Cold & flu medicines: Symptoms matter

Category: Blogs
Posted On: Jun 18, 2025

Cold and flu cases peak during the fall and winter, but can still occur year-round.

Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines do not treat the flu itself, but can help manage symptoms.

OTC medications are available without a prescription. The best OTC medicines target specific symptoms and should not interfere with other medications you are taking or health conditions that you have. A pharmacist can help you decide which medications to take.

Cold and flu medicines contain only a handful of active ingredients. GoodRx recommends which OTC ingredients to look for based on symptoms:

Symptom	Active ingredients	Good to know
Fever & aches	Acetaminophen Ibuprofen Aspirin	Available in pill, liquid, suppository Avoid aspirin in people under age 19
Cough	Dextromethorphan Guaifenesin	Dextromethorphan for dry cough Guaifenesin for wet cough
Congestion	Pseudoephedrine Phenylephrine nasal spray	Pseudoepherine is kept behind the pharmacy counter Don’t use nasal sprays for more than 3 days
Runny nose	Azelastine nasal spray Antihistamines like diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, doxylamine & brompheniramine	Antihistamines are often included in nighttime cold and flu products since they cause drowsiness