Didn\’t you love it when you were a kid and you got sick and your mom would take care of you? She would feed you chicken soup, wrap blankets around you and she always knew what medicines to give you. Now you are in college and you are sick, away from mom and feeling a little clueless about what to take. There are dozens of different medications and it can be confusing. Fortunately there is this handy guide. At Trident Online College you will find an education you will love.
You will undoubtedly take some painkillers to help relieve symptoms. But do you take Tylenol or Advil? What is the difference? Painkillers fall into three main categories: Aspirin, Acetaminophen, and Ibuprofen. You don\’t want to take much Aspirin but it can be a good fever reducer. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen work differently from each other and thus you can alternate taking them ever three or four hours. Ibuprofen is also called Advil, Motrin and Nuprin. It is particularly good at easing body aches and fever pains. Acetaminophens most common form is Tylenol and works well on headaches. Be careful though, read the packaging on cold medications because they often already have these painkillers mixed in. For instance Dayquil/Nyquil has Acetaminophen in it, so if you take it, you won\’t want to take Tylenol with it. At accredited online universities you can start your future today.
If you get something like Bronchitis or even worse, Pneumonia, then you will probably spend a lot of time coughing. You may be coughing so much that it keeps you awake at night and your ribs start to hurt. That\’s where cough syrup comes in useful. One again though, there are several different types. Robitussin is the most famous brand, but there are plenty of generic syrups as well.
There are two basic ingredients that cough syrups can use: expectorants and suppressants, usually both will be mixed together in one bottle. Expectorants work to break up the mucus and congestion in your chest so that you can cough it out and breathe easier. Just like they sound, suppressants work to keep you from coughing as much. Note that there are a couple of other ingredients they will often put into cough syrups as well. They are usually antihistamines or nasal decongestants (to reduce sinus congestion) and Acetaminophens (Tylenol) to help with pain. So once again read the labels before you take them
Another thing to look out for is night and day versions. Many medicines are designed to make you sleepy, like Nyquil or Nighttime Robitussin, so you can rest better and heal up. Others, like Dayquil, are designed to help you stay awake. One particularly common cough suppressant called Guaifenesin will keep you awake no matter how tired you may feel, so check the labels to see if what you have contains it. As a general rule, if a bottle or box does not say daytime or non-drowsy on it, then assume it will make you sleepy.
Our online university courses will help you finish your education.