Treatment

There's no cure for the common cold. Most cases of the common cold get better without treatment, usually within a week to 10 days. But a cough may linger for a few more days. The best thing you can do is take care of yourself while your body heals. For example, drink plenty of liquids, humidify the air, use saline nasal rinses and get adequate rest.

Antibiotics are of no use against cold viruses and shouldn't be used unless there's a bacterial infection.

Relieving your symptoms can include using over-the-counter (OTC) medication to reduce fever, body aches, congestion and cough. Some remedies might help ease your symptoms and keep you from feeling so miserable. But there are pros and cons to commonly used cold remedies, such as over-the-counter pain relievers, decongestants, nasal sprays and cough syrups. Don't give OTC cold medications to children.

Pain relievers

For a fever, sore throat and headache, adults often turn to OTC acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or other mild pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others).

For treatment of fever or pain in children, consider giving your child infants' or children's over-the-counter fever and pain medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others). These are safer alternatives to aspirin.

For children younger than 3 months old, don't give acetaminophen until your baby has been seen by a doctor. Don't give ibuprofen to a child younger than 6 months old or to children who are vomiting constantly or are dehydrated.

Use these medications for the shortest time possible and follow label directions to avoid side effects. Call your doctor if you have questions about the right dose.

Aspirin is not recommended for children or teenagers. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 3, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, in such children.

Decongestant nasal sprays

Adults can use decongestant drops or sprays for up to five days. Prolonged use can cause rebound symptoms. Children younger than 6 years old shouldn't use decongestant drops or sprays. Talk to your doctor before using nasal decongestants in children older than 6 years.

Cough syrups

Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are intended to treat the symptoms of coughs and colds, not the underlying disease. Research suggests that these medicines haven't been proved to work any better to treat colds than do inactive medicine (placebo).

If you use over-the counter cough and cold medicines, follow the label directions. Don't take two medicines with the same active ingredient, such as an antihistamine, decongestant or pain reliever. Too much of a single ingredient could lead to an accidental overdose.

Don't use over-the-counter medicines, except for fever reducers and pain relievers, to treat coughs and colds in children younger than 6 years old. Cough and cold medications have potentially serious side effects, including fatal overdoses in children younger than 2 years old. Also consider avoiding use of these medicines for children younger than 12 years old. And it isn't typically recommended that you give cough or cold medicines to an older child.