Common cold prevention or Cure: What are your favorite preventives and remedies?

[raccoon]

IMO, zinc lozenges help reduce the severity of a cold.

[Wounded Bear]

1. Rest and fluids...

Lots and lots of water. Avoid diuretics like coffee ( ) and sodas, and especially alcohol.

Most fruit juices are probably OK, but do add a lot of sugar to your diet.

[GeorgeGist]

2. I've had good results with Zicam.

Definitely shortens duration if taken when first symptoms appear.

[Skittles]

39. I have too

yup

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Prevention: wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.

I don't know a cure, but when I have a cold I drink fluids, take aspirin and rest. I also try to limit my contact with other people, especially babies and old people.

[Sherman A1]

12. Agreed

that and a zinc tablet every day.

[Arkansas Granny]

14. I've never tried zinc tablets. I'll look into it.

[Sherman A1]

27. Did so years ago at the suggestion of a friend

I don't know if it makes any real difference or I have been just plain lucky, but the 50mg zinc tabs are cheap and I haven't had many colds in the last 15 years. So I stick with them.

[Art_from_Ark]

32. Definitely keep those hands clean

I also make homemade chicken noodle soup as a preventative-- with chicken, onion soup stock, chicken boullion, diced onions, diced garlic, and udon noodles.

And a nice hot bath just before bed helps, too.

[LynneSin]

4. CRACK!

or so I heard

[Major Nikon]

5. Whiskey

[Optical.Catalyst]

9. Straight Bourbon Whiskey

[font size=5] Wild Turkey (slightly chilled)

[/font]

[Major Nikon]

10. I drink Texas bourbon

[Optical.Catalyst]

11. Actually, I don't drink at all

If I drink now, I would become sick and die. But I did like a snort or two of whiskey ten or eleven years ago.

[Dont call me Shirley]

6. Reishi mushrooms, Coconut oil

[KMOD]

7. wonton soup

or any homemade soup, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, rest and lots of fluids, mostly water or tea.

[irisblue]

8. wash your hands and keep them off your face

[LiberalEsto]

13. Zinc and garlic nt

[LiberalElite]

15. Cold-eez zinc tablets -

I carry a couple with me always just in case.

[murielm99]

18. Cold-eeze, yeah!

Those things are practically a miracle cure for me. However, I have to take them on the first or second day of cold symptoms, or they do not work for me.

And yes, hand-washing works, especially if I am out and about.

[rurallib]

16. remedy: as much sauna as you can stand followed by a good night's sleep

used to always work for me, if you can find a sauna to crawl into.

[mucifer]

20. A good night's sleep What's that??

[calimary]

17. Zicam. I've come to swear by it.

Knocks out a cold before it can fully get up on its feet. Otherwise, I'd be miserable for three weeks or more.

And "Catholic Penicillin"! (Hot tea with honey and lemon!)

Also - a nice serving of sushi with some extra wasabi - really the only time I want a lot of wasabi on my sushi or anything else, for that matter. It really clears a stuffed-up nose!

[hollysmom]

26. me too,

I miss the nose wipes though,they worked best for me. But then I read and used it by the instructions and never lost my sense of taste.

[Digit]

19. Echinacea

For the people who respond to echinacea, this works every time, but you must follow the directions exactly.
You will need to have it handy so you can take a dose upon first cold symptoms. The timing counts and the few times I became sick were those times I waited to take the herb.
At the first sign of a cold, like the familiar taste at the back of the throat, sneezing or whatever, do the following:
Take a mega dose of echinacea...I usually take what equals to 3 days supply for the first dose, then scale it back slightly for next dose, then just one per day after that.
I keep taking it for a little more than a week and it works like magic for me. YMMV.

[DeSwiss]

23. Ditto.

Plus I also add Astragalus which contains: Amino acids (including arginine and GABA), Flavonoids (including quercetin), Isoflavones, Polysaccharides, Small-molecule activator of telomerase (TA-65), and Trace minerals (including magnesium, iron, zinc, and chromium). I've found it also breaks up chest and nasal congestion.

Along with +16 Manuka Honey which will kill even MRSA. I make it into a slightly honey-sweetened tea -- and they come from far and wide (mostly family) with their sniffles and leave with a mason jar of my elixir.

This is the first time I've given away my secret cold-cure ingredients!

[Digit]

36. Thank you for sharing your remedy!

Now, do I have this straight...Echinacea (taken as mentioned) and just add to that Astragalus along with +16 Manuka Honey?

And I assume it is okay to begin this regimen when symptoms first appear.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. Sleep. Also, liquor.

Liquor doesn't really make the cold go away, but it makes me not care.

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. The Badger Cure.

Goes as follows;

1) Locate a Badger with an unpleasant disposition. Not usually difficult (the disposition part, not the locating part)

2) Situate yourself in a supine position.

3) Grasp the badger by his legs and hold above your chest.

4) Lower the badger to your chest and rub vigorously.

5) Repeat until all memory of the affliction is gone.

This works for everything from Pregnancy to warts.

Why this works; The Badger will put up such a fuss while being used as an ersatz Brillo pad that the distraction will preoccupy the patient such that nothing further than keeping from being bitten and/or ravaged by the animal will enter the mind.

The Badger Cure. 4 out of 5 doctors agree, it is a terrible idea. Doctor number 5 gave me the idea.

[DeSwiss]

24. You also need the right narrator......

- So you'll have something to watch during your recovery......

[A HERETIC I AM]

28. I was thinking more like this guy;

[fizzgig]

25. garlic oil capsules and vitamin c

i've found it helps me either keep from getting sick or making a quicker recovery.

also, hot and sour soup and hot toddies (but maybe not together).

[WinkyDink]

29. Hand-washing (including wrist area). Theraflu. Shoes and socks! And NEVER TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH BARE

HANDS! USE TISSUES!

(Note: I do not mean that one's nose might have hands!)

[hopemountain]

38. nor your eyes!

cannot stress this enough.

[WinkyDink]

43. Oh, man; I just learned this one. Thought it was an eyelash irritant. No. Some type of infection. I

am reducing my eye make-up basically to zero (and I used to "joke" that I wanted mascara even when in my casket!).

[RobinA]

30. Zinc

When I feel a cold coming or when I'm around a lot of people who are sick. I feel it works almost all of the time. Have had fewer colds since I started using it. None this year or last. Doesn't work for Lyme disease, that nasty thing ate zinc for breakfast.

[NV Whino]

31. Avoid rug rats

[Tuesday Afternoon]

45. and curtain climbers.

[dolphinsandtuna]

33. several grams of vitamin c for about 3 days at the first sign of a cold

[DinahMoeHum]

34. For prevention: zinc tablets, fresh citrus fruits and proper sanitary procedures.

For remedies:
Hot spicy homemade tortilla soup, or gumbo
or Chinese hot-and-sour soup.
The hot peppers/sauce contain a lot of vitamin C, and the peppers help "sweat out" your fever.

[Special Prosciuto]

37. Sweat

Draw the hottest and deepest water you can take in the bathtub without getting scalded. Lay back in it up to your chin. Within minutes your whole head spits out sweat, carrying out the cold germs. Works every time for me.

[mackerel]

40. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon in a glass of water with honey every hour, cold gone by the morning.

[shenmue]

41. Lots of vitamin C, and iced tea

[laundry_queen]

42. I saw the title of this thread

and came to tell you about zinc lozenges and how they've saved my lungs, but I see you've already experienced how great they are.

Every winter I get 2 or 3 colds and everyone of them goes to my lungs and when it does, it turns into bronchitis, and I'm usually coughing for months afterwards. If I have the flu, it turns into pneumonia (I get the shot every year now, without fail) and I need heavy duty antibiotics.

I read about zinc at the beginning of last fall and got some lozenges from our local store that has great store brand lozenges that also have vit C, echinacea and astralagus. My first cold at the beginning of the school year I took 2-3 lozenges a day. My cold only lasted 3 days total. And no coughing at ALL, which as an asthmatic never happens during a cold. A few weeks later I had another cold - around Halloween. 3 days again, and it was done with no coughing. 2 colds and no days off work. I stayed well all winter (if my throat got even a tiny bit sore, I popped a lozenge and it went away - my kids were sick off and on for 3 months and I never caught anything by making sure I took some zinc every now and again). I recently got sick again, and the zinc kept the cold at bay for a week (sore throat in the morning, that was the only symptom for a week) and then I did come down with it. I got quite sick for a day and had to take the afternoon off work. This time, it did go to my lungs, but only briefly. I've never had it go to my lungs and not turn into something worse, but this time I didn't need antibiotics at all. It's been a week and I'm totally recovered.

So zinc, at least this year, has made a huge difference in how my body fights colds. This is great, as I have 4 kids in school and illnesses happen often in our household. Usually I'm totally out of commission for a week. This year, not even a full day off work. I hope it continues to work this well. I haven't had 3 colds in a row without bronchitis since I was a little kid (the joys of asthma).

[raccoon]

44. Thanks for posting. Glad it's working so well for you. nt

[grasswire]

46. airborne seems to work for me

No colds at all this fall-winter. If I'm exposed, or if I get that little bit of sore throat, I pop the airborne. No problem.