Hi Garylund,
Colds are no fun at all - being a primary school teacher I've weathered my fair share of them! In my experience I've been pretty lucky and not had any reaction with normal over the counter remedies. I try to avoid anything with a muscle relaxant or drug that makes you drowsy for obvious reasons. I also try to take as little as possible to keep me going - one in the morning to get me going and then nothing through the day if I can stand it. I always find I feel the worst when I first get up and right before I go to bed. I'm a huge believer in the Breathe Right nose strips too - theya re great for nasal congestion, and drug free! Inhaling menthol vapours is good too - that's what I usually do before bed.

Obviously try to keep your vitamin c intake high and drink loads of fluids.

Oh, if you live in Canada or the States (I didn't check where you were sorry) you can get a supplement called Cold Assist which always used to help me get over my colds really fast (it's pricey though). I didn't have any issues with it, but you should check with your pharmacist first. Sadly I've not found an equivalent in the UK.

Hope something in here helps and take care of yourself!
~Kathy