> Safe Treatments for a Cold

Safe Treatments for a Cold, in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

It seems as if the flu season is never ending, whether or not you received your "flu shot".  And in addition to the flu we have sick children and grandchildren, overly warm buildings on cold days, and freezing cold air conditioning on hot days...   the ways to contract the common cold are endless.
  
Many patients ask me for a recommended treatment for their "common cold" or upper respiratory viral illness.  This is something important to address because many people in our practice have hypertension (high blood pressure) and even coronary artery disease.  We always worry that a medicine someone takes on their own ("over the counter") will interfere with the other medicines that they are prescribed.  

There are a couple of safe bets, but of course, always check with your regular doctor to be safe.  There is always a chance that you could have something more serious, like a bacterial infection... so if you have prolonged coughing or fever, always check with your doctor.  

If however, you appear to have mild symptoms and are going to try a few home remedies then we usually recommend the following:

1. Rest

1. Fluids (unless you have congestive heart failure)

1. Try to eat at least 3 meals (even if they are small) to keep up your energy

1. Antihistamines (cetirizine - Zyrtec, or loratadine - Claritin) are good options to dry up your sinuses.  But BE CAREFUL - do NOT take anything with a "-D" designation.  Examples: do NOT take Zyrtec-D, or Claritin-D

1. Expectorant:  try something like Mucinex (guaifenesin), but again avoid the "Mucinex-D"

BE CAREFUL to avoid anything with pseudoephedrine!  This drug is found in many over the counter medicines and also in regular "Sudafed".  It commonly causes palpitations, tremors, insomnia and also can make your blood pressure go up.