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Archive through November 01, 2005

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2006 Jun. ~ 2006 Dec.: Health Center (ARCHIVES): Cold Remedies?: Archive through November 01, 2005 users admin

Author Message
Jimmer
Member

08-30-2000

Monday, October 31, 2005 - 7:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
What are your tips for preventing colds and do you have any remedies that actually help you get through them easier?

We do the standard stuff - we wash our hands for prevention and if we get one, we take aspirin but that is about it.

Citruscitygal
Member

08-07-2003

Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Citruscitygal a private message Print Post    
Zicam has helped at our house. Best results are if you begin using it the minute you feel a sniffle coming on. Each person should have their own bottle. We write our names on them and no sharing allowed.

I have friend who swears by Airborne.

Sillycalimomma
Member

11-13-2003

Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sillycalimomma a private message Print Post    
I usually use Airborne, but this weekend I tried Zicams reditabs/meltaway tabs because I was going to be on the road most of the time or out and about and I didn't want to have to worry about trying to find water. They worked wonders! I felt like I was really coming down with something bad on Friday. I was just starting to get a scratchy throat and earache when i started taking the Zicam. By Saturday night I was feeling back to 100% again.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, October 31, 2005 - 11:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Preventive, washing hands. We are constantly sending the kids off to wash their hands!

Once a cold hits it's lots of fluids, meds, and sleep. If I can take meds and sleep, I'll usually feel better the next day, but it's rare that I can actually let everything else go and sleep. These days I never seem to have the time to just get in bed and sleep it off!

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 4:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Great thread idea! I wondered about Airborne, Cold-eaze and Zicam and am looking forward to reding any "reviews."

Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 4:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ginger1218 a private message Print Post    
I have to say Airborne is a wonder. I have felt a few times that I was getting a cold and I just keep taking the Airborne and thank God, I am ok. Also, I heard a report on a medical review on the radio that Cold-eeze was 25% more effective than any other remedy in a 12 year test. <shrug> whatever works for you.

Jan
Moderator

08-01-2000

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 6:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jan a private message Print Post    
I recently read & saved this article at the CTV news site (the article is no longer posted so I didn't link it):

Study shows ginseng 'helps to ward off colds'

CTV.ca News Staff


A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that the cold supplement COLD-fX might be more effective in fighting the common cold.

University of Alberta researchers tested the supplement, a ginseng root compound, in healthy adults during a six-month cold and flu season. They found that when taken every day COLD-fX cuts in half the number of colds and reduced the length and severity of the illness.


More than 320 people participated in the study. Some were given COLD-fX while others took placebos. COLD-fX users got 26 per cent fewer colds that those who took the placebos. Among those who did get colds, 56 per cent were less likely to get a second one.

"In my judgment there is no doubt that Cold-fX is effective in lowering the incidents of cold," said Dr. Tapan K. Basu, on of the authors of the study and a professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta.

"There was no subject that told me it didn't work. I've done other studies but this is number one."

Basu added that there were no side effects with Cold-fX.

Dr. Andrew Simor, head of microbiology at Sunnybrook and Women's Hospital in Toronto, said the supplement boosts various components of the immune system, which is critically important to help fight off cold infections.

But he cautions potential users of COLD-fX, stating children have not been tested for the study, and neither have adults with other medical conditions.

"It might interact with other medications and there could be some concerns that it cause high blood pressure or interfere with diabetes, those are theoretical concerns but I don't think there are evidence to show that's a real concern yet, but it's something that needs to be looked at," he said.

Subjects were recruited through media advertisements from Edmonton and the surrounding areas. They were required to be in good health, between 18 and 65 years of age and to have contracted at least two colds in the previous year.

Subjects with medical conditions such as cancer or multiple sclerosis were excluded, as were heavy smokers or pregnant women.

COLD-fX was the first product tested last year under Health Canada's Natural Health Products Directorate. The product is owned by CV Technologies, which is affiliated with the University of Alberta.

The journal concludes that "ginseng products may be useful in preventing some viral upper respiratory infections as well."

Spygirl
Board Administrator

04-23-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 8:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spygirl a private message Print Post    
I gotta go with Wargod that preventative is the best way to avoid a cold. Every time I clean up the kitchen, I wipe down all the surfaces of the kitchen, including the handles of the dishwasher, fridge, oven, and microwave. Then, I head to the doors, including the bathroom doors, toilet handles, and sink handles - all done with Clorox cleanup. Altogether, it takes about 2 or 3 extra minutes of my day.

It gives me the heebie jeebies to think of how long people go without wiping down the handle of the fridge. <shudder>


Heyltslori
Moderator

09-15-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 8:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Heyltslori a private message Print Post    
What does one take for the Heebie Jeebies?

Kep421
Member

08-11-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 8:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kep421 a private message Print Post    
I'm one of those people who think oversanitizing is not a good thing.

I do believe in a clean home, and washing hands, etc... but I don't think constantly using hand sanitizers or continually disinfecting your environment is good in the long run.

I believe an occasional cold is actually good for you. Everytime you get a cold, or are exposed to germs, you build antibodies that help protect and build your immune system. If you constantly protect yourself longterm from getting sick, once you finally do (no one can aviod it forever) I believe your cold will be worse and last longer.

I realize its just a theory, but I'm someone who went 15 years with nothing more than the occasional sniffles...

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 8:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lumbele a private message Print Post    
Kep beat me to it. I, too believe in hygiene in both body and home, but disinfecting one's surroundings doesn't give us a chance to build antibodies to fend off future germs.
We always laughed at my g/f's mother's insistance that a child needed to have ingested a pound of dirt by the time they start school. She said it would help them fight all they would get exposed to there. She did have a point, though.

At my house, we grab for the Nyquil and Dayquil if we get hit. We probably might as well have a snifter of brandy, but hey, don't fix what isn't broken.

Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 8:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ginger1218 a private message Print Post    
I work in an office with other people and if you do not keep sanitizing your hands, cleaning your phone, and use a paper towel when opening up the door, you will constantly be sick. I find that people come in to work sick and pass it on and are not considerate. Yes, I agree we cannot live in a bubble and we need to fight germs, but there are certain ways to keep from being sick all the time. And on top of the remedies, washing your hands is your best prevention.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 9:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
We don't get alot of colds and when we do then it's Tylenol and gatorade. And for me I'll also take some Nyquil. But we're also not that big on cleaning thing so maybe that's why we don't get alot of colds, cause we've built up antibodies.

Spitfire
Member

07-18-2002

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 9:16 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spitfire a private message Print Post    
Add my family to the list of people who don't get many colds and we don't do the major daily disinfection stuff.

I am a total neat, tidy and clean freak but not about daily disinfection. I am also a believer of the building up antibodies.

Is this a medically researched thing? Does anyone know?

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 9:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
LOL Spy, I do that for pink eye. Anything that is touched regularly: light switches, door knobs, handles, the phone and remote controls, etc etc, get wiped with the clorox towlettes. I do admit to being insane when it comes to pink eye, all I have to do is hear someone talk about it and I catch it. Whenever the kids have it, I spend the whole time they're infected chasing after them with clorox and lysol, lol.

I read/heard/saw something about using products like purell too much (probably one of my handwashing inservices back when I worked.) That for emergencies, like in a first aid kit or if you were out and needed to wash your hands but there wasn't anywhere to do it, purell and other products like it were great, but not on a regular basis because it did break down the anitbodies you'd built up. No idea how accurate that was though, but really nothing beats washing your hands with warm/hot water and soap.

Spygirl
Board Administrator

04-23-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 10:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spygirl a private message Print Post    
I don't think that wiping down surfaces regularly touched by people is over sanitizing. I don't carry any wipes or anti-bacterial gel or any of that. I wash my hands before I eat and after I pee. I am merely talking about keeping food surfaces and bathroom feces surfaces clean. There's a huge difference.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 10:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
It's not only to prevent colds though. Keeping the kitchen surfaces regularly wiped down (yep, once or twice a day) cuts down on all those nasty stomach bugs out there. And if the bathroom isn't done, especially with kids, they touch all that stuff and then go through the rest of the house.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 10:52 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Lol well if you saw the surfaces in my house you'd have a fit. Whatever mess the boys leave in the mornings might get cleaned up in the evenings when I get home. Might.

Spygirl
Board Administrator

04-23-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 10:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spygirl a private message Print Post    
There is a statistic somewhere about how many "stomach viruses" are actually related to poorly washed food, people not washing their hands, and preparing food on contaminated surfaces. Blech.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 11:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
No virus' here. :-)

Spygirl
Board Administrator

04-23-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 11:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spygirl a private message Print Post    
Sorry, Mocha, I never saw your post when I made mine above, so it was not a reference to yours.

No stomach viruses here, either :-)


Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 11:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
LOL, a lot of my obsessiveness comes from when I worked and what I did. You wouldn't believe how many films and classes we had to sit through on the nasty things that can invade a kitchen and bathroom and how quickly they can be spread to contaminate cooking surfaces and food! It was like Scared Straight but for kitchen cleaning!

Mocha, I think it's a little different when you have kids and work full time outside of the house. In the mornings you're in such a rush to get the kids dressed and fed and out the door while trying to get yourself to work on time that stuffs just not that important. When you have to squeeze in a three minute shower and run out the door to work, that mornings cereal bowl sitting on the kitchen counter isn't that big of a deal, lol.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 11:22 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
lol

Spygirl
Board Administrator

04-23-2001

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 11:42 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Spygirl a private message Print Post    
Exactly, War! LOL

My problem is not helped at all by the fact that my SIL is a PA in infectious disease.


Jmm
Moderator

08-16-2002

Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 5:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jmm a private message Print Post    
LOL Spy

You wrote: My problem is not helped at all by the fact that my SIL is a PA in infectious disease.

But I read: My problem is not helped at all by the fact that my SIL is in PA and an infectious disease.

Gotta' slow down when I'm reading here.