Cure against cold

That link looks suspicious to me. I'm not clicking on that.

"Imagine if we could live our lives without catching an annoying cold every once in a while, especially during the winter days. Well, we are one giant step closer to this. Scientists have been experimenting and trying to find a way to stop this kind of viruses from spreading among us. Eventually, they managed to find (an experimental) solution which would give “complete protection” from the common cold and other viruses.

Most colds are caused by rhinoviruses, however, there are more than 160 different types which can mutate very easily. Because of that they can become resistant to drugs, or learn to “trick” the immune system. Therefore, researchers decided to find a different approach, namely to make our bodies inhospitable for the cold viruses.

An individual virus cannot do much without a host. It basically infects other cells and steals some of the parts inside. One recent study managed to find one component which the viruses were dependent upon. There is a protein inside our cells called methyltransferase SETD3. Scientists used genetic modification experiments on human cells and mice, to “turn off” the instructions inside the DNA for the specific protein. After this gene-editing was done, the human cells and the mice were exposed to the common cold and even more dangerous viruses, but they were all completely resistant to them. This means that the disability of the body to produce the protein methyltransferase SETD3 caused a very strong reduction in viral replication.

The mice used in the experiments remained healthy, despite lacking the protein for their whole lives. However, the authors of the study say that they are not ready for trials in people. The goal is not to produce genetically modified humans, but to find a drug which can temporarily suppress the protein, and provide protection. Further research needs to be done in order to find a chemical that will mimic the genetic deletion.

While the common cold is nothing more than an inconvenience for the average person, it can be a real threat to asthmatics or other chronically ill people. Some of the enteroviruses can even cause paralysis if they spread to the brain, which is why we definitely need to find a cure."

for those that have never seen a shortened link before...and/or care. seems to me they are going to break their necks with the stretching, but...there you go.

The world has been looking at this for many decades. For the OP. Here is an interesting look at the progress so far .
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/06/why-cant-we-cure-the-common-cold

I used to get sick all the time. I got so sick one time that it was the thing that led me to cut back on drinking and lose weight. Interesting to me was that I just stopped getting sick after I lost a bunch of weight and got Healthy and avoided getting a cold all last year.

threewins wrote: »

If we're talking about unusual treatment for colds, I'd recommend a trip to South East Asia. That worked for me. Before I did my trip, I'd get a cold about 4 times a year. A year in the Philippines, I must have been getting one a month. Back in New Zealand, it all changed and I was getting one cold every 18 months. Who knows why. Whenever I go to SE Asia, I'm guaranteed to get a cold. Maybe a chest infection as well. Back in New Zealand, I can go a whole year without getting a cold.

Maybe you were exposed to viruses not found in New Zealand YET.

I take elderberry syrup and raw garlic at the first hint of a cold. Knocks it right out in no time. I try to just avoid getting sick in the first place by consistent hand washing.

kshama2001 wrote: »

I have found these to be excellent cold preventatives:

1. Not touching my nose, eyes, or mouth with unwashed hands
2. Not getting close enough to sick people that they can sneeze or cough on me

This is always good - but does it mean the sick person takes the strong garlic home remedies to keep away the healthy?
Or the healthy take it keep away the sick, or for that matter almost anyone which of course means less germ exposure too?

They may come up with a cure at some point but for the moment you can only treat the symptoms.

My go to is Otrivine nasal spray. A couple of squirts and you no longer have a runny nose, can breathe easily so you can sleep and don't get a sore nose from constant wiping/blowing. Highly recomend this spray.

The other, is of course good old Lemsip with dollop of honey.

There's a startup here in Tucson that takes advantage of the history of this being a copper mining region. Turns out that from Ancient times, people drank water out of copper. Copper is a natural antibacterial substance. You touch it and it kills germs. They have this nasal stick made of pure copper and if you put it in your nose at the first sign of a cold, it's supposed to dramatically shorten it. Actually, I think it's the former head of the FDA that started the company. CopperZap I believe.

I'm just starting to see NetiPots made of copper as well.

thanos5 wrote: »

i'll suck on a cold eze as soon as i feel a cold coming on. it doesn't prevent it but it makes it go away pretty quickly. but only if i take it at the first freaking inkling of having a cold.

also, they taste horrible.

are you my mother?

Sunshine_And_Sand wrote: »

I spent about five years having a sinus infection more often than not with constant pressure in my forehead and face, and I got to the point of considering it normal to get a headache any time I hand to lean over or bend down.
I finally bit the bullet and got sinus surgery. BEST medical treatment I ever did. Apparently it’s pretty common for people with chronic sinusitis to have mold in their sinuses as well as the drainage being super thick. My ENT describes it as peanut butter. 🤢
Of course the surgery won’t prevent you from catching a cold, but it does allow for better drainage so that you don’t get as sick with them. I went from almost always having a sinus infection to 1-2 colds per year that were much milder than anything I got before the surgery. Also, if you have nasal polyps (I did and have grown a few new ones that are still really small), removing those so they don’t block drainage is another benefit of the sinus surgery.
After having the sinus surgery, I am a firm believer in using a sinus rinse. The Netti Pot is the one most people are familiar with. The warm salt water is very soothing to the inflamed sinuses, I find it’s a lot more effective for removing drainage than just blowing your nose, and they claim it helps rinse out allergens.

My only comment about the Netti Pot would be to be very careful about your water source. Can't find the article now, but there was a woman (I believe in Washington) who not using a pure water source in her Netti Pot and contracted brain-eating amoebas as a result...

I haven't had a cold in six years. I'm pretty much the exact opposite of a germaphobe (drink out of stranger's beer? Sure! Wash my hands after going to the gym? Nah. Eat food that fell on the floor? No hesitation.) I think my immune system has been tried and tested and risen to the occasion.