Getting through a nasty cold?

September 7, 2009 3:44 PM

I started feeling stuffy tomorrow, and today I have an awful cold. Tomorrow, I don't have the time to put up with a cold. Is there medication that actually works well enough to help me get through the day? How do I know if I'm contagious?

Yes, I feel silly posting all of this as if I have never had a cold before. But I realized that I've gone most of my life obvious to what do about colds, other than suffer.

I already read the To Dose or Not to Dose question here about ways to recover from a cold. I'll stop by the supermarket for some zinc lozenges, and I plan to get an unreasonable amount of sleep tonight. But it seems unlikely that I'll be magically recovered in the morning.

What can I do to minimize the effects? I'm coughing, stuffy, and have an awful runny nose. I recently found allergy medication that makes a remarkable difference, so I'm feeling hopeful that there's a cold medicine that will actually suppress my symptoms enough that I can get in a full day of work without sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose every 5 minutes. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I also have no idea how to know if I'm contagious. The only thing worse than calling in sick the day after a long vacation would be coming in sick and infecting the whole office with a miserable cold. Is there a way of knowing if I'm contagious?

Again, I'm not looking for actual cures, just things to help suppress the symptoms while I'm at work. Thanks in advance!

posted by fogster to health & fitness (18 comments total)

I started feeling stuffy tomorrow

Temporal distortion means you have something really serious. May want to get yourself checked out ASAP. Don't wait until yesterday.

Seriously, DayQuil usually works well enough for me.
posted by ConstantineXVI at 3:51 PM on September 7 [11 favorites has favorites]

The same thing happened to me last week, and I stopped it in its tracks with a mix of echinacea pills and garlic tabs, twice a day, with food.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:51 PM on September 7

You need pseudoephedrine (or however it's spelled). If you're in the U.S., you'll need to go to the pharmacy to get it. It's OTC, but you need to sign for it at the pharmacy. Don't settle for any imitations. Pseudoephedrine is where it's at.
posted by Sassyfras at 3:54 PM on September 7

a lot of stuff in this thread may be of use as well
posted by Think_Long at 3:55 PM on September 7

I've had success with Cold-Fx. I know a few others who don't seem to have as much luck with it, though.
posted by backwards guitar at 4:25 PM on September 7

Pseudoephedrine + aspirin. The pseudo will help deal with the congestion and the aspirin will help deal with the aches, pains, and low fever if you've got one. Other NSAIDs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, or the like can be substituted for the aspirin and it's just a personal preference.

I also have no idea how to know if I'm contagious. The only thing worse than calling in sick the day after a long vacation would be coming in sick and infecting the whole office with a miserable cold. Is there a way of knowing if I'm contagious?

Absolutely there is a way to know. If you have a cold, you're contagious. If the major symptoms started today, the chances of you being contagious tomorrow are close to 100%. This sucks to hear but it is the truth.
posted by Justinian at 4:31 PM on September 7

This article says:

Based on previous studies, their best guess is that a person becomes contagious about two to three days before developing the usual symptoms of a cold. Second, this contagious period can last until the person no longer shows any symptoms. So in theory, a person is contagious for about two weeks.

If you absolutely have to go to work tomorrow, take a box of tissues with you and use them liberally. Use them to protect common areas, like door knobs and shared phones. Don't sneeze or cough into your hand, sneeze and cough into your (presumably clothed) shoulder or elbow crook (or into a tissue if you can get to one fast enough). Wash your hands more frequently than you normally would. Try not to get too close to people when you're talking to them. Don't share drinks or food.
posted by cooker girl at 4:33 PM on September 7

slam some quality echinacea tincture and make some serious garlic tea.
cold-fx also seems to be really popular.
also: oil of oregano
posted by smartypantz at 4:35 PM on September 7

Pseudoephedrine will keep you up and breathing for a bit. Yeah, you have to go to the actual pharmacist to get it; the stuff that looks like Sudafed that's out on the shelves is something else and doesn't work worth a damn.
posted by dilettante at 4:57 PM on September 7

I'm just recovering from a sudden cold myself, so you have my sympathies. Lots of chicken soup helps!

And this sounds weird, but blow your nose frequently. Yes, it's gross and it's gross for others to hear, but it actually helps you get better faster. The mucus builds up around the virus/bacteria and is trying to funnel it out of your body so to try to hold it in by sniffing is doing more damage than good. (As a kid, I HATED blowing my nose, especially when sick, because it made me gag, but my step-dad [a doctor] always told me what I said above. I can do it now and it really makes a difference.)

And yes, you're contagious. I got sick last week from someone who had too much going on to stay home when they were sick, so me and a few coworkers caught what he had. Thanks a bunch--I don't have time to be sick, either, and that ruined my three day weekend!

If there's any way you can stay home, do so as a courtesy to your coworkers.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 5:24 PM on September 7

And this sounds weird, but blow your nose frequently. Yes, it's gross and it's gross for others to hear, but it actually helps you get better faster.

Actually, this is unclear and there's a lot of contemporary thought (with some evidence) that blowing your nose is counter-productive at best and, possibly, can make things worse by increasing the likelihood of secondary infections.

See this study for one example.

Decongestants are a better bet than nose-blowing.
posted by Justinian at 6:05 PM on September 7

Aleve Sinus and Cold is a godsend. It has the pseudoephedrine you need to clear your head, and the naproxen knocks out the aches and pains. And drink lots of water to thin the mucus out.
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 6:27 PM on September 7

Carry some cough drops just in case. I like Halls Honey lemon.
posted by Sara Anne at 6:35 PM on September 7

Don't forget to lay off the Sudafed when you get home from work and drink lots of fluids. The Sudafed dries you out, and in my experience, prolongs the infection. Without adding a lot of liquid to the diet. And get plenty of sleep.

The key, I've found, is to only blow the nose when it will be "productive".
posted by gjc at 6:44 PM on September 7

Zinc lozenges don't have that much zinc in them. I take the tablets. Most are 50 mg which is about the max you should have a day (including from food) so I just take a half when I'm around someone contagious or get sick. I still catch colds every once in a while but I don't feel as bad as the person I caught it from and the cold is much shorter. The nice thing it you can still take cold medicine to help with the symptoms.
posted by stray thoughts at 7:21 PM on September 7 [1 favorite has favorites]

N'thing Dayquil... works like a charm for me, and doesn't make me sleepy like a lot of the other stuff does.
posted by northernlightgardener at 7:37 PM on September 7

I've great luck with astragalus in staving off colds when I feel the signs of one coming on. Mind the drug interactions and educate yourself if you're going to take it.
posted by Issithe at 11:32 PM on September 7

For the next cold: As soon as you feel symptoms, use Zicam (the mouth spray) and follow the direction to a tee. It will knock out the cold if you catch it early. Incredible stuff.
posted by Zambrano at 9:20 AM on September 8