{"id":3404,"date":"2023-02-10T03:46:41","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T03:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/?p=3404"},"modified":"2023-03-14T00:48:25","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T00:48:25","slug":"otc-medications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/?p=3404","title":{"rendered":"OTC Medications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cdn.sanity.io\/images\/0vv8moc6\/mhe\/bb4116b7f4cec35a3535ae3bd32948580dee1db0-1000x500.png?fit=crop&amp;auto=format\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>ACHES, PAINS, AND HEADACHES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over-the-counter pain medicines can help with&nbsp;headache, arthritis pain, sprains, and other minor joint and muscle problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Acetaminophen &#8212; Try this medicine first for your pain. DO NOT take more than 3 grams (3,000 mg) on any one day. Large amounts can harm your liver. Remember that 3 grams is about the same as 6 extra-strength pills or 9 regular pills.<\/li><li>Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) &#8212; You can buy some NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, without a prescription.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Both of these medicines can have serious side effects if you take them in high doses or for a long time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>FEVER<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) help reduce&nbsp;fever&nbsp;in children and adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Take acetaminophen every 4 to 6 hours.<\/li><li>Take ibuprofen every 6 to 8 hours. DO NOT use ibuprofen in children younger than 6 months.<\/li><li>Know how much you or your child weighs before giving these medicines.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Aspirin works very well for treating fever in adults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>COLD, SORE THROAT, COUGH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cold medicines can treat symptoms to make you feel better, but they do not shorten a cold. Taking zinc supplements within 24 hours of the start of a cold may reduce the symptoms and duration of a cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cough&nbsp;medicines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Guaifenesin &#8212; Helps break up mucus. Drink lots of fluids if you take this medicine.<\/li><li>Menthol throat lozenges &#8212; Soothes &#8220;tickle&#8221; in the throat (Halls, Robitussin, and Vicks).<\/li><li>Liquid cough medicines with dextromethorphan &#8212; Suppresses the urge to cough (Benylin, Delsym, Robitussin DM, Simply Cough, Vicks 44, and store brands).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Decongestants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Decongestants help clear a runny nose and relieve postnasal drip.<\/li><li>Decongestant nasal sprays may work more quickly, but they can have a rebound effect if you use them for more than 3 to 5 days. Your symptoms may get worse if you keep using these sprays.<\/li><li>Check with your provider before taking decongestants if you have high blood pressure or prostate problems.<\/li><li>Oral decongestants &#8212; Pseudoephedrine (Contac Non-Drowsy, Sudafed, and store brands); phenylephrine (Sudafed PE and store brands).<\/li><li>Decongestant nasal sprays &#8212; Oxymetazoline (Afrin, Neo-Synephrine Nighttime, Sinex Spray); phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine, Sinex Capsules).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Sore throat&nbsp;medicines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Sprays to numb pain &#8212; Dyclonine (Cepacol); phenol (Chloraseptic).<\/li><li>Painkillers &#8212; Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve).<\/li><li>Hard candies that coat throat &#8212; Sucking on candy or throat lozenges can be soothing. Be careful in young children because of the choking risk.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>ALLERGIES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Antihistamine pills and liquids work well for treating&nbsp;allergy symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Antihistamines that may cause sleepiness &#8212; Diphenhydramine (Benadryl); chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton); brompheniramine (Dimetapp), or clemastine (Tavist)<\/li><li>Antihistamines that cause little or no sleepiness &#8212; Loratadine (Alavert, Claritin, Dimetapp ND); fexofenadine (Allegra); cetirizine (Zyrtec)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Eye drops &#8212; Soothe or moisten the eyes<\/li><li>Preventive nasal spray &#8212; Cromolyn sodium (Nasalcrom), fluticasone (Flonase)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>STOMACH UPSET<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Medicines for diarrhea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Antidiarrhea medicines such as loperamide (Imodium) &#8212; These medicines slow down action of intestine and reduce number of bowel movements. Talk to your provider before taking them because they can worsen diarrhea caused by infection.<\/li><li>Medicines that contain bismuth &#8212; May be taken for mild diarrhea (Kaopectate, Pepto-Bismol).<\/li><li>Rehydration fluids &#8212; May be used for moderate and severe diarrhea (Analytes or Pedialyte).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Medicines for nausea and vomiting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Liquids and pills for stomach upset &#8212; May help with mild nausea and vomiting (Emetrol or Pepto-Bismol)<\/li><li>Rehydration fluids &#8212; May be used to replace fluids from&nbsp;vomiting&nbsp;(Enfalyte or Pedialyte)<\/li><li>Medicines for motion sickness &#8212; Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine); meclizine (Bonine, Antivert, Postafen, and Sea-Legs)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>SKIN RASHES AND ITCHING<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Antihistamines taken by mouth &#8212; May help with itching or if you have allergies<\/li><li>Hydrocortisone cream &#8212; May help with mild&nbsp;rashes&nbsp;(Cortaid, Cortizone 10)<\/li><li>Antifungal creams and ointments &#8212; May help with diaper rashes and rashes caused by yeast (nystatin, miconazole, clotrimazole, and ketoconazole)<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ACHES, PAINS, AND HEADACHES Over-the-counter pain medicines can help with&nbsp;headache, arthritis pain, sprains, and other minor joint and muscle problems. Acetaminophen &#8212; Try this medicine first for your pain. DO NOT take more than 3 grams (3,000 mg) on any one day. Large amounts can harm your liver. Remember that 3 grams is about the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[108],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3404"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3445,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3404\/revisions\/3445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}