Related topics: •  Cold, Flu, or Anthrax? •  Colds and Flu •  Echinacea FAQ •  Poll: Have You Had a Flu Shot? •  Quiz: Can You Stop a Cold? •  Vitamin C •  Zinc

For starters, keep your fingers away from your nose and eyes. A cold virus can only make you sick if it finds a home high up inside your nose, in what's called the nasopharynx, where your nasal passages and throat meet (and where you feel that characteristic scratchy tickle when a cold is just getting started). Every time you rub your eyes or scratch your nose, you risk depositing the virus where it can drain through the tear ducts into the nasopharynx or be inhaled higher up into the nose. Keep your fingers away from your face, and you'll dramatically cut down on the number of colds you get each year.

Another good strategy is to get into the habit of washing your hands often, especially during cold season or when you're around people who are sneezing or coughing. It's also important to scrub your hands after getting off a crowded bus, touching a stair rail, or talking on a public phone. Head for the nearest sink and wash up at least several times a day.

Finally, drink lots of water. One of your best natural defenses against the cold virus is the mucus membranes that make up your nasal passages, and they simply do a better job of trapping and disposing of viral invaders when they're moist.

Get as much sleep as possible to help your immune system win its battle against the invading virus. And drink at least ten glasses of water a day, especially if you have a fever. Staying well hydrated helps your body loosen and dispose of mucus. A vaporizer can also help. A cool-mist vaporizer will keep your nose and throat tissues moist and ease congestion. You can add eucalyptus, wintergreen, or peppermint oil for an even more effective vapor. Try to stay away from cold remedies -- they can actually slow down your recovery if overused -- and if you do need relief, try to target specific symptoms. Here's how:

•To treat an especially stuffy nose, use a decongestant spray or drops, such as Afrin or Neo-Synephrine. But don't use them for more than three or four days in a row. After that, rebound swelling of nasal membranes can make your symptoms even worse.

•If a cough is keeping you from sleeping -- and your cough isn't producing much, if any, phlegm -- look for a product that contains a cough suppressant like dextromethorphan. Get one that also has an expectorant like guaifenesin to loosen phlegm and make breathing easier.

•To make your sore throat feel better, gargle with a teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of warm water. Gargling takes the edge off the pain and washes away the secretions left by postnasal drip. Some over-the-counter sprays contain an anesthetic that can relieve the soreness for a while so you can eat or take medication.

•To treat aches, pains, and fever, take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Aspirin can cause Reye's syndrome, a potentially fatal illness, in children and teens.

Several studies in Germany suggest that echinacea can both help prevent some colds and reduce the severity and duration of cold symptoms. (Most of the studies looked at tinctures, not the more popular powdered capsules.) However, a study of over 400 people reported in the July 28, 2005 New England Journal of Medicine found echinacea to be ineffective in preventing a cold or easing its symptoms.

As for zinc, the jury is still out. In one study, 50 people with colds who sucked on zinc lozenges every two hours were able to cut short their suffering by four days compared to 50 who didn't. But other trials have shown no benefit. Further studies now in progress should soon sort out the truth. In 2000, a review of 30 studies of the effect of vitamin C on colds found that high doses may shorten the duration of a cold, but researchers were unclear how much vitamin C you'd need to take for it to be effective.

The difference between a cold and flu is mostly a matter of degree. A cold usually starts slowly with a tickle in back of the throat that turns into a sore throat within a day or two. Other symptoms might include congestion, a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, slight body aches, fatigue, and a fever that rarely tops 100 degrees. The flu bug hits faster and harder, with symptoms that can include chills, sweating, headache, watery eyes, sensitivity to light, a dry cough, a sore throat, muscle aches (mainly in your back muscles), and a fever that usually hits at least 101 degrees and often spikes to 104 degrees. In rare cases it can cause stomach or intestinal upsets. With the flu, you may also experience extreme fatigue. An allergy differs from a cold and flu in three main ways: It's never accompanied by body aches, it usually makes your nose and eyes itch like crazy, and it rarely causes a fever.

You're most infectious during the two to four days after you first notice symptoms, when you're sneezing and coughing.

A cold can last anywhere from three days to 14 days or more. See your doctor if your cold lasts more than two weeks, or if you have pain in your teeth or sinuses that lasts more than two days or is accompanied by a high fever; these symptoms could signal a bacterial infection.

References

Turner RB, et al. An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections. NEJM 353(4):341-348. July 28, 2005.

First published December 3, 1998
Last updated November 13, 2007
Copyright © 1999 Consumer Health Interactive

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