How do you fight off a cold?

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mleoni092708
mleoni092708 Posts: 629 Member
in Chit-Chat
My 3 year old has so kindly been coughing in my face for the past week and I'm starting to feel like I'm coming down with it too (shocking, I know). I usually take the zicam melts (zinc, vitamin c) to try to fight it off and it seems to help. Anyone have any other ideas on how to fight off colds this season? Just curious to see what works for others.
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  • tamaranash
    tamaranash Posts: 37 Member
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    If your child still naps, rest when he/she does.. Go to bed early.. eat healthy, and try to not over do it on exercise the next few days.. I had found that if you really exert yourself when you are in the pre sick stage, you tend to get full sick.. the zinc/vit c not a bad idea... rest, and time is the cure.. it sucks.. I find now that i am healthier..I tend to "fight things" for a long time.. it drags it out!!!!!
  • lb7970
    lb7970 Posts: 79 Member
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    I do the Zicam as well as drinking lots of water and green tea. I like zinc lozenges too.
  • geri1955
    geri1955 Posts: 106
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    mucinex works for me...its over 12.00 but it works! sometimes I switch it with alka-seltzer cold/flu..still fighting a cold tooo..grrrr! feel better!:frown:
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
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    If your child still naps, rest when he/she does.. Go to bed early.. eat healthy, and try to not over do it on exercise the next few days.. I had found that if you really exert yourself when you are in the pre sick stage, you tend to get full sick.. the zinc/vit c not a bad idea... rest, and time is the cure.. it sucks.. I find now that i am healthier..I tend to "fight things" for a long time.. it drags it out!!!!!

    ^^This. Rest and healthy choices!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    A good workout (high intensity, lost of sweat) followed by a good night's sleep almost always works for me.
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
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    I do this too. Make sure I eat, take my vitamins, DRINK TONS OF WATER, and workout reallly hard. Haha, not sure if it's the best advice, but it works for me. My cold is gone so quick this way. It just really sucks while working out because you are slighty drained.
    A good workout (high intensity, lost of sweat) followed by a good night's sleep almost always works for me.
  • cppeace
    cppeace Posts: 764 Member
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    echinacea, an all natural and safe herb is just an immune system booster. It can and will help prevent and get a sick person better faster. It can be found at any major pharmacy or walmart with the supplements.
    I'm an herby naturalist so I reccommend echinacea to everyone.. Garlic and onions in soup also helps :)
    Kimmy
  • dargytaylor
    dargytaylor Posts: 840 Member
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    Emergen C - works great!
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    Neti Pot. It's gross but it works. :flowerforyou:
  • mleoni092708
    mleoni092708 Posts: 629 Member
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    All good advice-thanks! I'm just starting the scratchy throat and mild congestion so I'm hoping it won't go full blown cold :) Tis the season! I will try the echinachea (sp?). I have heard this is good as well.
  • CrawlingChaos
    CrawlingChaos Posts: 87
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    When you look at the better studies of a lot of marketed "cold remedies " , they show that there are no clinical effects. I just wait out my colds. I don't get sick often, but when I do it's not too bad. I just make sure to rest a bit more.
  • applebobbrush
    applebobbrush Posts: 235 Member
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    echinacea, an all natural and safe herb is just an immune system booster. It can and will help prevent and get a sick person better faster. It can be found at any major pharmacy or walmart with the supplements.
    I'm an herby naturalist so I reccommend echinacea to everyone.. Garlic and onions in soup also helps :)
    Kimmy


    I love echinacea tea by celestial seasonings. When I feel a cold coming on I drink a bunch of it with some honey and cinnamon. Cinnamon helps boost the immune system also.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Neti Pot. It's gross but it works. :flowerforyou:
    I always resist using this until my cold or sinus infection gets really miserable. But it does work wonders, and then I'm left wondering why I didn't use it sooner.
  • fitnatic67
    fitnatic67 Posts: 154
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    i think the old remedies like plenty of rest and fluids work well. if that doesn't work then try Airborne. it worked for me when i traveled recently to run a race. not sure if it is safe for children though. check it out.
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
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    Garlic, chicken soup (sometimes together), orange juice, hot tea with lemon & ginger, elderberry syrup (sometimes in the tea or OJ, sometimes straight).
  • mleoni092708
    mleoni092708 Posts: 629 Member
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    My dad told me when he was growing up and getting sick, his mother (italian) would make some kind of garlic paste and rub it on his chest and it worked wonders. He said he thinks it worked because nobody would go near him because he was stinky, lol. Love to hear about old fashioned remedies. But I am NOT wearing the garlic paste :)
  • Iamfit4life
    Iamfit4life Posts: 3,095 Member
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    Airborne

    rest
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    I alternate echinacea and elderberry all winter, as preventatives, which does seem to help. I also take ginger root capsules and grate fresh or powdered ginger into a lot of my food, particularly if I feel scratchy (reliant on my voice for work, so colds are BAD news.). Apart from that, zinc and Vit C, garlic in everything and masses of water/liquids. Lemon/honey/ginger/cloves and a slug of olive oil as a drink seems to help too. It's not ideal on the calorie front, but if I've just started a cold I drink a litre or so of fresh-squeezed orange juice on the first day, and also ginger beer made with proper ginger rather than flavourings. Anything to increase Vit C and ginger intake!

    There is also a European homeopathy product called Oscillococcinum, which you can take weekly as a preventative measure, or several times a day if you have a cold. Don't know if you can get it where you are, but I highly recommend it, despite normally being very sceptical about alternative remedies other than the long-standing immune fortifiers.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    Oh, another thing I'm not sure if you can get, but try to if you can - Vicks First Defence nasal spray - seems to reduce the bugs pretty quickly, and definitely shortens the duration of Upper Respiratory Tract infections. Also, Manuka honey/Propolis if you can find it - both have anti-bacterial properties.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    My dad told me when he was growing up and getting sick, his mother (italian) would make some kind of garlic paste and rub it on his chest and it worked wonders. He said he thinks it worked because nobody would go near him because he was stinky, lol. Love to hear about old fashioned remedies. But I am NOT wearing the garlic paste :)
    What does that do? Is it the same idea as Vick's VapoRub?

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