# penicillin vs the common cold

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penicillin-vs-the-common-cold/5854>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 5, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penicillin-vs-the-common-cold/5854 "2000-01-05T05:11:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penicillin-vs-the-common-cold/5854/21 "2000-01-07T06:44:00Z")

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I have usually insisted on an antibiotic for a cold, not because I’m ignorant of the virus/bacterium distinction, but because I’ve got a crappy respiratory system, and a bad cold has generally meant about an 80% chance of a further opportunistic infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, coughing so violent as to cause blackouts, and other jolly stuff of that sort, unless I could head the germs off.

The last couple of years, though, I’ve found that zinc/C tablets have knocked my colds on the head quickly enough to avoid the problem. Placebo? I don’t know, but I haven’t had a _major_ illness in two or three years, and I used to expect one every six months or so.

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John W. Kennedy  
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”  
– Charles Williams

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