Posted January 4, 2006 at 9:45 a.m.

CONTACT 4 (KRON) -- If you don't have the sniffles at the moment, no doubt someone you know is suffering from a cold right now. With so many over the counter medications, how do you know what will work for your symptoms?

Contact 4's Joe Ducey takes a closer look at cold medications you can buy without a prescription.

Even doctors say all of the different products can be confusing.

"This is a mess," Allergist Dr. Dean Kardassakis told Joe. "Consumers come in here and try to figure it out. I have no idea how a reasonable person can do this."

Dr. Kardassakis says the first question you should ask is "Generic or Name Brand?"

"FOrget the name brand stuff and just go to the generic one and save yourself a bunch of money. If you look at the ingredients, they're identical."

Next the doctor says the steer clear of the so-called "Cold Cocktail", those all-in-one formulas promising to tackle many symptoms with numerous ingredients.

"In a typical time span, you don't need all of them at once. So you're potentially getting the side effects of all of them and maybe you only need them one at a time."

Instead Dr. Kardassakis says change medications as your symptoms change.

"If you have a cough and a headache at the same time, use two different products."

For a cough suppressant, look for products with Dextromethorphan. If you need a nasal decongestant, try the ingredient pseudophedrine. Use throat sprays that numb for some sore throats.

Whether you have a cold or the more severe symptoms of a cold, make sure whatever you take leads to rapid improvement.

"You usually want to see you're over the hump in five days and by seven you're dramatically better."

If you don't see that improvement, see your doctor. You could have a more serious problem or an allergy.

Dean says call your doctor about any concerns you have, particularly if you have high blood pressure or conditions that limit what products you can safely take.

(Copyright 2006, KRON 4, All rights reserved.