

Products to look for if you are Diabetic

* Diabetic Tussin Safe Relief DM Cough Syrup

* Safe Tussin

* Products labeled "Sugar-Free"

..or Concerned about drug interactions:

* Safe Tussin