Colds and flu are caused by viruses, so antibiotics won't help and no medicine cures them. Your body clears the infection itself. What medicine can do is ease the symptoms while that happens, so you can rest, sleep and keep eating and drinking. The trick is to treat the symptoms you actually have, rather than reaching for a box that treats everything.
Is it a cold or flu?
| Cold | Flu | |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Gradually, over a day or two | Suddenly, often within hours |
| Main symptoms | Blocked or runny nose, sneezing, sore throat | High temperature, aching body, exhaustion |
| Temperature | Mild or none | Usually high |
| Can you carry on? | Usually, feeling run down | Often too unwell to get out of bed |
Sneezing with itchy, watery eyes and no temperature may be hay fever or an allergy instead, which is treated differently.
Start with the basics
Rest, keep warm and drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a temperature. For aches, a headache or a temperature, a simple painkiller is usually all you need:
- Paracetamol, such as Paracetamol 500mg tablets, suits most adults and children aged 12 and over. Younger children need a children's paracetamol made for their age.
- Ibuprofen, such as Nurofen, also eases inflammation. Take it with or just after food. It isn't suitable for everyone, so check with us first if you have asthma, a stomach ulcer, or kidney or heart problems.
Match the medicine to your symptom
A blocked nose or sinuses
Decongestants reduce the swelling inside the nose. They come as tablets you swallow, such as Sudafed tablets (pseudoephedrine), and as nasal sprays such as Sudafed Nasal Spray and Otrivine (xylometazoline). Use decongestant sprays for no more than 7 days in a row, or the blockage can come back worse. Saline sprays and rinses are drug-free and can be used for longer. Browse blocked nose and sinus relief.
A cough
A chesty cough brings up mucus, and a mucus-thinning medicine such as Exputex can help loosen it. A dry, tickly cough brings nothing up, so a soothing or suppressant syrup suits it better. Our cough range is labelled by type. See your GP if a cough lasts more than three weeks.
A sore throat
Lozenges and sprays numb or soothe a sore throat between doses of your painkiller. Choose from the sore throat range, including Strepsils and Difflam Spray.
Several symptoms at once
All-in-one cold and flu products combine a painkiller with other ingredients, such as a decongestant. They are convenient if you have several symptoms at once. If you only have one symptom, a single-ingredient medicine for that symptom is usually the better choice.
Night-time
Some night-time cold remedies contain a sedating antihistamine to help you sleep. They cause drowsiness, so don't drive or drink alcohol after taking one, and check the leaflet for how long the effect lasts.
Don't double up on paracetamol
This is the most important safety point in this guide. Paracetamol is in a great many cold and flu products. Lemsip Max Cold & Flu sachets, for example, contain 1000mg of paracetamol per sachet. Taking one of these together with paracetamol tablets can easily take you over the safe daily limit, and too much paracetamol can cause serious liver damage. Some cold and flu tablets, such as Nurofen Cold & Flu, contain ibuprofen instead, so don't take them with other ibuprofen products either. Check the active ingredients on every pack, and ask us if you are not sure.
Children
Many cough and cold medicines aren't suitable for young children, and each has its own minimum age, so always check the pack. For a temperature or pain in babies and young children, use a children's paracetamol such as Calpol, or a children's ibuprofen, at the dose for their age. Calpol Infant can be used from 2 months. See our baby and children's pain relief range.
Check with a pharmacist first if…
Decongestants and some combination products aren't suitable for everyone, and some must not be taken at all with certain conditions. Talk to our pharmacist before buying if you:
- have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, glaucoma or an enlarged prostate
- are pregnant or breastfeeding
- take other medicines, especially antidepressants or blood-pressure medicines
If you are in an at-risk group, ask your GP or pharmacist about the yearly flu vaccine.
When to see a doctor
Most colds and flu get better on their own. See your GP if symptoms get worse instead of better, if a cough lasts more than three weeks, or if you have a long-term condition and are worried. Get medical help straight away if you have difficulty breathing, chest pain or are coughing up blood, or if a baby or young child has a high temperature and seems very unwell.
Ask our pharmacy team
Not sure which product suits your symptoms, or whether it is safe with your other medicines? Submit a question through the chat on our website and ask for a pharmacist to review. Browse the full cold, flu & allergy range.
Reviewed by Paul O'Hea, MPSI (PSI reg. 8772). Last reviewed October 2026. This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. Always read the label and patient information leaflet before taking any medicine.