Are you good as far as having drugs to make having the flu not suck so bad?
What type of drugs? Where can I get them? Will they cost more than $25? I’ve never bought flu medication back home. We use ~traditional herbs~ and suffering it out, because that’s the cheapest thing for it.
(will use chemical names because over-the-counter medicine brand names are ever-changing, often overly broad, and generally confusing)
(I spent long enough composing this that I’ve quite possibly been ninja’d, but hopefully this helps anyway.)
Relevant contents of my family’s basic medicine stock, available at any ordinary pharmacy (Pharmasave, Shoppers Drug Mart, stuff like that, also most grocery stores):
Pseudoephedrine: de-clogs stuffy noses. I don’t think it does anything for runny noses, or at least it didn’t seem to during my recent cold. While not particularly psychoactive itself (apparently it can be a stimulant, but not at the doses you’d be taking), is an ingredient in making meth, so you will likely be required to show ID and be forbidden from buying quantities that look suspiciously industrial. IME, wears off after 3 – 4 hours, but can only be taken every 6 (although you’re officially allowed to take another dose after only 4 as long as you don’t do it too often; see box for details). Plan your off times accordingly.
(Phenylephrine: …actually, let me just quote Wikipedia here. “Phenylephrine is marketed as an alternative for the decongestant pseudoephedrine, though clinical studies show phenylephrine to be no more effective than placebo.“ You might be tempted by it because it’s less restricted than pseudoephedrine, but don’t bother. If you have trouble obtaining pseudoephedrine, just go without.)
Dextromethorphan: reduces cough frequency, though not always to nothing. Taken twice a day, and also cannot be relied upon to actually last the whole time.
Guaifenesin: if you are having the kind of cough where you can feel there’s phlegm clogging your lungs but the cough’s not clearing it out, turns your coughing into the kind of cough that does clear it out. Kind of gross while the “productive” cough is going on, but you can breathe better afterward.
Dimenhydrinate: anti-nauseant, in case you need that sort of thing at the moment. Is also a sedative, so don’t take it if you want to be awake. Has a similar name to anti-allergy (and also sedative) diphenhydramine because it’s a similar chemical: you might be able to use them interchangeably in a pinch, but probably better to keep separate stocks of them if possible. Definitely don’t take them both at once, though. (Mind you, it’s general good policy to never take any sedative with another sedative, or any stimulant (including pseudoephedrine) with another stimulant.)
(With flus you probably don’t need an anti-diarrheal, but for future reference that’s loperamide. Half a pill renders you unable to poop for 24 – 36 hours. I recommend against taking a whole pill.)
The four main OTC pain relievers are ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, and naproxen. I generally use ibuprofen, but I’m not sure the difference is that important if you don’t have any medical issues forbidding one or another. (Oh, although, ibuprofen is nearly tasteless, so if you have trouble swallowing the pill, you can just chew it and it won’t be horrible.)
I don’t normally bother with topical anesthetic for sore throats (you open your mouth, aim the spray bottle at the back of your throat and press the button) because I find the feeling of numbness it replaces the pain with to be just as bad, but Mom uses phenol spray.
Note: all of these are sold in quantities too big for one cold suffered by one person. Rather than buying your own supply and having it expire before you can use it all, you may want to consider buying partial containers off of classmates. Possibly. Don’t blame me if something goes wrong with this plan.
Not relevant to the flu, but throwing in that the four OTC painkillers have vastly different effects on period cramps (ibuprofen is the most effective, acetaminophen the least). Also, if you have trouble swallowing a pill, I know both ibuprofen and acetaminophen come in chewable or flavored-liquid “children’s” forms. I’ve used the liquid form of ibuprofen when period cramps were upsetting my stomach too badly for a solid pill.
Also, all of these things come in various bundled products, so you can be careful reading active ingredient listings and buy two things rather than six (tho single-drug pills are pretty awesome if you’re building up a drug cabinet and want to be prepared). If you do that make sure you don’t accidentally double anything up – if the combined drug has acetaminophen (paracetamol for brits), don’t take another acetaminophen, etc.
If you DO accidentally double up, don’t panic. Manufacturers are conservative with their estimates; what is written on the box is a very safe dose. Accidentally double dosing yourself once isn’t going to kill you. Just be more careful next time, and be extra careful if you took something that has either a stimulant (jitters) or sedative (sleepiness).
Ibuprofen is better than acetaminophen for muscle aches (cramps, flu aches). I find naproxen to be the runner up for those of us who can’t take or don’t get an effect from ibuprofen.
Oh, and there’s an anti-Guaifenesin post going around tumblr, btw. It’s bullshit, ignore it.
With acetaminophen, do be very careful. It’s an ace for reducing your temperature, and really good if taken in small divided doses as a pain killer; however it’s very toxic to your liver in overdose.
So *really* check that you’re not double dosing. We see a lot of accidental ODs on acetaminophen in the ER, and I’m not quite sure of the US treatment, but in the UK the treatment, if you catch it early, is a 21 hour infusion and a couple of blood tests. If you don’t catch it in time, you’re looking at fun stays in ITU and potentially needing a liver transplant. (Aren’t I just the sunshine bunny).
The problem with acetaminophen OD is that you won’t necessarily feel unwell until it’s done significant, irreversible damage to your liver.
Not that I want to scare you, I love the stuff, think it’s fab. It is really safe in normal doses. But just be wary that when you’re sick or pain you’re not just going *YAY PILLS!*, which is clearly a temptation for some.
Also, weird side point the second. In the US you have a bit more leeway for safety, as the US Max dose appears to be 3g / day (in divided doses), in the UK it’s 4g / day*, and people usually take the max dose on the packet. I do not know the reason for this difference.
* There is a weight component to this calculation, but it’s not on ordinary OTC packs of tablets; as long as you’re normal adult human weight, these figures apply.
