Remedies for Colds

As the single most common viral affliction that strikes people today, the common cold is always looking for new victims. If you are ten years or older and have never had a common cold, I’d say it’s a small miracle. Most people get them once or more a year. Because there is no ‘cure’ for the common cold, remedies for colds are a booming industry across the world.

I’m sure you’ve already noticed this fact for yourself. There are entire shelves devoted to remedies for colds in supermarkets and pharmacies everywhere. Most of these products aim at treating what specific symptoms you are having. Because each and every cold virus is unique, which is why a cure is impossible, the symptoms of the common cold vary a lot. Fortunately, there are a lot of general and common symptoms that can be treated. Coughs, sore throats, sinus congestion, watery eyes, dry eyes, runny nose, and headache are among the more common symptoms.

Some of these cold remedies are pretty effective, but none of them will completely make you feel better. I get annoyed when I see commercials showing some poor woman laying in bed debilitated by a cold, only to suddenly bounce out of bed and tackle the day smiling like a loon the whole time the moment she takes a pill. Even the best drug remedies for colds will only help you go from feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck to feeling like you’ve been hit by a car.

While the symptoms of a cold are hard to alleviate completely, I have found some remedies for colds that help reduce the longevity of the virus. Most doctors will tell you drink plenty of fluids, and this definitely helps. In addition, I’ve found that zinc lozenges are an excellent remedy for colds. They taste bad, and leave a funky feeling along your throat, but if my colds tend to go away much faster when I use them regularly. Even better, my colds never seem to get as bad if I use zinc lozenges right after noticing symptoms.

A lot of interesting research has been done recently showing that zinc is in fact a proven remedy for colds. Zinc tables don’t seem to do it for me, it’s the lozenges that really help. My favorite brand is ‘Cold-Eeze’; they seem to have at least found a way to make them taste tolerable. If you have recently been exposed to someone who is sick, taking zinc lozenges may in fact help prevent a cold as well.