Making sense of active ingredients in combination cold and flu medicines : OTC products

Patients suffering from colds and flu may experience a number of different symptoms. As no single active ingredient is likely to address all the symptoms, multi-ingredient preparations are frequently used. On the other hand, the patient may not need all the different ingredients in a multi-ingredient product. So, how does the pharmacist's assistant select the most appropriate product? This article looks at some of the common ingredients found in combination cold and flu medications.