“The most familiar stranger”: cold medicine

　　According to statistics, adults have an average of 2 to 6 common colds each year and children have an average of 6 to 8 times. In other words, people have an average of more than 200 colds in their lifetime. Just like a glass of wine, different people have different reactions, some people blush instantly, some people drink whiter and whiter, cold medicine comes into the body with a task, because each person’s physique is different, the reaction caused Also different. How to read cold medicine and understand its various side effects? In this issue, let’s take a look at the common but never simple “cold medicine master”.
What are the ingredients of cold medicine?

　　Most common colds are caused by viruses. Rhinoviruses are the most common pathogens that cause common colds. Other viruses include coronavirus, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus. In fact, there are currently no antiviral medicines for the treatment of colds. Generally, the cold medicines we buy usually focus on symptomatic treatment and relief of cold symptoms.
　　★ antipyretic analgesic
　　to relieve muscle aches, fever, body aches and other symptoms
　　of cold medicine ingredients: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, indomethacin, aspirin, etc.
　　★ relieve nasal
　　airway contraction of blood vessels, eliminate nasal congestion, relieve nasal congestion , runny nose and sneezing
　　cold medicine ingredients: ephedrine and pseudoephedrine
　　★ antiallergic
　　eliminate or reduce tears caused by colds, runny nose, sneezing and other allergic symptoms, some sedation
　　cold medicine ingredients: chlorpheniramine ( chlorpheniramine), diphenhydramine
　　★ cough
　　suppressing cough, some antitussive effect of
　　cold medicine ingredients: dextromethorphan, codeine
Be careful! These people should choose cold medicine carefully

　　Gastroenterology patients
　　Maybe a lot of people who have similar experience of it, for days eating cold medicine, gastrointestinal always vaguely uncomfortable feeling, appetite is getting worse. Many people tend to take it for granted that their appetite has deteriorated due to illness. In fact, these are caused by taking cold medicine with antipyretic and analgesic effects. Because many molecules of antipyretic and analgesic cold medicines contain acidic groups, it is easy to stimulate the stomach, destroy the substances that protect the gastric mucosa, and also have certain toxicity to the liver, which may cause side effects such as heartburn and gastric mucosal bleeding. Therefore, for those who already have gastrointestinal diseases, people who need to take anticholinergic gastrointestinal medicine on weekdays should pay attention. When choosing a cold medicine, cold medicines such as Tylenol, ibuprofen, aspirin, etc. avoid.
　　Dry eye, glaucoma and other eye diseases Patients
　　used to wear contact lenses often after taking cold medicine, more or less will feel dry eyes, a long time can not wear contact lenses. In fact, this situation is because the cold medicine we take contains ingredients that treat runny nose or make the nasal blood vessels constrict. These ingredients can hinder the flow of tears and make the eyes feel dry. Therefore, for patients with eye diseases such as dry eye or glaucoma on weekdays, be careful when taking cold medicine. And people who are used to wearing contact lenses on weekdays should also change to frame glasses during colds.
　　Pregnant woman
　　Pregnant women have low body resistance, and they can easily catch a cold when they encounter a season change or a cold winter. Paradoxically, many pregnant women often refuse to take cold medicines because of the safety of the fetus in the abdomen, but high fever can cause risks of teratogenesis, miscarriage, fetal central nervous system hypoplasia, and congenital cardiovascular disease. Therefore, for pregnant women In other words, if you can use medicine without medicine, you can first use physical cooling methods or diet therapy to reduce fever. If the situation does not improve, you must take drugs to control, you should know your gestational week when you use the drug, strictly control the dosage, and use less if you can use less. Once the condition improves, you should stop the drug in time. When choosing cold medicines, compound medicines should not be taken, such as those containing aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, amantadine, chlorpheniramine, pseudoephedrine, etc., because many compound cold medicines contain drugs that are prohibited or avoided by pregnant women. In addition, cold medicines containing ephedrine, such as cold soft capsules and Lianhua Qingwen capsules, have teratogenic effects; they contain Yuanzhi antitussive and phlegm medicines, such as Tankejing tablets, compound Chuanbeijing capsules, and Pinellia syrup, which are easy to cause Paroxysmal contractions, even causing miscarriage; cough and phlegm medicines containing poppy shells, such as strong loquat loquat, loquat cough capsules, phlegm mixture, Keke tablets, etc., will inhibit fetal breathing and harm fetal brain development .
　　Hypertension or edema constitution
　　for hypertension is selected to be noted that when cold medicine containing licorice pseudoephedrine or a pharmaceutical composition. The licorice ingredient has a certain effect on hypertensive patients who take antihypertensive agents for a long time. There are steroid hormones in licorice, which will make our body’s water unable to drain. Once taking cold medicine containing licorice, there will be temporary swelling of the hands and feet. In addition, the licorice ingredient will also cause “hypokalemia” in hypertensive patients, that is, the concentration of potassium in the body will become lower and lower, and potassium is responsible for the transmission of oxygen to the brain. If the concentration is too low, there will be a phenomenon of lack of concentration Or feeling powerless. Although cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine can help reduce colds, they can cause blood vessels to contract and lead to increased blood pressure. Therefore, patients with hypertension should also be used with caution.
　　Habitual drinker
　　If you read the drug instructions carefully, the first line of each comprehensive cold medicine instruction has warnings related to alcohol. This is because the substance that metabolizes alcohol in the body and the substance that metabolizes cold medicine are the same substance. Once drinking alcohol, the body consumes an ingredient called glutathione in order to catabolize wine. After drinking alcohol, if you take a cold medicine containing paracetamol, glutathione will come out completely, which is easy to cause Liver muscles are damaged. In addition, when you have a cold or cough or runny nose, once you take a cold medicine containing chlorpheniramine and absorb alcohol, you will have side effects such as headache, vomiting, and dizziness. Therefore, before taking cold medicine, it is best not to drink alcohol.
　　The driver
　　of most who have taken cold medicine people will feel sleepy again and again all day, unable to rouse herself, and in a trance. This is mainly due to some cold medicines containing chlorpheniramine (chlorpheniramine). Although it can relieve various symptoms such as tearing and nasal congestion caused by colds, it often causes sleepiness and drowsiness after taking it. For those full-time drivers, after taking cold medicines containing chlorpheniramine, it is best to ensure adequate rest and avoid driving behaviors that require a high degree of concentration.