Anti-inflammatory drugs are very effective at reducing the pain of a sore throat.

To minimize the chance of stomach irritation, they can be taken with milk or food. Speak with your physician if stomach irritation occurs.

Note that aspirin, which is a type of anti-inflammatory) is not recommended, especially in children (see below).

Decongestants are medications that are used to relieve nasal stuffiness (congestion).

Studies suggest that decongestants are effective for the short-term relief of nasal stuffiness.

Decongestants can increase blood pressure in those who already have high blood pressure. There is some (weak) evidence to suggest that the use of a decongestant called phenypropanolamine may increase the chance of stroke in susceptible people.

Many over-the-counter cold medicines combine decongestants and antihistamines (medications that relieve runny nose and sneezing).

One of the ingredients of over-the-counter combination drugs, pseudoephedrine/sudafed, is used to manufacture an illegal substance called "crystal amphetamine" and therefore requires a signature at the pharmacy during purchase.

Antihistamines are medications that are used to relieve runny nose and sneezing. Studies show modest effectiveness at reducing these symptoms during the first few days of a common cold.

Side effects include drowsiness and a dry mouth.

Many over-the-counter cold medicines combine decongestants (medications that relieve congestion) and antihistamines.

Studies confirm that the use of antibiotics does not result in cure of the common cold or in symptom improvement.

Overuse of antibiotics can cause harm by creating hard-to-treat bacteria, which can result in future bacterial infections that are difficult to cure.

Physicians only tend to prescribe an antibiotic if he/she feels that there is evidence that a common cold has progressed to another type of infection that is caused by a bacteria rather than a virus.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol, more) is the preferred alternative for relief of pain and fever.

Decongestants and antihistamines are not effective for young children with the common cold and may cause side effects.

Studies suggest that the use of vitamin C provides little or no benefit for people with the common cold.

Several randomized controlled trials have failed to show that echinacea results in improvement of symptoms of the common cold or speeds the time for symptoms to resolve.

One factor that make Echinacea difficult to study is that there are many different preparations available (over 200), which are made using different extraction methods, from different parts of the plant (roots, leafs, whole plant, etc).

Rare cases of serious allergies (anaphylactic reactions) have been reported with Echinacea.

Studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of steam inhalation as a treatment for symptoms of the common cold have generated conflicting results.

Most of the studies performed to date have serious problems in the way that they were designed. Further investigation is necessary.

Two groups of scientists evaluated available study results related to the effectiveness of zinc lozenges. Two other groups evaluated the studies related to Zinc intranasal gel.

Of the 2 groups evaluating the lozenge studies, one concluded that the lozenges were effective; the other concluded that they were not.

Similarly, of the 2 groups looking at Zinc intranasal gel, one group concluded that Zinc was effective; the other concluded that it was not.