Do those yucky cold medicines really work?

There is no medicine that cures a cold. But there are many medicines that try to relieve cold symptoms. There are medicines for congestion, runny noses and coughs. There are also medicines that work on a combination of symptoms. The truth is that many of these medicines work only slightly better than a placebo, or sugar pill. Some of the cold medicines may help relieve symptoms for a short time. So is it worth the yucky taste? That’s up to you and your parents.

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