Natural Remedies For Colds - Do They Really Help Us?

The cold that has frozen everything around us seriously increases the risk of colds.

Snoring, coughing, sore throat and chills - all symptoms that are familiar to us to "pain", and whatever we do, the cold goes away in the same period - from 7 to 10 days. Each of us has a tried and tested "magic" tool that he trusts and always applies when he catches a cold. For some it is vitamin C, for others - echinacea or zinc, others prefer chicken soup ...

The bad news is that whatever remedy you choose, the common cold cannot be cured. The malaise goes away on its own over a period of about 1 week. This was stated by Prof. David Blandino, Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Despite these findings, symptoms can be relieved and the number of days you feel really bad can be reduced. You do not need to resort to strong medications or antibiotics. They will not help, but will only put extra strain on the immune system. There are several natural remedies that can relieve the ailment: 

Zinc is a mineral that is found in many anti-cold remedies - dietary supplements or over-the-counter medications. Zinc creates an unfavorable environment for the development of viruses and their reproduction.

Vitamin C - For decades, most people have believed that as soon as they take an increased dose of vitamin C at the first symptoms of a cold, it will help them cope with the disease in its infancy. This opinion is partly due to the discoverer of vitamin C - Linus Pauling, on the other - to several studies showing that this vitamin increases the body's resistance to viruses. However, these experiments were performed only on animals.

How are people? Experts are not unanimous. Some claim that there is no evidence that vitamin C shortens the period of illness. A study conducted in 2007 showed that taken after the onset of symptoms, vitamin C does not reduce the period of the worst days, but taken regularly as a preventive measure, relieves the condition in 8% of adults and 14% of children. Another study shows that the preventive effect of this vitamin is especially pronounced in active people, whose lifestyle and habits are associated with a lot of exercise. 

Echinacea - like vitamin C, divides the scientific community into two extremes. Proponents of its action claim that it improves the immune system and thus helps to fight viruses.

Two of the recent studies in this direction have quite contradictory conclusions. According to researchers at the University of Connecticut, echinacea reduces the risk of catching a cold by 58% and shortens its duration by 1.4 days.

In 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study conducted by Prof. Guoltney and colleagues. According to him, neither preventively nor during a cold echinacea shows any action.

Chicken soup - it has fans for decades. Most of them claim that it helps reduce inflammation and thus improves the general condition of the body. In this case, opponents of the idea have difficulty - they do not have a serious enough basis for comparison, as the scientific approach necessarily requires a comparison between the action of one substance with that of another, and the second must look (in this case taste and aroma) as the first .

However, all experts agree that even if it does not affect the symptoms of the common cold, chicken soup affects the lack of enough fluids in the body (dehydration), which is typical for colds and flu.

Is something really working?

Regular hand washing has long been considered an appropriate preventative measure during flu and cold seasons. Here, however, intervenes another - a new moment. Recently, more and more experts advise not so much to wash your hands regularly, but to be careful what a person touches. Because it is still uncertain exactly how long viruses retain their viability after they reach a surface.

Until recently, it was thought that they could not last more than a few hours, but data from a 2007 study show that fully viable viruses (30-40% of their total number) can be found on electric switches and remote controls, for example. over 10 hours after they got there. According to Professor Owen Handley of the University of Virginia, rhinoviruses cause approximately half of colds. A person comes into contact with the virus most often after it gets on his hands, and from there it is transmitted to the eyes and nose. It is not necessary for the virus to be transmitted through the air - a person can "acquire" it in another way - by touching an infected surface. Therefore, the presence of viruses in the air is not considered a sufficient condition for infection. Therefore, experts advise, in addition to regular hand washing, more humidification and intake of enough fluids. Professor Blandino concludes that there is no natural remedy for the common cold, or at least for its symptoms.

In most cases, over-the-counter medications have a beneficial effect. They contain proven effective substances that reduce colds, allergic reactions, inflammation, fever.

However, the most important thing to remember is that you can't cure a cold - it just has to go away on its own in 7 to 10 days.