You wake up one morning, sneeze 17 times in a row and spend the rest of the day stuffy and feverish. What do you do? Like many people, you may swallow a few echinacea pills or toss back the herbal remedy in a cup of tea. Perhaps you think of mom and start feeding yourself chicken soup through an IV.
Myths pervade the public psyche when it comes to colds and flus. They can explain why people catch colds, how to prevent them, or how to get rid of them. However, doctors don’t necessarily agree about whether these or any other classic remedies are doing you any good. Dr. Ben Douglas, M.D. and medical director of the University Health Center has little faith in these health myths. Dr. Tina Kaczor, naturopathic physician at Clinic of Natural Medicine in Eugene, on the other hand, said many of them are worth following.
The myths:
1.) Getting wet or cold and going outside before drying off or warming up will make you sick.
Douglas: Not true. Viruses cause colds; water or temperature don’t. There is a temporal relationship because colds and the flu are common during the cold and wet part of the year. This causes people to make a connection that doesn’t actually exist.
Kaczor: True, if one listens to Eastern thoughts on medicine. In that culture, getting wet or cold is “depleting.” It makes you more susceptible to getting sick. However, in Western medicine the two are not linked.
2.) Drinking orange juice or taking large amounts of vitamin C will cure a cold.
Douglas: Not true. There is evidence that vitamin C can strengthen an immune system, but once a person has a virus nothing will kill it. “It just has to run its course,” he said.
Kaczor: Partially true. Fluids will help a cold, but orange juice isn’t the correct fluid. It is full of sugar, so drinking too much is actually bad for the immune system.
3.) Eating chicken soup will cure a cold.
Douglas: Not true. However, it can make you feel better. It has a healthy combination of ingredients, a mix of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. “And it’s warm. It makes you feel more comfortable,” he said.
Kaczor: Only if it is made from scratch, from chicken bones and with thyme. Bone marrow and thyme have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Soup from a can won’t help.
4.) Sleeping with the window open will give you a cough.
Douglas: Maybe. It doesn’t cause a cold, but it can let in allergens, dust and pollen and give a person a cough.
Kaczor: Responded with an adamant “No.”
5.) Taking Airborne, the fizzy herbal formula, will prevent a cold.
Douglas: He didn’t know of any study that shows Airborne improves a person’s health or prevents a cold. However, he doubted it would hurt to take it.
Kaczor: Maybe. The listed ingredients probably help the immune system. More than anything it is very well marketed, she said. There is nothing novel about it.
6.) Echinacea will help the immune system.
Douglas: Not true. There’s not evidence that it helps. It probably can’t hurt, and it might make a person feel better.
Kaczor: Yes. The root of the echinacea plant bolsters the immune system. However, the herb is often sold in smaller doses than what it needs to work. And the flowering tops of the plant don’t work, though they are often sold in stores. Make sure you take the root, not the flower, and it will help, she said.
7.) Zinc will help the immune system.
Douglas: Maybe. There have been some studies that show that zinc may play a role in helping to fight colds. They are not conclusive.
Kaczor: Yes. It is antiviral, and because most people are zinc deficient, it replaces the zinc you should have had all along.
8.) Taking shots of Bacardi 151 will cure strep throat.
Douglas: Not true. Hard alcohol is not an antiseptic and won’t kill anything. When a person has strep throat, some of the bacteria lives in the tissue, where nothing you swallow will reach it. And if you want to try alcohol, gargle it. Drinking will only make a cold feel worse.
Kaczor: Not true. People used to take ginger root dissolved in brandy to fight a cold, and eventually connected the alcohol with getting better. However, it was the ginger that did it, so if anything, have some ginger tea.
9.) Eating dairy will make your nose stuffier than it already is.
Douglas: Not really. The fat and protein can cling to the tissue and give the illusion of mucus. However, “It doesn’t actually affect the nose and sinuses,” he said.
Kaczor: Yes. Dairy does help form mucus.
10.) Using Purell and other hand sanitizers will prevent a cold.
Douglas: Absolutely. Most viral infections are caused by having a virus on your hands and then rubbing the eyes and nose. During cold season, avoid touching the face.
Kaczor: Washing the hands is extremely important, but if at all possible use traditional soap and water. Antimicrobial sanitizers, like Purell, have created microbes that are immune to antibiotics. Traditional soap is always the best.
If you do get a cold, both doctors agree the best thing to do is sleep. Douglas said sleep allows the body to concentrate its energy on fighting the virus. Kaczor agreed. When young people get a cold, she said, it is almost always because they have become tired and run down. Douglas and Kaczor both said that in addition to sleeping, eating healthy foods and staying hydrated are crucial to fighting off a cold.
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