| Re: really bad cold what can i do?
"Robitussin" brand cough syrup has been a godsend to me this past 2 weeks. Not sure if its available to you but it is important that you buy the right formula. They have so many it can be confusing. If you are buying a generic brand make sure you are getting the right combination of ingredients:
1. Dextromethorphan - This ingredient calms the cough. That's all it does.
2. Guaifenesin - This ingredient thins the mucus and helps expectorate congestion. This is needed for severe congestion.
3. Pseudoephedrine - Clears nasal congestion (same as Sudafed)
The Robitussin CF formula has 1, 2, and 3 of the above ingredients. At the beginning of the cold this can be very helpful as it will calm all the symptoms.
As the cold progresses or settles into the chest you can switch to the "DM" formula (or equivilent) which has 1 & 2, but not 3. Then in the later stages of recovery, you can switch to the "Guaifenesin" formula which only has #2 - this will continue to expectorate the congestion but without the taking the other ingredients unnecessarily.
If you use it correctly, this stuff really works. Make sure you don't take any other cold formulas if you are using this as you run the risk of duplicating ingredients - just use this with tylenol or ibuprofin. Its really all you need.
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