Have you ever gotten a cold or the flu at the worst time?! You have so much going on and it's a battle to manage the symptoms.
Here's our top picks for the best cold and flu medicine for adults that we have used over the flu season.
As a good rule of thumb, you should always check with your doctor or pharmacist before starting any new medicines especially if you are already on medications.
Best cold and flu medicine for adults
- Dayquil Severe with Honey
- Mucinex severe congestion and cough
- Alka-seltzer Plus cough mucus and congestion
1. DayQuil/NyQuil Severe with honey
This honey DayQuil/NyQuil is a great cold medicine especially if you have a bad sore throat. The honey helps coat your throat and alleviates the dry scratchy pain.
What we like:
- It comes in a day time liquid and night time.
2. Mucinex severe congestion and cough
Mucinex has another great option that works well for alleviating certain symptoms that come with a cold or flu.
What we like:
- It comes in a day time liquid and night time.
3.Alkaseltzer plus cough mucus & congestion
If liquids aren't your favorite, these liquid-gel capsules from Alkaseltzer are another great choice.
What we like:
- They don't leave an awful after taste.
- It comes in a daytime capsules and night time capsules.
Liquids vs Capsules
While most medicines come in both forms, everyone usually has a preference. Some people would rather drink the cold medicine over swallowing a capsule or pill.
There are benefits to the liquid version in that they can immediately coat your throat and relieve any sore throat momentarily until you drink something.
What ingredients to look for
Most cold and flu medicines have cough suppressants or expectorants.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, an expectorant helps make it easier to cough up mucus. This is an important thing for ridding your body of excess mucus and bacteria making you sick.
The National Institutes of Health describes a suppressant as substance used to stop coughing. This is great for a dry cough, but if you have mucus or productive coughs it's better to let your body cough out that junk.
Join the Discussion