anyone take/use/do anything special at the onset of a cold?

[kisada]

getting that scratchy, feeling signaling the start of a cold. usually i just get the dayquil ready, but i figure there's probably better options.

wondering if anyone's found anything effective in particular to minimize the damage from the very start?

thanks

[archibaldcrane]

Drink lots of water and get plenty of rest.

[zoobernut]

I have had really good luck with Zicam/Anything with Zinc. Zinc will either stop the cold completely or at least make it less severe/shorter. There was actually a study on CNN recently about how zinc boosts and helps your immune system.

And what Archi said too.

[Morn]

I have had really good luck with Zicam/Anything with Zinc. Zinc will either stop the cold completely or at least make it less severe/shorter. There was actually a study on CNN recently about how zinc boosts and helps your immune system.

And what Archi said too.

I do the Zicam, too.

Also, if scratchy throat, gargle with saltwater. If possible (people have varying gag reflex) I wet my finger with water, dip it in salt, and scrub where my throat is sore.

[Zeb]

I post on bg asking a retarded question. Misery loves company.

[foopy]

there are a lot of great homeopathic cold remedies.











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[Kerberoz]

Vitamin C + rest.

[zoobernut]

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2...iref=allsearch

[Caiyuo]

I'll just recognize how dumb this is to ask out of the gate, but what does drinking lots of water do when sick? I always hear "lots of fluids when sick" and just go with it, but I have no idea why lol

[Callisto]

I tend to jerk it and go to sleep





















but take that with a grain of salt since that's a typical day for me even when I feel perfectly healthy.

[Atreides]

take about 1000 mg of vitamin c a day until it goes away

[Elesirdur]

I always figured the benefit of fluid intake was twofold. A) To increase hydration, especially if you're running a fever (loss due to perspiration) and/or have congestion (loss from mucus production); and B) to speed the removal of harmful 'stuff' in your system through the urinary system.

Another take on the recent meta-analysis of cold remedies pointing to zinc as the only statistically provable benefit: http://lifehacker.com/#!5761676/zinc...wn-to-medicine

[Caiyuo]

I always figured the benefit of fluid intake was twofold. A) To increase hydration, especially if you're running a fever (loss due to perspiration) and/or have congestion (loss from mucus production); and B) to speed the removal of harmful 'stuff' in your system through the urinary system.

Another take on the recent meta-analysis of cold remedies pointing to zinc as the only statistically provable benefit: http://lifehacker.com/#!5761676/zinc...wn-to-medicine

I presumed it was for the removal of stuff and things, but then upon having to go to the bathroom 8 times a day from water consumption and peeing clear, I start to think maybe moms everywhere think a little too highly of themselves and/or clear pee doesn't actually indicate anything.

Really though if that's the reality I'd love to be sure, I'm wary of believing anything too easily explained given I live with people who put delicious maple syrup to waste by mixing it baking soda to ward off cancer and germs.

[Silenka]

I was under the impression that Vitamin C doesn't help you get over a cold, it just helps build defenses against it so you don't get it in the first place. So taking a ton of V.C while you're sick really shouldn't matter.

Chicken soup (made with real chicken, preferably bones, not fake canned shit) will go a long way toward keeping you healthy.

[Woozie]

I broke a rib last weekend and now I'm coming down with a cold. My rib HURTS LIKE CRAZY every time I cough or sneeze. It hurts so bad that I'm trying to suppress my coughs but that's also extremely uncomfortable and I can only do it for so long. I try to suppress my sneezes too, but they tend to sneak up on me after a while of suppressing them. I hope this cold goes away asap

[Demosthenes11]

assfucktons of vitamins and water. I got a super bad head cold the day I was supposed to leave for vegas (complete with high fever) and I raped my body with vitamins, which made it go away much quicker than it normally does.

[Eanae]

Ginger ale and a lot of sleep.

[Belkin]

The point of lots of fluids is because usually when people get sick, appetite and thirst tend to go away, causing dehydration. If you are dehydrated, your body can't function properly to expunge the virus, thus prolonging the healing process. Drink water, gatorade, and milk on a regular basis and the duration will be significantly reduced, as well as more bearable throughout the whole thing.

[zoobernut]

Vitamin C doesn't help you much once you are sick. It really helps boost your immune system before you are sick though. Chicken soup is good because it has electrolytes and water for hydration.

I wouldn't do JUST vitamin C and I wouldn't do more than normal because you will just pee it all out with no benefit from the extra amount. I would take vitamin c and zinc together.

[Nekio]

If there was anything that worked well to shorten the duration or ease the severity of the common cold the inventor would be a billionaire. The last time I read the scientific literature, zinc and vitamin C only barely reduced symptoms/duration and only if you were taking it before you even caught the cold. Has to do with virus binding to the mucosa, etc. There's some herb that recently was proven to modestly improve outcomes from cold virus, but it's like $60 a bottle. Can't remember the name of it, the study is pretty new.