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Echinacea to chicken soup: How to combat the common cold

12/22/2010 04:47:00 admin

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Runny nose, sore throat, headaches, nasal stuffiness, cough, loss of work and school time - the symptoms of acute upper respiratory infections are worldwide. So much so we refer to them as the 'common cold'.

More than 1 billion colds are developed each year in the United States alone. Most adults can expect to have 4 to 6 colds per year. Children often have more than 9 colds per year, especially if they attend child-care facilities, where they are exposed to other children with colds, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Millions of Americans spend top dollar looking for the best way to muddle through the 1-2 week effects of the common cold.

So, is herbal echinacea a remedy people should turn to?

A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine set out to determine whether echinacea could decrease the severity of cold symptoms or shorten the time that persons experienced cold symptoms. They also wanted to explore how echinacea might interact with the immune system in fighting a cold.

More than 700 people in Dane County, Wisconsin, aged 12 to 80 years, experiencing cold-like symptoms were randomly assigned to receive no pill; a pill that they knew contained echinacea; or a pill that could be either echinacea or a placebo, but they were not told which. Patients recorded their symptoms twice a day.

Participants who received echinacea had a 7 to 10-hour decrease in the duration and severity of their cold symptoms (out of approximately 1 week) and a minor decrease in how severe the cold seemed. Immune function did not significantly differ between people who did or did not receive echinacea.

Researchers note the study was done in a single geographic area during the winter, and some of the participants may have had influenza (the flu) rather than a cold.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar flu-like symptoms, it is difficult to tell the difference. In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense. Colds are usually milder than the flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose.

Over-the-counter remedies, like nonprescription decongestants and pain relievers offer some cold symptom relief, but they won't prevent a cold or shorten its duration, they are just to make the symptoms more bearable. If used for more than a few days, they can actually make symptoms worse, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The FDA says cold medications should not be used in children under age two.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), an association that represents most of the makers of nonprescription over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines in children, introduced new child-resistant packaging and new measuring devices to help prevent accidental overdosing.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is evaluating the safety of over-the-counter cold and cough medications in children older than four. OTC cold and cough medications may cause serious and even life-threatening side effects in children.

Another recent study in the journal Pediatrics shows removing the medicines from store shelves has led to a big decline in emergency room visits for bad reactions to the drugs.

The Mayo clinic says even antihistamines which may provide minor relief of several cold symptoms, including cough, sneezing, watery eyes and nasal discharge, show conflicting results in tests and the benefits may not outweigh the side effects.

Make sure you are getting what you want in a medication. Health.com reminds people cold and allergy medications like Sudafed and Claritin-D have been pushed behind the pharmacy counter because of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the illegal street drug methamphetamine. As a result, drug companies have launched on-the-shelf decongestants without pseudoephedrine. Most of these remedies contain phenylephrine (look for 'PE' on the label), a close cousin of pseudoephedrine. You may need to take it every 4 hours, but relief of symptoms should be similar.

According to WebMD there are three classes of analgesics/antipyretics that are available OTC - aspirin, acetaminophen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that can help relieve headaches, body aches, fever, and flu-like symptoms. They include:

Aspirin (plain aspirin, coated aspirin, or aspirin mixed with antacid): Aspirin Regimen Bayer Regular Strength, Extra Strength Bayer Plus Caplets, Bufferin Analgesic Tablets, Regular Strength Ascriptin, Ascriptin Enteric, and Alka-Seltzer Extra Strength.
Acetaminophen: Tylenol Regular Strength Caplets and Tablets, Aspirin Free Excedrin Analgesic Caplets and Geltabs, Children's Tylenol Chewable Tablets, Elixir, and Suspension Liquid, and Junior Strength Tylenol Coated Caplets and Chewable Tablets.
NSAIDs: Advil Caplets, Aleve Tablets and Caplets, Motrin IB Pain Reliever Caplets and Gelcaps, and Children's Motrin Drops.
Aspirin plus a decongestant and/or cough suppressant: Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold and Cough.
Acetaminophen plus a decongestant and/or cough suppressant: Tylenol Cold Medication Multi-Symptom Caplets and Tablets, Theraflu Flu and Cold Medicine, Actifed Cold and Sinus Caplets and Tablets, and Children's Tylenol Flu Liquid.
NSAID plus a decongestant and/or cough suppressant: Advil Cold and Sinus Caplets and Motrin IB Sinus Caplets and Tablets.

Alternative medications are often used to lessen symptoms.

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of zinc as a cold remedy, even after multiple studies, according to MedicineNet. Experts recommend that zinc should not be taken for more than 5 days. Long-term use of zinc for more than 6 weeks can lead to copper deficiency. In Nasal spray form there is a risk of a loss of permanent loss of smell. Zinc supplements are not recommended for children. Kids are even more sensitive to zinc and develop side effects at much lower zinc levels.

The Mayo Clinic has some tips to ease the agony:

stay hydrated with water, tea, broths, and juice.
saltwater gargle (1/2 teaspoon salt dissolved in an 8-ounce glass of warm water) to relieve a sore or scratchy throat.
saline nasal drops or sprays battle congestion. In infants, experts recommend instilling several saline drops into one nostril, then gently suctioning that nostril with a bulb syringe (push the bulb in about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, or about 6 to 12 millimeters).
chicken soup - it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils. Iimmune system cells that participate in the body's inflammatory response and speeds up the movement of mucus, helping relieve congestion and limiting the amount of time viruses are in contact with the nose lining.
Humidity - Cold viruses thrive in dry conditions — another reason why colds are more common in winter. Dry air also dries the mucous membranes, causing a stuffy nose and scratchy throat.

JAMA also says the one thing that will not make a difference for your cold, antibiotics - so don't ask your doctor.

Antibiotics are not useful for treating colds because they only kill bacteria, not viruses. The inappropriate use of antibiotics is a major factor in causing bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.

The Centers for Disease Control say do not take antibiotics as a preventive measure against bacterial infection when you have a cold. This does not help you prevent a bacterial infection. There are a variety of probiotics that have been studied for health benefits. Their role in preventing drug-resistant infections in humans has not been established. The CDC is currently monitoring research on probiotic use and has no recommendations currently.