Effective Cold Remedies for Quick Relief | Tips for Fighting Cold Sores

[apriljc]

Does anybody have any good remedies for a cold? I get what ever is going around. My nose is getting so raw from blowing it. I also get cold sores below my nose or on my lips when I get stressed out so if you have any suggestions on how to get rid of them fast I would like to hear your opinion. I am a total mess right now, right before Thanksgiving too. I always get sick before the holidays.

 

[Bexs50]

I am a Pre-K teacher and am exposed to all kinds of germs at school...I use a product called airborne. They are tablets that you dissolve in a glass of water. You are supposed to take it at the first sign of a cold. The other medicine that seems to work for me is Zicam. Its an over the counter medicine for colds...i use the medicated swabs...you rub the swab on the inside of your nostrils. There are other forms of this medicine if you don't like the swabs. I've never had a coldsore so no help there.

 

[pamperedbecky]

I've used Airborne a bunch of times. For my most recent cold, which I'm at the tail end of, I think it's made it much less severe than it would have been. It's not too bad-tasting, so I'd say go for it!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Zinc and Vitamin C used to really help me out whenever I had a cold.I'd try Airborne, too, but [knockwood] since I had chemo 7 years ago, it seems like no self respecting virus can live in my system. [/knockwood]

 

[chefjeanine]

The other medicine that seems to work for me is Zicam. Its an over the counter medicine for colds...i use the medicated swabs...you rub the swab on the inside of your nostrils.

I got the following from a friend of mine and my mom. Sounds like we should beware of Zicam. . . . It would be horrible to lose your sense of taste/smell.

Check out the website at the end......
I need to warn you about a product on the market and hopefully you will pass it on to as many people as possible. I felt like I was coming down with a cold last Friday and because I'm around sick family members so much I wanted possibly head it off. I used Zicam, which is a gel nose spray which claims to keep a cold from becoming "full blown." Immediately I had an intense, horrible burning in my nasal/sinus passages. The skin on my face hurt to touch and I had pain and burning so that it hurt to move my head. My husband was here and kept asking if I wanted to go to the ER but the thought of getting in a car was overwhelming. My face was burning hot and my nasal passages were so swollen that I couldn't breathe through my nose and I could see the swelling when I looked in the mirror. It lasted for about th ree hours and it was Labor Day weekend and I couldn't see a Dr. until Tuesday. I have seen two ENT specialists in the last two days because I have lost, totally lost all ability to taste or smell. They both told me the same thing and suggested an immediate course of action. This is called "chemical trauma' and most times is permanent. I'm going to have a CT scan on Monday and am on a high dose of the steroid, Prednisone for two weeks. If there is even a thread of the olfactory nerve left, it will help to rejuvenate what is left. I have been on the Internet (just put in Zicam) and there are hundreds of people who have had this happen. I am so angry and devastated and saddened right now that I don't know how to get through this. I cannot handle the thought of never tasting food again or trying a new recipe or smelling a Thanksgiving turkey. Cooking has been an absolute passion of mine for as long as I can remember and at the moment I don't see the point of even putting dressing on a salad. I keep thinking that this cannot be happening to me. I suck on a lemon, bite down on a clove of garlic, smell a bottle of ammonia, nail polish remover, anything. I'm starting by telling people I love. PLEASE don't use Zicam, tell your friends.

http://www.zicam-cold-eeze-lawyers.com

 

[gratergirl]

For a chapped nose or rawness.....rub some vaseline on it....it will help....better than lotion! As far as cold sores....I don't know much about that. For a sore throat......I do this and it works. I used to get strep a couple of times a year and now when I start to get an itchy throat...I get my toothbrush ready with the paste, set it to the side....get about a Tbls or little more of peroxide and I gargle for as long as I can stand it. (It tastes sooo nasty so I hold my breath as I gargle!) Spit it out and immediately put the toothbrush in your mouth and brush to get that taaste out of your mouth! Be sure to brush that tongue...bacteria stays on it! If you do that for a sore throat a few times a day....it works! Especially at night and morning....or when your throat seems to bother you. I haven't had strep since I heard to do that a few years ago. It's nasty but it works! I hear that zinc and airborne works for abad cold. I use theraflu...the cherry kind...warm it up and put a teaspoon of sugar in it....drink it down. It usually takes me only two of these to feel better. You will sweat it out. HTH....take care and get better! I hate being sick at the holiday season!

 

[chefkristin]

I got the following from a friend of mine and my mom. Sounds like we should beware of Zicam. . . . It would be horrible to lose your sense of taste/smell.

Check out the website at the end......
I need to warn you about a product on the market and hopefully you will pass it on to as many people as possible. I felt like I was coming down with a cold last Friday and because I'm around sick family members so much I wanted possibly head it off. I used Zicam, which is a gel nose spray which claims to keep a cold from becoming "full blown." Immediately I had an intense, horrible burning in my nasal/sinus passages. The skin on my face hurt to touch and I had pain and burning so that it hurt to move my head. My husband was here and kept asking if I wanted to go to the ER but the thought of getting in a car was overwhelming. My face was burning hot and my nasal passages were so swollen that I couldn't breathe through my nose and I could see the swelling when I looked in the mirror. It lasted for about th ree hours and it was Labor Day weekend and I couldn't see a Dr. until Tuesday. I have seen two ENT specialists in the last two days because I have lost, totally lost all ability to taste or smell. They both told me the same thing and suggested an immediate course of action. This is called "chemical trauma' and most times is permanent. I'm going to have a CT scan on Monday and am on a high dose of the steroid, Prednisone for two weeks. If there is even a thread of the olfactory nerve left, it will help to rejuvenate what is left. I have been on the Internet (just put in Zicam) and there are hundreds of people who have had this happen. I am so angry and devastated and saddened right now that I don't know how to get through this. I cannot handle the thought of never tasting food again or trying a new recipe or smelling a Thanksgiving turkey. Cooking has been an absolute passion of mine for as long as I can remember and at the moment I don't see the point of even putting dressing on a salad. I keep thinking that this cannot be happening to me. I suck on a lemon, bite down on a clove of garlic, smell a bottle of ammonia, nail polish remover, anything. I'm starting by telling people I love. PLEASE don't use Zicam, tell your friends.

http://www.zicam-cold-eeze-lawyers.com

WOW!! I just sent this to all of my family and friends. Thanks for contributing this info, I was just about to get some Zicam. I guess I will stick to Airborne.

 

[lacychef]

I got an email about Zicam the other day; pretty scary!
I would also recommend the Airborne too. I mix it with OJ; tastes better & really does work!

 

[chefkristin]

I got an email about Zicam the other day; pretty scary!
I would also recommend the Airborne too. I mix it with OJ; tastes better & really does work!

Will it help if your already into the cold? Or does it only work at the first sign of the cold?

 

[lacychef]

Will it help if your already into the cold? Or does it only work at the first sign of the cold?

The sooner you take it, the better. But if you already have a cold, it can reduce the length of the cold.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

WOW!! I just sent this to all of my family and friends. Thanks for contributing this info, I was just about to get some Zicam. I guess I will stick to Airborne.

Please, people, before you go forwarding stuff like this to everyone on your list, do a little digging. Whenever I get a forwarded e-mail warning me of some dire circumstance, my Skept-O-Meter pegs. It doesn't take long to find out that most of these forwarded messages, which may or may not be based in fact, are almost all bull-oney. Blanket condemnations based on one anecdotal report always raise my level of skepticism.

This particular urban myth is no exception.

A simple visit to http://www.snopes.com can help you determine which of these urban legends is, in fact, real or pure rubbish. This one is somewhere in the middle.

Visit Snopes to read Zicam Warning.

Snopes tells us that the varacity of this story is "Undetermined." Snopes goes on to say, "Matrixx, the manufacturer of Zicam, maintains that in 'no clinical trial of intranasal zinc gluconate gel products has there been a single report of lost or diminished olfactory function,' and that anecdotal reports of loss of smell connected with Zicam likely spring from the coincidental condition that cold remedy users are already at increased risk for anosmia."

The short story is that Zicam contains zinc glutonate, which is considered safe. Some of the claims of zinc causing amnosia are based on polio studies from the 1930's that were based on concentrations of zinc sulfate. Zicam and other remedies contain zinc glutonate, an entirely different compound.

Only one lawsuit against Matrixx for this issue ever went to trial and was settled out of court.

Zicam is a homeopathic remedy, and as such, is not regulated by the FDA. Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) comes into play here. I, for one, am not afraid of this stuff and after reading this tripe, I would be even more likely to try it if I were ever to catch a cold.

Not taking Zicam, based on one anecdotal report, is like saying you're never going to drive your car again because someone was in a car wreck yesterday.

 

[tlennhoff]

LOL. TKG, I had just gone to snopes to check on this before I got to your post. I love snopes.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

That's great, Tasha! People drive me nuts when they forward this crap without checking first.

 

[chefkristin]

That's great, Tasha! People drive me nuts when they forward this crap without checking first.

Thanks for the advice KG but if it is even 1/2 true I would rather not take any chances. I usually do check. Most of the time I do not send emails like them because I do check snopes first. Thanks though!

 

[chefjeanine]

I'm the one who posted this orginally. I'm also one who checks the "hoax network" when I get a fishy email and send the correct information back to the person who sent this "crap" to me. I don't like getting those things either.

That being said, I don't consider this a hoax or an urban legend.

Here's more on the topic of Zicam. It is not a product I would use.

Zicam Nasal Gel is a zinc-based cold remedy manufactured by Matrixx Initiatives, which claims in its advertising that the product shortens the duration of colds and reduces the severity of cold symptoms. Clinical trials have generally supported these claims, and the product has proven to be very popular with consumers.

Over the past few years, however, hundreds of individuals have reported suffering anosmia -- the loss of the sense of smell -- as a result of using the product, which consists of a zinc gluconate gel pumped directly into the nose (other zinc remedies such as lozenges and throat sprays have apparently produced no such side effects). While the manufacturer denies that Zicam can cause any such adverse reaction, some physicians, such as otolaryngologist Dr. Bruce Jafek, who has attended many Zicam-related anosmia cases, believe that it can, and does.

"In my opinion," Jafek told TheDenverChannel.com in January 2006, "the product is dangerous in putting zinc ions into the nose. If a person wishes to continue to use this product certainly they should be warned that they could lose their sense of smell. It's an uncommon problem but for the person who lose their sense of smell, it's devastating."

"Uncommon" is an accurate characterization of the problem, of which there have been several hundred cases reported out of an estimated "tens of millions" of doses administered. Clearly, the vast majority of Zicam users have suffered no ill effects. As of 2004, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration acknowledged investigating some consumer complaints against Zicam, but the agency has yet to release its findings or issue any statements concerning the product's safety.

Class-action lawsuit settled for $12 million

Last January, Matrixx Initiatives paid out a $12 million settlement to approximately 300 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, but admitted no fault, citing other possible causes for the condition. With more lawsuits pending, the company continues to maintain their product is safe. Are they right? Is it really safe?

As my colleague Kristina Duda, About.com's Colds & Flu Guide, points out, in the absence of published clinical trials specifically addressing the issue, there is no definitive answer to this question. Yet.

In the meantime, caveat emptor.

 

[PoseyMom]

I love snopes too, but sounds like this one isn't really a hoax. I don't think I would forward it to my entire address list, simply because I find that most people don't read things like that or take them seriously. However, I would pass the information on in a conversation. I tend to just lay about and complain that i'm "dyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyying" when I'm sick. It doesn't really accomplish anything, but it makes me happy.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm glad you are checking and reading - and then making an educated decision. To just make a decision on things that are forwarded around the internet is just not a wise thing to do. I regret using the term "myth" in my posting, but you'll notice I reported that this particular internet advisory is listed as "undetermined." You have gone on to learn more about the topic and I applaud that.I'm very hesitant to just forward things where I cannot verify the author or otherwise verify the source, and it just makes me crazy when someone does just that. Most of these messages come from a source like my next door neighbor's cousin who had a brother-in-law that worked with a guy who actually knew someone this happened to. You may recall that just a few years ago, The Pampered Chef was maligned in one of these "please forward this to everyone you know" messages and I would certainly hate to see that happen again, too. That same message hits my inbox periodically, from well-meaning people who know that I'm a Cheffer, so it has not completely died off yet. Too many of these things take on a life of their own.As far as Zicam and the like go, I am leary of supplements in general because they have no FDA regulations or testing. Unfortunately, many products in this category (glucosemene and condroitan come to mind) do have benefits but with so many vendors out there proclaiming the benefits of their product with little (or no) empirical data to back up their claims, it makes purchasing any of them a crap shoot. The ones who make the most noise in marketing and advertising are not necessarily the best buy, either.Incidentally, I personally have no interest in a product of any kind that requires going up my nose. Continue your vigilance and, caveat emptor.

 

[lizcooks4u]

what I use and seems to really help too;Thera flu dissovling or instant melt strips, cherry flavor. I buy the Blue box as it's for colds, sore throats, etc. They also have a Green box but I forget what that's for. I usually buy mine at Walmart, I also usually have to cut with scissors to open.

It seems to work best the inkling that I feel something coming on, however this time (everyone is sick at my hospital where my reg. job is) I waited so I'm having to use more often. Usually I only need 1-2 strips and I"m set for the season.

Good Luck!

Liz

 

[PoseyMom]

I dont know anything about PC being maligned.... what kind of evils are we promoting in the world? Must know, must know, must know.... *evil laughter*

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

It's on snopes. I'm not going to say any more than that about it because I'd just as soon if the thing died.

 

[PoseyMom]

interesting. i think wishing it would die is a mistake actually now that i've read it. i mean, wish it would die under the pretense that people understand finances, understand what that means and that our company has absolutely nothing to do with what warren buffet himself believes in or supports. i find it an interesting discussion point especially in contrast with doris christopher's personal beliefs. huh.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Let it die. People are going to read into it whatever they want to read into it. If I let my political beliefs control where I went, what I did, what books I read (or didn't read) or even what movies or television shows I'd watch (or not watch) well, let's just say I probably wouldn't get out of the house very often.

 

[DebbieSAChef]

To fight a cold...Sleep

Vitamin C

OJ

TLC from the hubby!

And if I wasn't pregnant I would be reaching for the Nyquil, that seems to knock me and my husband out, not at the same time, when we start feeling bad and in the morning we feel so much better!!

Debbie

 

[apriljc]

Have you heard anything on Musonex? Some people at work live by it.

 

[thechefofnorthbend]

It's on snopes. I'm not going to say any more than that about it because I'd just as soon if the thing died.

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/jul0303.pdf

Not too long after I got the email about "the issue" I received this in my email inbox...interesting.

Yes, let it die. Nuff said!!