If you thought you were being ripped off at CVS for cold medicine, try buying medicine in Australia or Switzerland.
The cost of cold medicines varies widely around the world, with some patients having to spend $30 to feel better, while similar medications cost less than $1 in other countries.
If Americans get runny noses, it will cost them $20.98 for a six-day drug course, compared to nearly $32 in Cuba and more than $28 in Armenia.
That’s according to a new report on over-the-counter cold medications, with America, for once, not at the top of the list when it comes to healthcare-related costs.
Yet the US charges more than comparable countries such as Canada ($17.12), Great Britain ($10.70) and France ($8.90).
The map above shows the 13 most expensive countries for cold medicine, with Cuba at number one and the US at number 13
Overall, the common cold costs American businesses about $25 billion a year, two-thirds of which comes from lost labor productivity.
NetCredit has one report ranking the costs of cold medicines in 152 countries. The report shows that people in Cuba pay the most to feel better: $31.79, while people in Guyana pay the least: $0.27.
It defined “cold medicine” as the combined cost of a six-day supply of cold medicine and cough syrup in each country and converted the price to US dollars for comparison.
To calculate costs, the website priced cold medicines at local pharmacies in each country.
Following Cuba are Belize ($28.29), Armenia ($28.15), Romania ($25.94) and Samoa ($24.00).
Cuba’s medicines are expensive due to shortages and strict trade agreements, which have led to inflation and people turning to obtaining medicines illegally or using herbal therapies.
While not the most expensive country, the US generates more revenue than any other country when it comes to cold medicine. A six-day supply costs the average American $20.98, putting the country in 13th place.
However, across North America, the US comes in third for the most expensive remedies, behind Cuba and Belize, a small country on the east coast of Central America. The country where cold medicine is cheapest in the region is the Dominican Republic, where it costs $7.40.
The country has created a single system for managing medicines and medical supplies, reducing the frequency of out-of-stock products and reducing the waste of unused and expired products. This helps reduce overall purchasing prices for medications and supplies.
In the south, a six-day course of cold medicine costs the most in Bolivia, at $23.17, and the least in Guyana – also the cheapest in the world.
According to NetCredit’s report, self-medication for ailments is a common practice in Bolivia due to high medical costs.
The price of cold treatments in Guyana is low partly because the country imports most generic medicines from India and Pakistan, but balances costs by exporting medicines to nearby Caribbean countries, keeping the price of six-day medicines low.
Britain, which ranks 87th, has one of the lowest costs for remedies in Europe, with people paying $10.70 for a six-day supply. Supermarkets in Britain stock their own unbranded products that cost less but are just as effective, which could contribute to their low costs.
Only six European countries – Lithuania, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, France and the Czech Republic – are cheaper.
Dr. Fisher’s Alternatives to Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion, Sudafed PE and Tylenol Colds and Flu Severe Day and Night
In Europe, Armenia has the most expensive treatments, with people earning $28.15. The country is one of the least prosperous in Europe, but persistent socio-political and economic problems contribute to the high costs of medicines.
In the Middle East, the recent decline in the Turkish currency has led to drug shortages, making the country’s cold medicines the most expensive at $15.01.
The least expensive six-day offering in the region is in Saudi Arabia, where it costs $4.59.
Pakistan has the lowest cost of US$0.85 in Asia, which could be due to the country’s strong capacity to produce its own medicines. Pakistanis also often turn to alternative remedies to treat colds.
Finally, in African countries in the Democratic Republic of Congo, people pay $21.95 for a six-day course of cold medicine. Here, total medical costs are so high that they are often ‘unaffordable’ for the average resident.
According to the World Bank, 11 million people in Africa fall into poverty every year because they use their income to pay for health care and medicine. research has shown that people who grow up economically disadvantaged are more susceptible to colds and illnesses as adults.
And poorer people are more likely to live there conditions which promote the spread of respiratory viruses such as colds, flu and Covid-19.
At the lower end of the spectrum in Africa is Egypt, where it costs $1.67 for six days of medication.
However, buying cold medicine can be a waste of time, no matter where you live or how much you pay.
In September, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a key ingredient in some of the most common cold medications doesn’t actually work, leaving millions of people without reliable cold and flu medicine.
An FDA panel said after a two-day review that phenylephrine, an oral decongestant, is “ineffective” at standard or even high doses compared to a placebo and stores began pulling products containing the substance from their shelves, including Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion. Sudafed PE and Tylenol Cold and Flu Severe day and night.
Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internist in New York City, told DailyMail.com that there are several over-the-counter alternatives — and natural remedies — that work better.
Dr. Fischer said, “I’m not too fond of treating the signs and symptoms of a winter cold.
‘I see this as our body using the immune system and over-medicating ourselves to make us feel ‘normal’ – it’s not going to help you.’
Instead of the products with phenylephrine in them, Dr. Fischer other ways to help someone feel better.
When it comes to pharmaceutical options, the doctor said taking the regular version of Benadryl, which contains only diphenhydramine and no phenylephrine, can help people suffering from sinusitis, the swelling of the tissue lining the sinuses that causes facial pain and nasal congestion. , due to dehydration of the sinuses. mucous membranes in the nose.
A remedy that has been recommended for decades, chicken soup, is one of the best things to relieve the symptoms of a cold or flu, Dr. Fischer said: and he even learned it during his medical training.
There are three things in chicken soup that are essential for relieving illness: the broth, the salt, and the chicken fat.
When people are sick, fluid intake is essential to stay hydrated, and the broth in the soup can help with that.
Second, people who have a fever may sweat and lose water, but the salt in chicken soup draws water into the body’s cells, rehydrating them.
Finally, the chicken fat in the soup is a good surfactant, a fat-soluble molecule that opens and closes the air sacs deep in the lungs, allowing people to inhale deeply and exhale more fully.
Both Dr. Fischer and the NetCredit report emphasize the importance of preventing disease in the first place.
One of the best things you can take, according to Dr. Fischer, is probiotics.
He previously told DailyMail.com: ‘My own specific way to prevent colds is probiotics. I don’t think anyone can have too many probiotics. I take 25 billion units of probiotics every morning.”
Probiotics are considered “good bacteria” in the digestive system and can help fight harmful bacteria that can lead to disease.
They can be found in foods such as yogurt, cottage cheese and kimchi. Supplements of various types are also sold without a prescription.
Probiotics have been shown to help improve immune health by balancing the good bacteria in the gut.
NetCredit recommends washing hands regularly, exercising, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep to stay healthy.