Painkillers and the common cold. Question re effectiveness.

[IndigoSpritz]

If you don't have any aches or pains as a result of having a cold, are drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin and paracetamol worth taking ? Or just ordinary decongestants or antihistamines ?

Painkillers will do nothing if you aren't in pain.
Antihistamines will do nothing if you aren't having an allergic reaction.
Yes take a decongestant if the congestion is uncomfortable

In don't understand the question. Unless you are actually asking if taking painkillers works when there is no pain? What exactly would you expect them to do?

Paracetamol/brufen etc just deal with the symptoms. They aren’t anti viral or antibiotic so won’t “help” with the actual cold.

In fact there have been studies showing that taking medications for colds etc can prolong the infection. Presumably because your body’s own defences which do kill bacteria and viruses- increasing temperature, inflammatory response, producing mucous to expel the infective organism- are dampened by the drugs.

If you're not in pain, why would you take a painkiller? Unless you need to reduce a high fever, adults don't usually get a high fever with a common cold though.

My elderly neighbour takes a paracetamol if she can’t sleep and swears it works. Another one says her flu jab stops her getting colds. People believe strange things.

The reason I ask is that these medicines are marketed as pain relievers. My GP has said, in her opinion, that paracetamol is the best thing to take for a cold and that anything else is a waste of money. But, why take a painkiller if a cold isn't producing any aches and pains unless they can tackle other symptoms of a cold as well ? Hope this makes more sense.

Lots of people get headaches/earaches/sore throats with a cold. That's probably what the GP meant.

Painkillers seem to make me feel better when I have a stonking cold. Just take an edge off. I suppose for me cold = achy sinuses & joints so there is a painful element. I'll take placebo effect if that's all they have.

Generally a cold does have pain associated with it, such as headache, sinus pain or sore throat. Maybe it's these that the doctor was referring to? I don't think I've ever had a painless cold.

Did you go to see the GP with a cold and get told to take paracetamol?

Painkillers are good for sinus and throat pain and for reducing fever. All of which are common cold symptoms. If you don't have any of those symptoms then they won't help.
The won't help with congestion or stop a runny nose though.

painkillers relieve pain and lower a fever.
so they makr you feel better, they don't make your cold go away quicker.
best is to take paracetamol or ibuprofen and a decongestant nose spray as needed rather than compination medicines.
rest as much as you can. drink water/weak tea.

My GP has said, in her opinion, that paracetamol is the best thing to take for a cold and that anything else is a waste of money

Surely your GP meant to take paracetamol only if some bits of you hurt as a result of your cold!

Ibuprofen reduces inflammation so presumably by reducing inflammation in your nose it will help you to feel less bunged up. Maybe paracetamol does the same? If I'm feeling gritty with a cold I take ibuprofen and it does seem to help

grotty

I've only asked her about cold remedies once a few years ago and I remember what she said about paracetamol. If these medicines can deal with other symptoms than just the painful ones, it explains what she was driving at. She also recommended fresh air and lots of drinks.

I'm just getting over a cold now; the main problem has been a blocked nose and a build-up of phlegm in my throat during the night. The latter will just take time to clear but decongestants do help with the blocked nose.

Why isn't there a cure yet ?

My GP has said, in her opinion, that paracetamol is the best thing to take for a cold and that anything else is a waste of money

What she probably meant is no, antibiotics won’t work on a virus, you don’t need them. However i recognise your need to take medicine and feel like it is working. Therefore paracetamol is the best thing as it is cheap, safe in the correct doses, and as good as any placebo*

There isn’t a cure because the common cold virus dna is inside a protein “coat”. The proteins are the trigger the immune system recognises. They can change the protein coat easily- and are no longer recognised by the immune system. Which is why vaccinations aren’t easy to produce either.

The GP would mean that paracetamol is best for the pains brought on by the cold, not that it would do anything else but relieve the pain.

A lot of GPs also say to take some paracetamol/ibuprofen if you can't sleep, but they mean if you can't sleep because of the pain you've come in to discuss. Not that it'll help you drift off quicker!

I usually take cold and flu capsules which contain paracetemol. I mainly take them for the decongestant effect and the daytime ones contain caffeine too - presumably to liven you up a bit! I would never consider taking just paracetemol for a cold though - unless I had a headache or raised temperature. Nothing cures a cold - drugs only temporarily ease the symptoms until such time as your body fights off the infection.

Considering lemsip is basically just hot paracetamol, I’d rather have hot water, lemon and honey, and take two paracetamol. I find paracetamol helps when I’m all bunged up. If someone said ‘are you sore?’ then I’d say no, but half an hour after taking paracetamol I feel an awful lot better. I think people don’t always recognise ‘pain’.

why isn't there a cure apparently cold symptoms can be caused by any one of over 200 viruses . So finding a cure for colds is pretty tough, especially since viruses can mutate . Best thing is to reduce your own symptoms however you can and avoid passing the virus on to others by not sneezing on them and by keeping your hands clean so you don't pass the bugs on through touch.

Thanks everyone. I recognise there's no cure as the cold is caused by a virus so one has to wait for the body to deal with it - it was just a rhetorical question ! I admit I never considered the anti-inflammatory properties of some medicines might help relieve blocked noses and sinuses by...reducing inflammation in those passages. Silly me.

Most of the decongestants in the shops are phenylephrine. I've found in the past that one or two pharmacists are reluctant to sell pseudoephedrine because dodgy customers might use it to make crystal meth. I wouldn't know where to start. Benylin Day and Night contains diphenhydramine which deals with runny noses and is a sedative. Great stuff !

I don't think I've ever had a cold without a headache, sore throat or sinuses.

Lemsip has caffeine in it too (pretty sure). Caffeine can perk ppl up.

I think a few medicines have the option of 'plus caffeine', presumably so it gets into the bloodstream more quickly. I have both sorts or paracetamol at home; I don't want to be taking anything containing caffeine at bedtime.