Cold medicine won't cure your nagging cough

Did you get that nagging cough this cold and flu season? Maybe you stood in the drug store aisle trying to make sense of a bewildering variety of over-the-counter cold and cough medicines.

Well, according to Jane Brody, the personal health columnist for the New York Times, that candy-colored aisle won't necessarily provide sweet relief.

"Evidence is sorely lacking for the value of any over-the-counter remedy to treat most coughs," Brody wrote in her February article, "The Case Against Cough Medicine."

So, what do you do? Dr. Jon Hallberg, medical director of the University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic, shared his advice with MPR host Tom Crann.

To hear Hallberg's take on cough medicine, including your best bet when it comes to over-the-counter medication and when to see a doctor, click play on the audio player above.