Approximately 1 billion cases of the common cold occur annually, making it one of the top five illnesses diagnosed in the United States. Bothersome symptoms lead patients to self-medicate, with an estimated $8 billion spent annually on nonprescription cold and cough products.
Cough, cold, and allergy
Adult allergic reaction treatment
Benadryl..................................... 1
Adult seasonal allergy relief
Zyrtec........................................ 1
Claritin....................................... 2
Allegra....................................... 3
Cough lozenges
Halls.......................................... 1
Cepacol...................................... 2
Ricola........................................ 2
Cough, cold, and flu multisymptom relief
Vicks Dayquil/Nyquil....................... 1
Mucinex...................................... 2
Robitussin................................... 2
Tylenol....................................... 2
Liquid cough expectorant
Robitussin................................... 1
Mucinex...................................... 2
Liquid cough suppressant
Delsym....................................... 1
Robitussin................................... 2
Nasal decongestant spray
Afrin.......................................... 1
Flonase...................................... 2
Natural cold remedy
Zicam........................................ 1
Sinus rinse
NeilMed...................................... 1
Sore throat lozenges
Cepacol...................................... 1
Halls.......................................... 2
Chloraseptic............................... 3
Vapor therapy
Vicks Vapo................................... 1
Self-care survey redux
This section of Pharmacy Today’s Self-Care Product Survey is reprinted from the full survey results published in the August 2023 issue of the magazine and available online at pharmacytoday.org.
The current survey was conducted by BrandSpark/Newsweek International using a scientifically valid methodology, and lists those nonprescription products most often recommended by pharmacists in the United States to consumers.
The winners were selected based on a survey of 1,716 pharmacists practicing in the United States who gave their unaided write-in opinions on which brands they’d recommend to patients in 86 categories. The highest share of citations as most trusted in the category determined the winner. If the margin of citation share between the leading brands did not exceed the estimate of sampling error at 90% statistical confidence, then a tie was declared.
Please also see APhA’s Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs, the definitive source of professional information about OTC products. The Handbook is available online at PharmacyLibrary.com.
These data may not be used without the prior permission of the American Pharmacists Association.