Treatment of COVID-19 symptoms with over the counter (OTC) medicines used for treatment of common cold and flu

Eccles, Ronald ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9492-2062, Boivin, Guy, Cowling, Benjamin J, Pavia, Andrew and Selvarangan, Rangaraj 2023. Treatment of COVID-19 symptoms with over the counter (OTC) medicines used for treatment of common cold and flu. Clinical Infection in Practice 19 , p. 100230. 10.1016/j.clinpr.2023.100230

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Abstract

Persons suffering from acute upper respiratory tract viral infections (URTI) commonly use over the counter (OTC) medicines to relieve symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, cough, runny nose, sore throat and nasal congestion. At present OTC medicines are only licensed for treatment of common cold and flu symptoms and not for treatment of the same symptoms associated with COVID-19. The innate immune response responsible for the mechanisms of the symptoms of URTI is the same for all respiratory viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and these symptoms can be relieved by treatment with the same OTC medicines as available for treatment of colds and flu. This review provides scientific information that OTC treatments for common cold and flu-like illness caused by respiratory viruses are safe and effective treatments for the same symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2590-1702
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 February 2024
Date of Acceptance:	24 April 2023
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2024 16:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166612

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