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Okay, I hate to break it to you, but you can't cure the common cold. Come on now, if I knew the cure for it I'd be rich. But there are certain things you can do to make your suffering a little more bearable.

Before we get into ways to alleviate the cold let's talk about antibiotics.You don't need them. You might be thinking, "But don't I need them to help prevent bacterial infections that might happen as a result of complications from the cold?" No. "But maybe I have a virus and a bacterial infection?" Nope.

The cold is a virus and there is no cure for it. And let's be honest here, we all tend to exaggerate a little when we are sick. But you know if you have a cold or not. And if you don't know, let me break it down for you. To put it in blunt terms, a cold is pretty much all in your face. Your nose is stopped up, you're producing more nasal mucus than usual, you might have a headache, you might have a sore throat due to post-nasal drip and you might be more tired and weak than usual (but nothing too severe).

If you have these symptoms along with terrible body aches or muscle soreness and a fever, then you just might have the flu. If you have pain in your chest or a terrible cough that lasts more than a few days then you might have bronchitis or pneumonia. When in doubt, go see a doctor. And even if it is a cold, your doctor can still give you something to help you feel better, but chances are it won't make you feel any better than something over the counter would. And please don't beg your doctor for antibiotics. If you ask for them he'll probably give them to you whether you need them or not. For one, doctors have gotten so used to patients demanding antibiotics that a lot of them have pretty much just given in. It won't hurt you but the overuse of antibiotics IS going to lead to more and more antibiotic-resistant germs which are going to hurt us a lot in the long run.

What Doesn't Help Fight a Cold

Vitamin C

Contrary to what we've been told for years and years, it seems that there is no evidence to support that vitamin C helps get rid of a cold. Taking vitamin C BEFORE you get a cold may help you fight it off sooner, but if you wait until you get a cold to start taking it, it isn't going to help.

Echinacea

Studies are mixed on whether or not echinacea is helpful in relieving cold symptoms. A big reason the results are inconclusive is that different echinacea plants have been used and prepared differently from study to study. Taking echinacea won't hurt you but it probably won't help.

Things that DO Help Fight a Cold

Drinking Plenty of Water

Yeah, yeah. Who wants to hear that? They tell you do get plenty of fluids with pretty much any illness but it really does help. Your body needs fluid to run efficiently. If your body is running smoother it can fight off illness a bit faster. You don't actually need 8 glasses of water a day (that's an old myth) but you should try to avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks because these can lead to dehydration (and even slight dehydration can make you feel really bad).

Chicken Noodle Soup

A treatment loved by mothers everywhere. But believe it or not, your mom was actually on to something. Researchers say that chicken noodle soup can help cold symptoms by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils (the white blood cells that respond to the infection). It is also good because it's mostly liquid (remember, you need plenty of fluids), and it's warm and can be soothing to a sore throat.

Zinc

Zinc may be helpful as well although researchers still haven't come up with an ideal dose. However, experts say to stay away from zinc sprays as these can lead to permanent damage to your sense of smell.

Hopefully, you can find some relief with one or more of these options, but if none of these work for you then you'll be happy to know that the cold is a self-limiting illness and will clear up in about a week.

References:

WebMD. Understanding Common Cold - Treatments. Accessed at https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/understanding-common-cold-treatment#1 on February 20, 2018.

Mayo Clinic. Cold remedies: What works, what doesn't, what can't hurt. Accessed at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/in-depth/cold-remedies/art-20046403 on February 20, 2018.

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