Got COVID? What over-the-counter medicine, antivirals or antibody treatments are best?
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A Star-Telegram reader asks: What over-the-counter medicine is good if you have COVID?
What over-the-counter medicines will relieve your symptoms?
If you’re generally healthy and have a mild or moderate case of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you take one of these over-the-counter medications to help relieve any symptoms you have:
- acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin)
- naproxen (Aleve)
What antibody treatments or antivirals for COVID are available?
But if you have a weak immune system, you should talk to your doctor. He or she can prescribe a treatment based on your needs.
Your doctor may decide to give you a prescription. These treatments currently exist:
- Monoclonal antibody treatments: These injections help your immune system recognize and respond more effectively to the coronavirus: bamlanivimab and etesevimab (brand name Eli Lilly), casirivimab and imdevimab (brand name REGEN-COV), and sotrovimab (brand name Xevudy). Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimabcan) can be taken before virus exposure to help protect you from COVID-19 if you’re high-risk.
- Antiviral pills: like Pfizer’s Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) and molnupiravir (brand name Merck) reduce the ability of the virus to multiply and spread through your body.
What if you’re hospitalized?
You may need to be hospitalized if your illness is severe. In that case, hospitalists will likely administer antiviral drug remdesivir (brand name Veklury) or monoclonal antibody treatment tocilizumab (brand name Actemra).
This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 12:21 PM.
