# you feel a cold coming on: what do you take? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474 "2013-01-08T13:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/21 "2013-01-08T19:16:03Z")
The fact is that I already put the FACT that it has not been proven to work right in my post. It’s been out for a long time, and the only harm it has been accused of that I am aware of is to people’s pocketbooks, not to their health. The product Zicam has nothing to do with Airborne. When you say Airborne could possibly cause harm, you are speculating, not reporting facts. You have no study that even implies that it does. I am not eschewing a “proven” cold-preventative in favor of alternative medicine, because there isn’t one. I hate getting sick, and am willing to take the chance that this product is a waste of my pocket change. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/22 "2013-01-08T20:02:11Z")
Zinc all the way, losenges, pills, swabs, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/23 "2013-01-08T20:05:37Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > When you say Airborne could possibly cause harm, you are speculating, not reporting facts. You have no study that even implies that it does. Uh, it says right in his/her link: taking it (I assume the dissolve-in-water version) as many times suggested on the label causes you to take more than your RDA of vitamin A, which IS dangerous. That said, I do take the stuff (though never as often as suggested on the label, so no danger of vitamin A overdose for me - has anyone ever actually suffered it because of supplements like Airborne?), and its placebo effect makes it worth the money for me (I still wash hands and stuff, so no danger of complacency for me like the article suggests). Those Zicam lozenges also seemed to work for me, though. Maybe I just need to invest my brain into something cheap. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/24 "2013-01-08T20:19:29Z")
I take some extra Vitamin C, maybe some hot tea with honey and lemon. I might try that Cold-Ease you guys are talking about - I hate being sick and try to avoid it if at all possible. ETA: I tried zinc lozenges, but I HATE the taste of zinc - bleah. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/25 "2013-01-08T20:20:30Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > The fact is that I already put the FACT that it has not been proven to work right in my post. It’s been out for a long time, and the only harm it has been accused of that I am aware of is to people’s pocketbooks, not to their health. The product Zicam has nothing to do with Airborne. When you say Airborne could possibly cause harm, you are speculating, not reporting facts. You have no study that even implies that it does. > > I am not eschewing a “proven” cold-preventative in favor of alternative medicine, because there isn’t one. I hate getting sick, and am willing to take the chance that this product is a waste of my pocket change. Looks like Leaper beat me to it. The problem is that your language belies a clinging to ignorance that is endemic and problematic in the medical community. By leaving an out that it “might just possible work” the quackery persists. The whole thing leaves me disgruntled. [Airborne’s website is an asterisk in the marketing world. Here’s from their “How It Works” page](http://www.airbornehealth.com/how-it-works/) > [@](#): > > In scientific studies and medical journals the key ingredients in Airborne® products have been shown to support the immune system.\* > > - These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. **These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease** So…how does it work again? Oh, it works by taking your money and that’s it. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/26 "2013-01-08T20:23:10Z")
Zinc, echinacea, vitamin C. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/27 "2013-01-08T20:43:33Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Uh, it says right in his/her link: taking it (I assume the dissolve-in-water version) as many times suggested on the label causes you to take more than your RDA of vitamin A, which IS dangerous. > > That said, I do take the stuff (though never as often as suggested on the label, so no danger of vitamin A overdose for me - has anyone ever actually suffered it because of supplements like Airborne?), and its placebo effect makes it worth the money for me (I still wash hands and stuff, so no danger of complacency for me like the article suggests). Those Zicam lozenges also seemed to work for me, though. Maybe I just need to invest my brain into something cheap. 🙂 Sorry, that link did not work for me, so I was relying only upon the part he quoted. I had nearly forgotten that Airborne does instruct you to take it by the ton every few minutes or so. I never take more than one per day, and only if I detect early signs of the onset of a cold. What in my “language belies a clinging to ignorance,” stpauler? Science tells us that if you have NOT proven that something DOESN’T work then the possibility that it does remains. Closing your mind to this possibility is distinctly unscientific. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/28 "2013-01-08T20:45:24Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Nothing; it’s too late. Just damage control from there on out. That’s pretty much me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ghost\_of\_6\_80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Ghost\_of\_6\_80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghost_of_6_80)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/29 "2013-01-08T22:02:05Z")
DayQuil/NyQuil, whatever medicine we have in the house. Doesn’t always work though, especially the NyQuil (with congestion and putting me to sleep). ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/30 "2013-01-08T22:10:34Z")
Extra exercise and big kid pants. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/31 "2013-01-08T22:14:01Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Extra exercise and big kid pants. really? I consider getting/being sick one of the few legitimate excuses not to exercise. (not sure about the pants, guess you are saying just suffer and not complain?) ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/32 "2013-01-08T22:15:37Z")
(missed the edit window) I tried zinc but it does taste awful. I have to check out the cold-eze. thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/33 "2013-01-08T22:17:06Z")
I come from hearty peasant stock. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/34 "2013-01-08T23:50:49Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Sorry, that link did not work for me, so I was relying only upon the part he quoted. I had nearly forgotten that Airborne does instruct you to take it by the ton every few minutes or so. I never take more than one per day, and only if I detect early signs of the onset of a cold. > > What in my “language belies a clinging to ignorance,” stpauler? Science tells us that if you have NOT proven that something DOESN’T work then the possibility that it does remains. Closing your mind to this possibility is distinctly unscientific. I’ve got a leather wallet that keeps dragons away. So I guess then that since the fact that dragons probably don’t exist would mean that my first sentence is useless. But so far, the wallet has kept dragons away. Unless you have a closed mind that would make you clearly unscientific. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/35 "2013-01-09T00:05:31Z")
I make onion soup or cook with a boat load of garlic and make a point of deeply inhaling the fumes. I can’t remember the last time I got a standard cold. Once about six years ago, it took me three days to out-wit a virus that was going around… but it was taking the locals nearly 4 weeks to get over it, so I think my immune system is pretty good to shake it off in only 3 days with less than 1/2 the symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/36 "2013-01-09T00:05:36Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Sorry, that link did not work for me, so I was relying only upon the part he quoted. I had nearly forgotten that Airborne does instruct you to take it by the ton every few minutes or so. I never take more than one per day, and only if I detect early signs of the onset of a cold. > > What in my “language belies a clinging to ignorance,” stpauler? Science tells us that if you have NOT proven that something DOESN’T work then the possibility that it does remains. Closing your mind to this possibility is distinctly unscientific. It hasn’t been conclusively proven that sending me $132 doesn’t cure a cold. I’d prefer cash, but a cashier’s check will work also. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/37 "2013-01-09T00:12:11Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > I’ve got a leather wallet that keeps dragons away. So I guess then that since the fact that dragons probably don’t exist would mean that my first sentence is useless. But so far, the wallet has kept dragons away. Unless you have a closed mind that would make you clearly unscientific. Right? Sir I would like to purchase your wallet as I am mightily afraid of dragons. Where do I sign? ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/38 "2013-01-09T03:09:41Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > I’ve got a leather wallet that keeps dragons away. So I guess then that since the fact that dragons probably don’t exist would mean that my first sentence is useless. But so far, the wallet has kept dragons away. Unless you have a closed mind that would make you clearly unscientific. Right? This is a poor analogy because you assert that dragons “probably” do not exist, yet we both agree that colds are real. So if I am to release the “ignorance” you say I am “clinging to,” you believe I ought to ignore my own consistently positive experiences of cold avoidance and forego taking Airborne to save myself $5 a year? And instead I should worry about overdosing on vitamin A? What if I said I drank a can of Coke and ate a couple of strips of bacon when I felt a cold coming on? Few would argue that bacon or Coke were not unhealthy things to consume, plus they cost more, yet I have a feeling this would actually rankle you less, because you didn’t read some article or listen to NPR decrying it. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/39 "2013-01-09T03:25:53Z")
Humidifier, saline nasal spray, hot showers for the head cold part, neti pot if necessary. Anything to improve the flush factor. If it’s really mild, a little extra exercise seems to ward it off for me as well. Actually, I credit a fair amount of regular exercise & good sleep with why I’m not as susceptible as I used to be. Can’t remember the last time I was sick. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474/40 "2013-01-09T11:07:28Z")
Lots of food (an example might be two footlong cold cut subs and a can of ham potato chowder), cold showers, shaken whole milk for my throat and sleep, usually caused by all the food I just ate. This is actually rare as I tend to get over colds very quickly, so it would have to be a severe case. This is also what I do with the flu. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-feel-a-cold-coming-on-what-do-you-take/646474.md?page=3)