you feel a cold coming on: what do you take?

Now I have read articles that claim varying amounts of Vitamin A in Airborne. Some say 5000 IU, so I’m not saying you made that up. The Airborne I have used is the effervescent tablet, so I’m just going to worry about that one, not the gummies or pixies or whatever they’ve added to their line.

Here’s what they say is in one orange flavored tablet:

Supplement Facts
Serving Size 1 Tablet
Each Serving ContainsAmount Per Serving%DV
Calories5
Total Carbohydrates1 g <1%*
Vitamin A (as Retinyl Palmitate)2000 IU40 %
Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid)1000 mg1667 %
Vitamin E (as dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate)30 IU100 %
Riboflavin (as Riboflavin) 2.8 mg 165%
Magnesium (as Oxide & Sulfate)40 mg10 %
Zinc (as Sulfate)8 mg53 %
Selenium (as Chelate)15 mcg21%
Manganese (as Gluconate)3 mg150%
Sodium (as Bicarbonate)230 mg10%
Potassium (as Bicarbonate)75 mg2 %
Herbal Extract Proprietary Blend350 mg **Maltodextrin, Lonicera (flower), Forsythia (fruit), Schizonepeta (above-ground parts), Ginger (dried rhizome), Chinese Vitex (fruit), Isatis (root), Echinacea (above-ground parts)
Amino Acids Blend50 mg **Glutamine (as L-Glutamine), Lysine (as L-Lysine HCl)

  • Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.**Daily Value not established Other Ingredients: Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Natural and Artifical Orange Flavor, Mineral Oil, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose.Contains No Artificial Colors or Preservatives.

So you could actually take 5 in a day before reaching the limit. I believe they actually tell you to not to take more than three a day, but I don’t see it on their site anywhere, so not sure.

Perhaps they have modified their formula.

And, since I’ve made so many posts in a row now, what’s the harm in one more?

We see that Airborne was ordered to pay $23 million or so in a class action settlement back in 2008, and may think “whoa, that’s a lot, they sure got their ass handed to them,” but their profits greatly exceed that amount and the money was to be doled out to consumers jumping through hoops to get refunds for up to 6 boxes each. Who saves all these receipts? Each box contains ten tablets. If you haven’t figured out whether something works after 50 tries, will you really be able to successsfully address an envelope? It seems likely that they probably didn’t even have to pay out that amount anyway. They changed some claims and packaging art, admitted no wrong doing, and continued to sell the product as before.

It’s like if I got a speeding ticket and paid $100 to get no points on my license. I would just pay and carry on driving, not bother to fight it.

If the product was harming people, wouldn’t we expect measures that took it off the market? Wouldn’t they be fighting or agreeing to pay damages?

It may never expire, but it sure is hydrophilic. I always forget to seal it up tight enough, and the next time I need some they have a consistency somewhere closer to Jelly bean then Cough drop.

a nap

A cold is a virus and taking vitamins is not going to do anything to a virus

My Doctor’s advice.

According to him, I am marginally low on a few things. His advice is to ramp up vitamin intake slightly during a cold or other illness (1 per day, rather than 3 per week). He says rather than worry about the details (which vitamin), any multivitamin and will do the trick.

I’m not a big drinker, but no wine with dinner during the cold. I think it actually makes me sleep worse.

My own “woo” is using the neti-pot occasionally, and sitting in the hot tub when I feel achy (it just makes me feel better).

Other than that, just rest and wait for it to pass.

I take Halls Defense Sugar Free cough drops. They sooth my throat (though not as well as the mentholated drops), plus give me a boost of Vitamin C. And they taste good, which curbs my craving for afternoon chocolate.

Aw, stpauler, did I scare you away with all those words?

Salt, in the form of Neti pot, and Himalayan salt inhaler.

NyQuil. De congests AND makes you really sleepy. Which is what you really need. Sleep…

“you feel a cold coming on: what do you take?”

I take a trip to the store and get tissue with lotion and enough soup for the duration.

Extra fluids, hot soups, and NyQuil to clear the symptoms and help me get solid sleep.