Blended
Medicine:
Common Cold
NOTE: Some quoted experts are fully identified in this
excerpt from Blended Medicine. Others are not. The latter
are members of the Blended Medicine Advisory Board. All are
noted experts in their fields. They are fully identified in
the Introduction to the book.
The joke goes like this: "Ignore a cold, and it goes away
in a week. Treat a cold, and it goes away in just 7 days."
Still, with blended medicine, you have at your disposal a
number of effective strategies that increase your odds of
vanquishing a cold virus or two. But you need to know what
you're up against.
A cold can be caused by any one of about 200 viruses,
according to Anne Simons, M.D. Viruses are living
microorganisms, but they don't breathe, digest food, or
eliminate wastes. Their main function is reproduction,
which they do with a vengeance once they infect the cells
located where the back of your nose meets your throat.
Technically, each virus causes a different type of cold.
But all colds produce pretty much the same symptoms: sore
throat, coughing, sneezing, congestion, and runny nose.
These symptoms result not from the virus itself but from
your body's immune response to the virus. "You feel fine as
you become infected," explains Stephen Rennard, M.D., a
pulmonologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
in Omaha. "You feel ill as your body fights to get well."
Before infected throat cells die, they release special
chemicals—notably interferon and immunoglobulin A (IgA).
These chemicals signal your immune system to prepare for a
"cold war." As your immune system swings into action, the
tiny blood vessels in your throat expand, allowing more
blood to get to the site of the infection. The extra blood
transports a whole army of immune warriors—white blood
cells, antibodies, and the compounds histamine and
bradykinin. Eventually, the swollen blood vessels trigger
local pain nerves. That's when you notice the first signs
of a sore throat. "By the time you feel that sore throat
that says a cold is coming on, you've already been infected
for about 24 hours," Dr. Simons points out.
Extra fluid flows into your throat to help fight the
infection. Some of this fluid accumulates in the sinus
cavities surrounding your nose, causing congestion. Some
fluid leaks out through your nose, giving you the sniffles
and triggering sneezes. Meanwhile, the airways that lead to
your lungs, called the bronchial tubes, become irritated.
This leaves you with a dry, hacking cough.
Once a cold has run its course, you remain immune to that
particular virus and its close relatives for 3 to 5 years,
according !o Elliot Dick, Ph.D., retired chief of the
respiratory viruses research laboratory at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
Of course, that bit of information may be of little
consolation when your nose is more stuffed than a
Thanksgiving turkey and your throat feels like it's lined
with steel wool. Fortunately, you can do a lot to make your
cold less miserable. Start with these expert-recommended
strategies.
BEST CHOICES
Supplements
Shore up your defenses with vitamin C. Ever since renowned
American chemist Linus Pauling published Vitamin C and the
Common Cold in 1970, controversy has
surrounded vitamin C’s use as a cold remedy Some studies
have shown that the nutrient helps.
Other studies have suggested that vitamin C doesn't help
fight colds at all.
But many of those studies were flawed because the
researchers used too little vi-tamin C for too short a
time, according to Alan P Brauer, M.D. "In the studies that
showed benefits, the participants took at least 2,000
milligrams of vitamin C a day from the first throat tickle
until the cold completely cleared up," he observes.
Dr. Brauer routinely prescribes vitamin C in doses of 5,000
milligrams or more a day. To avoid diarrhea, which is
sometimes a side effect, he suggests trying calcium
ascorbate powder. "Calcium ascorbate is the form of vitamin
C that's least irritating to the digestive tract and least
likely to cause diarrhea," he explains. He recommends
taking 1 teaspoon, mixed in juice, four times a day
Suck on lozenges made with zinc. The effectiveness of zinc
against cold symptoms was discovered quite by accident in
the 1970s, with a little help from 3-year-old Karen Eby of
Austin, Texas. Karen's doctor had given her zinc tablets to
stimulate her immune system, which had been weakened by
leukemia. Karen usually swallowed the tablets whole. But
when a cold made swallowing too difficult, she sucked on
the tablets instead. Her cold quickly disappeared.
Intrigued, Karen's father, George Eby, persuaded a group of
researchers to test zinc as a cold remedy In their study,
the researchers found that cold-infected volunteers who
sucked on a 23-milligram zinc gluconate lozenge every 2
hours had significantly shorter colds than cold-infected
volunteers who sucked on a placebo (a fake pill). Research
has since indicated that lozenges made only with either
zinc gluconate-glycine or zinc acetate shorten the duration
of cold symptoms.
Zinc works best if you start sucking on lozenges at the
first sign of a tickle in your throat, says William
Halcomb, D.O., of Mesa, Arizona, coauthor of the zinc study
orchestrated by George Eby. Take one lozenge every 2 hours
until your symptoms subside, unless the lozenges give you
an upset stomach. In that case, use them as often as you
comfortably can. (Eating something beforehand may help you
avoid an upset stomach in the first place.) Also, don't use
the lozenges any longer than one week. Over time, zinc can
suppress the immune system.
Herbal Medicine
Embrace echinacea. "Echinacea is my favorite herbal immune
stimulant," says James A. Duke, Ph.D. "I take it whenever I
have a cold or any viral infection. Many studies have shown
that it's beneficial." You can buy echinacea tincture in
most health food stores. Follow package directions for
proper dosage.
Grate some ginger. Dr. Duke also recommends sipping ginger
tea when you have a cold. "Ginger contains a dozen
antiviral compounds," he says. "And unlike many other
medicinal herbs, it tastes good." To make a tea, add 1
heaping teaspoon
of grated fresh ginger root to 1 cup of boiled water. Steep
for 10 minutes. Drink up to 3 cupfuls a day until your cold
gets better.
Home Remedies
Rest as much as you can. Your immune system works hard to
vanquish a cold virus. You can support your body's defenses
by resting. "That doesn't mean you have to lie in bed until
your cold subsides," Dr. Simons says. "Just slow your pace
and take it easy for a few days."
Drink lots of hot fluids. Cold viruses flourish when the
temperature hovers around 90 degrees F. They are far less
comfortable—and less likely to replicate—when their
environment heats up. Drink some hot fluids, and you'll
warm your throat, which helps impair viral replication,
says David S. Sobel, M.D., director of patient education
and health promotion for Kaiser-Permanente Northern
California, a health maintenance organization. As a bonus,
hot fluids have a mild decongestant effect, which helps
relieve nasal stuffiness.
Slurp soup. Chicken soup has been a mainstay of folk
medicine for 800 years, ever since the Egyptian
physician/rabbi Moses Maimonides recommended it as a cold
remedy And it really works, as several modern studies have
shown. Researchers suspect that the soup's cold-fighting
powers come not from the chicken but from the vegetables
that are usually part of the stock.
OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Nutrition
Eat more mushrooms. Oriental mushrooms such as shiitake,
maitake, and reishi contain compounds that bolster your
immune system. By eating them, you're better able to fight
off a cold, says Mindy Green, an herbalist in Boulder,
Colorado, and coauthor of Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to
the Healing Art. These days, you can buy oriental mushrooms
in many supermarkets. Try adding these mushrooms to soups
and recipes that call for mushrooms.
Steer clear of dairy. Many alternative practitioners
recommend avoiding dairy products for the duration of a
cold. At least one study has shown that a compound in milk
triggers the release of histamine, a chemical that
contributes to runny nose and nasal congestion.
Shun sweets. Neutrophils are special white blood cells that
engulf and destroy cold viruses and other foreign invaders.
When a cold virus is on the march, you want your
neutrophils to be as lively as possible. According to
Joseph Pizzorno Jr., N.D., neutrophils become lethargic
when you eat sweets. In one study, researchers had
volunteers consume 100 grams of sugar, the equivalent of
two cans of soda. Then the researchers took blood samples
from the volunteers. When the researchers analyzed the
samples, they found that neutrophil activity in the
volunteers had plummeted by 50 percent. Five hours later,
neutrophil activity remained substantially below normal.
Anything that contains any form of sugar—including sucrose,
fructose, corn syrup, and honey—can impair neutrophil
activity The worst offenders are candy and other sweets,
which are almost pure sugar and have virtually no
nutritional value. Fruits also contain sugar. But because
they're rich in vitamins and minerals that support the
immune system, their nutritional value more than
compensates for their sugar content.
Homeopathy
Make the most of microdoses. For the common cold,
homeopaths usually prescribe the medicines Allium cepa,
Euphrasia, and Natrum muriaticum, says homeopath Dana
Ullman. Depending on a person's symptoms, homeopaths may
also recommend Aconitum, Bryonia, Belladonna, and
Phosphorus.
These days, you don't have to consult a homeopath to use
homeopathic cold remedies. Several homeopathic cold
formulas are available in health food stores and some
drugstores. Each formula contains some combination of the
most common homeopathic medicines, according to Ullman. To
use these products, follow package directions.
Chinese Medicine
Calm the Wind. Chinese medicine views the common cold as an
invasion of Wind. "There are two basic types of colds—one
caused by Wind Heat, the other by Wind Cold," says Efrem
Korngold, O.M.D., L.Ac. "Heat colds are flu-like; they
produce fever. Cold colds produce chills and sensitivity to
cold and drafts."
For Heat colds, Dr. Korngold typically prescribes herbal
formulas containing chrysanthemum flowers, mulberry leaf,
mint, peppermint, honeysuckle, forsythia buds, burdock
seed, and licorice. For Cold colds, he recommends formulas
made with cinnamon twig, ginger root, asarum (which is
similar to ginger), kudzu root, and licorice.
Like American pharmaceutical companies, Chinese physicians
have developed their own cold formulas. Among the most
popular is Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pien, which contains
honeysuckle and forsythia, among other herbs. Yin Chiao
expels Wind from the respiratory tract, explains Harriet
Beinfield, L.Ac., a licensed acupuncturist in San
Francisco. She recommends taking six tablets of Yin Chiao
every 3 hours at the first sign of a sore throat or runny
nose. Dosing in this way can actually prevent symptoms from
escalating to a full-blown cold. You can buy Yin Chiao from
oriental medicine doctors and some acupuncturists.
Consider acupuncture. According to the United Nations World
Health Organization, acupuncture is an effective treatment
for colds. Acupressure can help, too, says Michael Reed
Gach, founder and director of the Acupressure Institute.
For self-treatment, Gach recommends applying steady,
penetrating finger pressure to each of the following points
for 3 minutes.
* Bladder 2, which relieves congestion and itchy eyes. It's
located on either side of your nose, where the bridge of
your nose meets the ridge of your eyebrows.
* Stomach 3, which also relieves congestion and itchy eyes.
It's located at the bottom of either cheekbone, directly
below your pupil.
* Large Intestine 20, which relieves nasal symptoms. It's
located on either cheek in the groove beside each nostril.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Correct Kapha. Ayurvedic medicine teaches that the common
cold results from an imbalance of the Kapha dosha. Several
herbs can restore balance to Kapha--especially ginger but
also cinnamon, licorice, basil, and cloves. Try taking 1 to
4 grams of any of these herbs in powdered form, suggests
David Frawley, O.M.D. (Four grams equals about 2 to 3
teaspoons.) Add the herb to 1 cup of boiled water, stir,
and let it cool before you drink it. Or, add herbs to foods
of your liking.
Adjust your eating habits. Ayurvedic medicine also
advocates dietary changes to treat colds. Consume more
whole grains and steamed vegetables and fewer meats, dairy
products, oily foods, nuts, pastries, and sweet fruit
juices until your symptoms subside.
Naturopathy
Attack your cold from all angles. Dr. Pizzorno offers the
following naturopathic prescription.
• Take 500 to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C every 2 waking
hours.
• Suck on one zinc gluconate-glycine or zinc acetate
lozenge every 2 hours. If they give you an upset stomach,
take as often as you can tolerate.
• Take the herbs echinacea, goldenseal, and
astragalus---either 1 to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of tincture
three times a day or 250 to 500 milligrams of powdered herb
three times a day.
MEDICAL MEASURES
Hundreds of over-the-counter cold formulas claim to relieve
every major cold symptom. Do they work?
After analyzing the findings of 51 studies published
between 1950 and 1991, researchers determined that
over-the-counter cold remedies have no effect on cold
viruses or the immune system. What they do is suppress
symptoms, providing some degree of relief from nasal
congestion, runny nose, and cough.
Most doctors discourage the use of "shotgun" cold formulas
that take aim at every major cold symptom. "Why pay for a
cough suppressant when you have a stuffed-up nose?" Dr.
Sobel asks. "Why risk side effects from medicines that you
may not need—jitters and insomnia from decongestants, or
drowsiness from antihistamines?"
If you prefer taking an over-the-counter cold remedy, Dr.
Sobel suggests selecting a product that targets only the
symptom you have. Use anesthetic lozenges for sore throat,
a decongestant for congestion, an antihistamine with
chlorpheniramine for runny nose, and a cough suppressant
with dextromethorphan for a hacking cough.
RED FLAGS
Be sure to see your doctor if you experience shortness of
breath or chest pain. You should also talk to your
physician if you get a headache accompanied by a stiff neck
or if you find that your eyes are sensitive to light.
GIVE COLDS THE SLIP
Cold viruses spread in one of two ways: through aerosol
exposure or by direct contact. “Aerosol” means that the
virus is floating through the air. “Direct contact” means
that it is transmitted by touch—from infected noses to
fingers to uninfected noses.
The to cold prevention, then, it so put some distance
between you and the virus. Try the following:
Wash your hands again and again. “Frequent hand-washing is
one of your best defenses against colds,” says noted cold
researcher Jack M. Gwaltney, Jr., M.D., professor of
medicine at the University of Virginia Health Science
Center in Charlottesville. “It removes virus from your
fingers.”
Hands off! Keep your fingers away from your face. This is
not as easy as it sounds. If you must rub your eyes or
nose, use a knuckle, which is less likely to be
contaminated with virus than your fingertips.
Retire cloth hankies. A cold virus can survive for several
hours on cloth handkerchiefs, says Elliot Dick, Ph.D.,
retired chief of the respiratory viruses research
laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Switch
to disposable facial tissues. Use them once, then discard
them.
Disinfect hard surfaces. In one study, Dr. Gwaltney
contaminated a countertop with cold virus, then sprayed the
area with a disinfectant (Lysol). The disinfectant greatly
reduced the amount of virus.
Circulate the air. Ventilation disperses cold viruses in
the air so fewer get into your nose. “You may not want to
open windows in winter,” Dr. Dick says, “but do what you
can to keep the air moving.”
FORGET BUNDLING UP
Bundle up or you’ll catch cold!
Contrary to what your mother may have told you, or what you
may have told your kids, chilling and dampness have nothing
to do with susceptibility to the common cold. Several
studies going back 50 years have shown that getting cold
has no effect on catching a cold So why does this myth
persist? Because folks who live or work in environments
with central heating and cooling often blame their colds on
frigid room temperatures. The real problem is not low
temperature, but low relative humidity. Air in modern
buildings can become so dry that it dehydrates the
protective mucus in the nose and throat, allowing cold
viruses to sneak in and do their worst.