For those who have no access to physicians and are worried about your symptoms, here are some over-the-counter medications you guys can take. Remember, these are for ADULTS (18 and above), not kids. Kids have different dosing which needs to be computed based on their weight, you need to seek consult with a Pediatrician for that. Anyway, here are some meds you can take:
- For fever: Paracetamol 500mg/tab, 1 tab every 4 hours for fever 37.8 and above, or every 6 hours for pain (body pains, headache)
- For colds with or without fever: Phenylephrine/Chlorphenamine/Paracetamol 10mg/2mg/500mg/tab, 1 tab every 6 hours as needed for flu-like symptoms
- For cough in general: Lagundi 600mg/tab or 600mg/5mL syrup, 1 cap or 5mL 3 times a day as needed
- For dry cough (no phlegm whatsoever): Butamirate 50mg/tab, 1 tab 3 times a day as needed -OR- Levodropropizine 30mg/5mL syrup, 10mL 3 times a day as needed (a bit pricy); remember only for DRY cough, these are cough suppressants, they stop you from coughing; if you have phlegm, you NEED to cough it out so don't take these
- For cough with phlegm: Acetylcysteine 600mg/tab, dissolve 1 tab in half glass water, consume once a day at bedtime as needed -OR- Carbocisteine 500mg/cap, 1 cap up to 3 times a day as needed -OR- Guaifenesin 200mg/cap, 1 cap every 4 hours as needed
- For cough/colds/itchy throat or any combination of those: Levocetirizine/Montelukast 5mg/10mg/tab, 1 tab once a day at bedtime as needed
- For itchy/sore throat: Kamillosan/Betadine/Difflam throat sprays, 2 sprays straight to the throat every 2 hours as needed
- For headaches/body pains not relieved by Paracetamol: Ibuprofen 200mg/cap -OR- Mefenamic Acid 500mg/cap, 1 cap up to 3 times a day as needed
Remember, these medications are all for your symptoms, but the real fight is done by your immune system. So drink lots of water (at least 3 liters a day), eat lots of fruits and veggies, take your vitamins, and get lots of rest. If your symptoms worsen or don't improve after 1-2 weeks, best to seek consultation. Hope this pandemic ends soon! If you guys have any questions, feel free to leave a reply, I'll get back to you guys as soon as I can. Stay safe everyone!
