How Does Cold Medicine Work?

The cold medicine you picked up at the store involves some cool chemistry to treat your symptoms.

*Correction: This episode was written by Alison Caldwell.

Hosted by: Olivia Gordon
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[jean]

The only symptom I want to treat is a sore throat. Nothing worse than being in pain every time you swallow food or liquids.

[whatelseison]

Dextromethorphan is not derived from morphine. While it would be fair to say it is related to morphine (being a morphinan), it is completely synthetic and also not an opioid. There is really no way to add or remove structural elements of morphine to make it into DM, so strictly speaking, there's no way it can be derived from it.

DM is the mirror image of levomethorphan, an opioid 5x the potency of morphine whose complete structure can (almost) fit within that of morphine (completely within codeine) and so can be considered a derivative. It would be more correct to say that both DM and morphine are morphinans or derivatives of phenanthrene, but DM is a relative of a morphine derivative, and not a direct relative or derivative of morphine itself.

[emil]

Okay, but how does warm medicine work?

[TheAnonapersons]

Who's watching this because you got a cold?

[by]

The best cold prevention I've come across is to use a good strong mouth wash once a day. Even if my throat starts to get sore during the day, one use of mouth wash puts a quick end to it. For reasons I couldn't begin to figure out, it even helps with congestion at night allowing me to sleep better.

[vwrjeep]

How cold medicine works:

It moves money from your wallet to someone else’s.

[bleachsanchoblastk]

Nyquil and gatorade for me. I know gatorade doesn't help much in the way of hydrating in comparison to water but it feels better on a sore throat than water. Nyquil on the other hand... can't feel sick if you're asleep. ;)

[AlpacaEmpress]

This actually helped to explain a lot. I have Epilepsy and that last explanation FINALLY made me understand why my pharmacist told me to stay away from so many cold medicines last time I was sick... And why some of them had bad interactions with what I'm being treated with.

[macbuff]

I think the better more accurate way to phrase it would "the only thing that can cure a cold is your own immune system which takes time." This is important given that folks with compromised immune systems like some of the elderly or chronically ill might not have the strength to fight off even something minor like the viruses that cause the cold. Also, often viral infection are joined by opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections that can be dangerous if not treated properly. As for colds, there are also eucalyptus-based over the counter remedies that work quite well in treating the symptoms while also having some anti-bacterial properties. Quite useful and often with fewer side effects.

[ssjbears]

The part about cough medicine makes so much more sense to me now. I've been told never to take cough medicine while on psychiatric meds, and now I know why!

[thespongepuppy]

Anybody else here like me, in bed, waiting for the NyQuill high to kick in so I can get some damn sleep???

[spectrum_X]

Drink warm water at regular intervals. Additionally prepare a drink by adding cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and ginger. Squeeze a lime into it and add a tablespoon of honey. Consume hot.

[PeterParker-rxjj]

Its the middle of summer in Australia, so can you guys do a video on how sunscreen actually works?

[Master_Therion]

1:01 When you dry your nose with a Kleenex Tissue and it expands due to the moisture it absorbs, is that... tissue swelling?

[dustinsmith]

"How does cold medicine work?" Good question. Apparently, we dont know.

[Aeturnalis]

3:44 I can confirm that dextromethorphan does indeed enter the brain, especially when you take a lot of it. It can get weirder than an octopus boxing match

[DesolatorMagic]

You know what I've always wondered? Is it the people being indoor more and near each other, less UV light on outdoor surfaces killing germs, or the temperature itself that makes winter "cold season."

[rigrentals]

I love it when they show the molecular formula. Its awesome!

[paul-]

Here in Michigan we add Vernors to the list of things we use to treat... anything

[FlyingJetpack]

[sees benzen]
“Carbon ring”
*[TRIGGERED]*