Cold and flu season has made its grand entrance… and it’s not taking its last bow until spring!
Don’t be caught with a bare medicine cabinet if one of the bad guys sneaks into your home. Stock it now with the essentials to give you and your family comfort and relief the moment symptoms strike. And, head on over to your nearest CVS Pharmacy to get a flu shot, if you haven’t already. You need a new vaccine every year since the flu strain is different from winter to winter. The shot may not protect you completely against the flu, but it can make it a lot more tolerable!
The symptoms of a cold or flu include “runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, sneezing, mild-to-moderate fever, cough, headache or body aches, and some mild tiredness,” says Papatya Tankut, registered pharmacist and vice president of pharmacy affairs at CVS Health, who advises having these six products at the ready:
The combo pack of softgels includes doses for day (non-drowsy formula) and night with acetaminophen and dextromethorphan to help reduce coughs, fever, aches and runny noses. The vital active ingredients also come in new Cold & Flu Relief Single Serve Cups, which can be used with a Keurig machine to deliver them warm.
These lozenges have a mixed berry taste and include a mild dose of benzocaine, a local anesthetic, to soothe and calm an irritated throat.
Stuffy noses lead to mouth breathing, which can dry your lips. Keep them hydrated all day long with dimethicone (a silicone-based lubricant), Vitamins A, C & E, as well as protected from the sun with SPF 20. And don’t ever lick your lips! “Saliva evaporates quickly, leaving lips drier than before you licked them,” says Dr. Lawrence Gibson of the Mayo Clinic.