> Granted, my dad is old, but that part of the world still seems to expect doctors to do more for a common cold than just tell you to rest for a week and take an acetaminophen or phenylephrine if/when needed (even when that's really all you need).

FYI phenylephrine is effectively a placebo and the FDA has proposed ending its use in OTC drugs. (There've been HN threads on the subject, with many comments.)

Pseudoephedrine works great though.