Treating the Suds (Medicine Guide)

Getting anything more than just a mild cold is the worst, and even more so as an adult when you have school and work that you feel like you can't miss out on. This is a short section but hopefully a somewhat helpful one.

Obviously, the best thing to treat illness is rest but there are things that can lessen the suck and speed up recovery. For me personally, the most helpful thing to take has been Theraflu. Does it taste like absolute ass? Oh most definitely, but does it work? Like a charm. Having a box of daytime and night time Theraflu has been a godsend when I've been especially sick. It's revived me from the sleepy deliriousness that comes from aches and fevers. It's not fun to drink but if you drink every last drop, you'll feel revived for at least several hours. It helps with pain like headaches and sore throats and it helps to bring down fevers.

Eating like foods like toast or soup can also be really helpful when sick. But it also depends on the kind of sickness. If you have nausea or the stomach flu, for example, you'll want to avoid acidic foods like tomato soup, as it will make symptoms worse. Clear soups, like chicken noodle and miso soup, are best to eat when you're recovering.

I am adding in a section about medicines. After learning that you thought Tylenol was the same as a decongestant, I knew your ass knew nothing about medication, so here is a guide.

Types of medicine:

• Decongestant: Use: stuffy nose, sinus/facial pressure Popular ones include Mucinex and Sudafed. Decongestants can thin and loosen mucus as well as reduce the amount produced. They also work to reduce the swelling caused by extra blood being sent to your nose to fight off viruses (the cause of a stuffy nose). Generic versions are cheaper so if you opt for a non-name brand (they usually work just as well) look for medicines that have Pseudoephedrine as the active ingredient.

• Antihistamines: Use: runny nose, watery eyes, allergies, allergy-related itchiness Popular ones include Benadryl, Zyrtec, and Claritin. Antihistamines are a tad more complex. There are a couple of different active ingredients to choose from. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is okay, if it doesn't cure your allergies, it'll sure the hell knock you out so you don't feel them. Cetirizine (Zyrtec) is currently the strongest antihistamine and works well, whether or not it causes some drowsiness varies from person to person but it will not take you out the way Benadryl will, it may not even make you tired. It is fast acting and effective. Loratadine (Claritin) is non-drowsy and a good choice as well. It's different from Cetirizine in that is takes effect slower but it usually lasts longer, though not quite* as effective.

• Pain relievers/fever reducers: Use: for when you've involuntarily traveled to Spain, sin the S, or have a fever Popular ones include Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, and Motrin. There are two main drugs that pain relievers use: Acetaminophen/paracetamol and Ibuprofen. Acetaminophen is an effective painkiller but not anti-inflammatory, so it's good for pain but doesn't do much for a fever. Always pay attention to the dosage and follow it carefully, you don't want liver damage or death. Ibuprofen is both a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory, so it helps with pain, swelling, and fevers. Unlike acetaminophen, it doesn't really have many brand names, it's usually just sold as Ibuprofen. If your pain is more sever, you can actually take Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen together. They potentiate each other, so it's typically stronger/more effective. But make sure you don't take two full doses of each, take half and half.