# Got a cold? "Drink lots of fluids." Really?! Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907 "2014-12-11T02:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/41 "2014-12-12T14:07:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I don’t think we disagree, really. But I work with more elders than you do, I believe … Indeed you do and I think we do as well. And elders, especially those with several disease states, may fall into _several_ of those problem areas (impaired renal function, impaired brain mechanisms involved in thirst perception, dementia, hormonal shifts …). But “people in general” … thirst is fine. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/42 "2014-12-12T14:08:50Z")
It is the same reason that surgeons wash out abdomen’s after surgery. Both viruses and bacteria are tiny, and they have no arms or legs. The purpose of the fluids is to take advantage of this fact and place them in an environment where they will drown. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/43 "2014-12-12T14:40:54Z")
> [@dauerbach](#): > > It is the same reason that surgeons wash out abdomen’s after surgery. Both viruses and bacteria are tiny, and they have no arms or legs. The purpose of the fluids is to take advantage of this fact and place them in an environment where they will drown. Are cold viruses found in the esophagus and stomach? I don’t understand how the fluid you drink is washing them away. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/44 "2014-12-12T14:55:25Z")
It makes more sense than drinking a lot of solids. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/45 "2014-12-12T15:29:07Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Dubious. Show me studies. > > ETA: To be clear, im not saying that having a cold may not necessitate a slight increase in fluid intake but that increased fluid intake has a positive effect on a cold. Well, it won’t make the cold \*\*\*virus \*\*\*go away any faster, but it can help symptoms. As others have said, it helps mucus to move more freely. Cold (iced) drinks can help you feel better from a slight temperature; hot drinks can help unstuff your nose and warm you up if you have chills. With a cold, you can only do symptom management, and keep the mucus flowing so it doesn’t turn into a sinus infection. Sadly, all liquids make you have to pee just as you’re getting into a really good sleep. > [@](#): > > Dogzilla > Mine too. I also stopped taking Nyquil and instead, starting throwing a shot of whiskey into my tea. It has the exact same effect only it doesn’t knock me out for like, 16 hours. 😉 My intended always said that alcohol was the most effective cough suppressant you can get OTC. It might’ve been hyperbole on his part, but if he was home sick with a cold, he would only use a decongestant and/or Mucinex, and whiskey in his tea for the cough. And he had access to “the good stuff”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/46 "2014-12-12T16:58:48Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > … no I am not prescribing an antibiotic, Tamiflu, or any other medicine for this self-limited viral illness. … be aware that there are quite a few primary care providers out there who just prescribe the unneeded antibiotic or Tamiflu as the quicker approach to a satisfied patient. (And the parents seeing those docs for themselves or having past pediatricians who played it that way makes my job of good antibiotic stewardship even harder.)… I join \*\*pseudograph \*\*in saluting and thanking you. > [@WhyNot](#): > > 20 years ago, maybe. Maybe. Then the “8 glasses” myth started, and now I see more people slightly overhydrated than dehydrated… May I ask 1.) how you can tell if someone is slightly overhydrated, and 2.) what the dangers might be? I know that serious overhydration can affect electrolytes and therefore interfere with cardiac and other muscle functions, but I thought you have to be really_really_REALLY over-watered for that to be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/47 "2014-12-12T17:06:10Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Because I am also expected to practice evidence based medicine, I don’t tell them it will \*cure \*their cold. Indeed, I usually say something like, “Well, you know what they say…treat a cold and it will last 7 days, leave it be and it will last a week. But do get some rest, and many people find that warm liquids make them feel better. Chicken soup and Hot Toddies for you, m’dear!” I quickly searched to see if there’s any drugs that work again rhinovirii. Nothing available that you can just write a script for. Maybe the fluid thing is to stop people from dying? You know, 3 days without water and all? Basically, the cold either will kill the patient or it won’t, though it probably won’t, but the “drink fluids” is just CYA as in “you can do nothing but make sure you don’t die of thirst”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/48 "2014-12-12T17:26:40Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I join \*\*pseudograph \*\*in saluting and thanking you. Thank you both. Although again my focus was on how I can get through the room with a satisfied patient family quickly while doing the right thing medically. Less than _completely_ noble that desire. More good business. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/49 "2014-12-12T19:55:23Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > May I ask 1.) how you can tell if someone is slightly overhydrated, and 2.) what the dangers might be? I know that serious overhydration can affect electrolytes and therefore interfere with cardiac and other muscle functions, but I thought you have to be really_really_REALLY over-watered for that to be an issue. Slight excess hydration isn’t a danger. But it can be a real source of _stress_. I have a lot of people complain that they have to go to the bathroom all the time. They start to restrict their activities and not leave the house because they are worried they won’t find a bathroom in time. Anxiety can grow pretty extreme, and personal relationships suffer. Sometimes they’re on medications or have health conditions where urinary frequency is expected, and about all I can do is suggest they try bladder training or wear absorbent undergarments to take the stress off. (I wear Depends myself, some days, when I’m working in really bad neighborhoods without clean, safe public bathrooms. I hardly ever actually need to urinate in them, but just knowing I \*can \*relieves the anxiety when I start to feel my bladder filling, and gives me the peace of mind I need to make it to the next acceptable bathroom without stressing out. Sometimes hearing that their young(ish) nurse wears them takes some of the stigma away, as does their not being able to tell I’m wearing them. Adult diapers have made remarkable strides in the last 10 years in terms of absorbency, comfort, and a discreet fit.) But sometimes they don’t have a health condition or medication causing it. Sometimes, they’re just drinking too much darn water. Is it going to wreck their kidneys? Probably not, unless they’re destined for kidney disease anyhow. Although I’m not certain of that. We’ve only seen people pushing fluids on a daily basis for the last 20 years; we don’t know what our kidneys will look like in another 40 as a result. But it does create unnecessary stress, all due to some douche in the 90’s who wanted to sell bottled water. (I’m guessing. I don’t actually remember when that 8 Glasses or More myth got started or by whom, but it did seem to coincide with bottled water becoming A Thing.) So, since it’s not doing any good, why do it? And doubly so if people are \*pushing \*themselves to drink that much and then unhappy that they’re urinating all the time. Things I look for to identify the chronically slightly overhydrated besides assessing their daily water intake include chronic trace edema when I wouldn’t expect to see it (no diagnosis of CHF, no diagnosis of kidney problems or diabetes), urinary frequency especially if that frequency is not accompanied by urgency or stress incontinence, and colorless dilute urine. If I was a hospital nurse, I could do I/Os (measure everything going in and everything coming out) and see if they had clinical polyuria (excess urine, usually defined as \>2 liters output a day), but as I’m a home nurse making hour long visits once or twice a week, I have to make do with more subjective methods. Actual clinical overhydration is identified by lab tests and neuro assessment. If I see a patient who is nauseated, throwing up and confused with a bad headache…then my job is to get them to a doctor, no matter what’s causing it. If they also tell me that they’ve been drinking gallons of water, I may suspect clinical overhydration from excess water consumption and will tell the ER nurse that, but she’s probably already three steps ahead of me and drawing labs before I can even finish giving her report. Mostly that happens with athletes, psych patients and undiagnosed diabetics. It’s not happened to any of my patients. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/50 "2014-12-12T19:57:28Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Thank you both. Although again my focus was on how I can get through the room with a satisfied patient family quickly while doing the right thing medically. Less than _completely_ noble that desire. More good business. Eh, don’t sell yourself short. “Good business”, in terms of creating satisfied repeat customers would be handing out Augmentin like milkshakes. Bitches love Augmentin. Patient satisfaction scores and doing the right thing medically don’t always correlate as well as they should. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/51 "2014-12-12T20:35:57Z")
Thank you, **WhyNot** , for yet another detailed and informative medical post, and I apologize if my question was a slight hijacking of **Ambivalid** ’s OP. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/52 "2014-12-14T06:28:50Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > It makes more sense than drinking a lot of solids. Sheldon Cooper agrees with you. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127385/quotes?item=qt0434992](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127385/quotes?item=qt0434992) > [@](#): > > Leonard: Alright, well, get some rest and drink plenty of fluids! > > Sheldon Cooper: What else would I drink? Gases? Solids? Ionized plasma? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/53 "2014-12-14T06:57:04Z")
Sheldon should know better - gases are fluids. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/54 "2014-12-14T08:02:33Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > You may be conflating the flu with gastroenteritis, which is sometimes called “stomach flu.” Influenza is a respiratory illness whose typical symptoms are fever, cough, weakness and sore throat, often with sudden onset. “Stomach flu” is a misnomer - it’s a label that people attach to a large number of illnesses with similar symptoms, and has nothing to do with true influenza. flusmart.org.au tells me that > [@](#): > > •Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults. My doctor tells me that influenza is a gastroenteric disease, and the medical magazines tell me the symptoms depend on the flu strain: some have primarily respiratory symptoms, others do not. My understanding is that sudden death from influenza has been mostly from respiratory failure, but that infant / elderly death often comes from dehydration. Personally, I’ve had vomiting both times I’ve had influenza. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/55 "2014-12-14T17:06:32Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > . . .My doctor tells me that influenza is a gastroenteric disease, and the medical magazines tell me the symptoms depend on the flu strain: some have primarily respiratory symptoms, others do not. > > My understanding is that sudden death from influenza has been mostly from respiratory failure, but that infant / elderly death often comes from dehydration. . . OK, so the flu can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It usually doesn’t. I am astounded that any doctor would say that influenza is a gastroenteric disease. It’s a respiratory disease. This is according to many major medical authorities: [The Centers for Disease Control](http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/symptoms.htm): > [@](#): > > Influenza (also known as the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. [The Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/basics/definition/con-20035101): > [@](#): > > Influenza is a viral infection that attacks your respiratory system — your nose, throat and lungs. Influenza, commonly called the flu, is not the same as the stomach “flu” viruses that cause diarrhea and vomiting. [The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases](http://www.nfid.org/idinfo/influenza): > [@](#): > > Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that occurs most often in the late fall, winter, and early spring. [The American Lung Association](http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/influenza/symptoms-diagnosis-treatment.html): > [@](#): > > Influenza is a respiratory infection with symptoms that can affect the entire body. [The World Health Organization](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en/): > [@](#): > > Seasonal influenza is characterized by a sudden onset of high fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and runny nose. This last citation from the WHO doesn’t use the word “repiratory,” but it lists respiratory symptoms without listing gastroenteric symptoms. In fact, none of the authorities I’ve cited lists gastroenteric symptoms. High fever can cause dehydration. I know that the last time I had the flu (which was years ago), I nearly fainted from low blood pressure after having a fever for three days. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/56 "2014-12-14T17:58:23Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > … In fact, none of the authorities I’ve cited lists gastroenteric symptoms. … Well you overstate on this. Your very first cite states: > [@the CDC](#): > > … Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults. But you are correct: it is not primarily a gastroenteric illness; it is primarily respiratory. No most [pediatric deaths from influenza](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/10/23/peds.2013-1493.full.pdf+html) are not from dehydration. The major complications associated with fatality are pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), seizures, encephalopathy, and bacterial co-infections. Generally deaths are among the unvaccinated. Since we are on about influenza … many of you may have heard that this year’s injectable flu is an imperfect match for the main influenza A that is emerging (there has been what is called “antigenic drift”). This mismatch foretells (according to the experts) a bad season in the making. That said an imperfect match still provides partial protection. And more importantly, especially for the kids, the nasal vaccine (FluMist) has in the past performed very well in mismatch years (its being a live weakened virus gives a broader response). If you have not already gotten yourself immunized, and more importantly to my pediatric POV, your kids immunized, do so as soon as possible, and consider FluMist if your are able to get it (not approved under 2 and over 50 or with asthma …) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/57 "2014-12-14T19:12:32Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > … > Since we are on about influenza … many of you may have heard that this year’s injectable flu is an imperfect match for the main influenza A that is emerging (there has been what is called “antigenic drift”). This mismatch foretells (according to the experts) a bad season in the making. _That said an imperfect match still provides partial protection_… ital added Coincidentally enough, I just finished a post in the Does Cheese go bad thread in which I suggested that an injection of \*Penicillium roqueforti \* would not cure the clap. But your comment here makes me wonder, (and since I’m talking out of my hat in any case) that that’s incorrect, and I presume you know. (I’ll update the other post with an x-ref here.) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/58 "2014-12-14T19:40:35Z")
Heh. I did not know but my google-scholar-fu is strong! (Not compared to a good blue cheese but hey.) And believe it or not, not _roqueforti_ but _camberti_ [maybe](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00196.x/asset/j.1365-2672.1997.00196.x.pdf?v=1&t=i3osvfn2&78f78c39). Okay, not an injection of it, but with some small amount of antibiotic bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/59 "2014-12-14T22:38:19Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Heh. I did not know but my google-scholar-fu is strong! (Not compared to a good blue cheese but hey.) And believe it or not, not _roqueforti_ but _camberti_ [maybe](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00196.x/asset/j.1365-2672.1997.00196.x.pdf?v=1&t=i3osvfn2&78f78c39). Okay, not an injection of it, but with some small amount of antibiotic bacteria. Linky no workee. But as far as I’m concerned **DSeid** ’s posts don’t need no steenkin’ cites. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907/60 "2014-12-15T01:00:56Z")
I thank you kind sir! The article is _Journal of Applied Microbiology_ 1997, 83, 111–119 and linked through with no special stuff from google scholar. > [@](#): > > A.G. LARSEN AND S. KNOšCHEL. 1997. Food-related Penicillium species (n 34) and > Geotrichum candidum (n 11) grown on Czapek Dox and brie agar were tested > for their ability to suppress growth of pathogenic bacteria. Ten out of 13 P. camemberti > showed antagonistic activity while the other species did not interact significantly > with the bacterial growth _P. roqueforti_ was among the other species tested without antimicrobial effects. Their logic for studying it was to see if the mold would protect from pathogenic bacteria growing in the cheese. It’s the second up if you search on Google Scholar with “P. camemberti antimicrobial”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-cold-drink-lots-of-fluids-really-why/706907.md?page=4)