While there are many over the counter medications which make vague promises about stopping cold symptoms and helping you beat the annual sickness, there are a few things to remember about colds.

First, they’re caused by a virus, not a bacterium. While there are many antibiotics on the market, there are relatively few ways to kill viruses with any reasonable rate of success. With that in mind, the best you or any other person suffering from a cold can hope for is to get relief for your symptoms. In the case of especially bad cold symptoms, that’s saying quite a lot.

Robitussin

This is a popular over the counter cold cure all over the United States. It’s known for soothing sore throats and opening up airways while giving general pain relief to those suffering from cold symptoms. Robitussin comes in several different formulae and there is even a type made especially for kids. It’s certainly not a cure-all for everything that hurts but Robitussin is great for making living with a cold easier. It could be the best medicine for cold symptoms but there are many other drugs which do much more, so it’s not going to get much more than an honorable mention on this list.

Tylenol PM

Here’s another popular pill which can be obtained at drugstores anywhere without a prescription. Acetaminophen combined with a sleeping agent make Tylenol PM potent in a couple ways. First it provides some minor pain relief, though nothing really worth writing home about. The second and better part is that even if you’re sick, lying up late at night and coughing your throat out, these little pills can help you get to sleep. However, acetaminophen doesn’t work for everyone – some people are even allergic to it. That’s why some other cold medicines might be better for more people.

Nyquil

Continuing along those same lines, if you want to get a good night’s sleep while suffering from cold symptoms, Nyquil can definitely help you make it happen. Just take one dose of this right before you lie down and within about a half hour, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be sleeping. While getting enough fluids and eating right when you’re sick does help to beat the illness, one of the best defenses against a cold is getting enough sleep. A well-rested body can better combat infections and that might make this one of the best medicines for colds.

Mucinex

While some people might suffer from painfully dry, cracked sinuses during a cold, others will be overflowing with more mucus than they can handle. For the latter, drugs like Mucinex do a great job at cutting down on excess moisture in the nose and stop running, leaky noses, as well as all that congestion and stuffiness. Mucinex is widely available like other over the counter remedies and it comes in a few different dosages, so you’re not stuck with just a single pill. It’s certainly convenient and helps eliminate a bad cold symptom but it still isn’t the best medicine for a cold.

Vitamin C Supplements

It might be too late for the immune system boost Vitamin C provides when you’re already sick, but getting enough Vitamin C regularly can help prevent you from getting sick in the first place. A couple oranges or some other food or drink high in citric acid will give you all the C you need every day. Supplements can accomplish the same task just as well without adding a bunch of calories to your diet. However you go about getting it, more Vitamin C is probably a good thing for your body. Too much can lead to heartburn and other woes though, so don’t overdo it.

Albuterol

Albuterol and other inhalants can help those suffering from cold symptoms to breathe better. Sometimes airway constriction is so bad you might just feel like you’re suffocating where you sit. Instead of suffering through shortness of breath, you should consider looking for some kind of inhaler. Different drugs work better for different people, but albuterol seems to be a widely accepted and implemented bronchodilator. If you can breathe better, that’s going to do a lot for your comfort and peace of mind. This will ultimately make it easier for you to fight off your cold infection.

Picking a single best medicine for cold symptoms isn’t an easy thing to do. Certain drugs and medications are going to work for certain people and not at all for others. While you’re searching for the cold medicine which works best for you, be sure to keep track of any adverse reactions you may experience. These could be allergies to certain ingredients or medicines and they are great indicators for drugs which you should avoid in the future. Any or all of these could be of great help during a cold, so consider giving a few of them a try.