Important Caution. Please Read This!

Use the information on this site AT YOUR OWN RISK, and read the disclaimer.

Easy Email Delivery

Get the best survival-medicine tips on the Interwebs.



 Subscribe in a reader

Find The Survival Doctor on FacebookFollow The Survival Doctor on TwitterFollow Me on PinterestSubscribe to me on YouTube

Disorders
This survival-medicine website provides general information, not individual advice. Most scenarios assume the victim cannot get expert medical help. Please see the disclaimer.

Surprise: 4 Common Cold Treatments That Don’t Work

Echinacea purpurea

Though it’s popular, most studies say echinacea extract doesn’t work for colds in children. In adults, studies show mixed results.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Okay, I know I’m going to get into trouble with some of you here; I just feel it in my bones.

The same American Family Physician article that named study-proven common cold treatments also listed treatments proven not to work. If you’ve tried these and they work for you, be my guest. Except for one:

Over-the-counter cough medicines are a no-no for children ages four and under. These medicines are in the top-twenty causes of death. The wrong dosage can be fatal in this group.

Even in older kids, no antihistamine or decongestant has been found to work on a cough caused by a cold. For example, Benadryl, DayQuil Cough, and Pediacare, along with a lot of other medicines, contain either dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine. Those two ingredients have been shown ineffective in kids. (Remember, we’re talking colds here, not allergies.)

Another cold treatment that doesn’t work for children, at least according to the majority of studies, is the popular herb echinacea. Proponents use it to rev up the immune system to fight colds.

Stranded with no help? Take The Survival Doctor with you with his new e-books.

Books adAdults: No Codeine or Nasal Irrigation? Say It Ain’t So.

In adults, the most surprising finding to me is codeine is no more effective than placebo for a cough.

Nasal irrigation has also been found not to work (for colds, not allergies). Remember, it does seem to help in children.

Some treatments, like vitamin C and echinacea, have had mixed results in adults, but even the positive studies have shown only a small benefit.

The Simplest Natural Remedies

The bottom line is, a healthy lifestyle, avoiding people with colds, and washing your hands frequently still can’t be beat.

What’s been your experience with common cold treatments?

 

Photo of echinacea purpurea by Günter Langer. Copyright A.Vogel/Bioforce AG, Teufen AR/Roggwil TG. www.avogel.ch. (Link not meant as an endorsement.)

August 7th, 2012 | Tags: , , | Category: Infectious Disease
« Previous:  
  Next: »
Newer Comments →
  • INEVERGETSICK

    I DONT GET SICK VERY MUCH, WANT TO KNOW MY SECRET, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR,HONEY AND CINNAMEN, AND I WASH MY HANDS!!! TAKE VIT C AND ZINC TOO

    • http://thesurvivaldoctor.com/ James Hubbard, MD, MPH

      Thanks.

  • Pingback: Why Does My Nose Run When I Have a Cold?

  • Connie J

    The last time I had the flu (been lucky and haven’t gotten it thus far) what I normally do is make a tea with honey, lemon, 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger root, 2 tbl spoons of Braggs Apple cider vinegar per cup. I drank 2 cups per day.
    Seemed to help. If it doesnt work than I resort to Mucinex. Last year I had some thing that only Mucinex would help scary thought I was going to have to go to the doctor for it.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Connie, thanks. Sounds good. By the way, you can get Mucinex over-the-counter.

  • http://www.befittacoma.com/ Lakewood personal trainer

    Awesome post mate, eat healthy diet and do regular exercise for getting maximum physical and mental health.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Thanks.

  • Eric

    For those that say vitamin C and zinc don’t work, they aren’t taking enough. Islander is on the right track. Depending on how sick you get you can take 1gm every 10min until you reach bowel tolerance. As soon as you feel that tickle in the back of your throat you should start taking 1gm/hr immediately and if after 12hrs its not getting better or getting worse start upping the dosage to 1gm/.5hr and so on until you reach tolerance. As for zinc, you can safely take around 500mg/day too. It realy does work as long as you take the amount your body needs. All the studies out there that claim it doesn’t help were either flawed from the start or never used the right dosage.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Eric, you shouldn’t take such dangerous doses. You can overdose on vitamins just like you can on any medicine. Taking high doses of vitamin C can give you severe vomiting, diarrea, dehydration, kidney stones. No one should ever take over a gm or 2 a day, at the most. Zinc can give you similar GI side effects and even worse. No one should take over 40 mg zinc per day, at the most.

  • Zombiemom

    Capsaicin has always worked for my family. Just a few drops of the tincture in a small bit of water works for sore throats and colds. It is a natural antibacterial. Watch out, though, because it’s spicy–basically the heat from the pepper. If you take it in pill form, it will take longer to work and does not have the immediate soothing effects on a sore throat.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Thanks, Zombiemom.

  • Heretic

    Chicken soup with lots of garlic, or a whole clove of raw garlic, finely chopped.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Sounds pretty tasty, Heretic.

  • Katherine

    I know it sounds wacky but using a couple drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear at the very beginning of a viral infection will usually stop or shorten it. If it bubbles it is working. Let it bubble until it stops then let it drain out and do the other ear. You need to be careful if you have a lot of earwax–got an earache once that way.

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Thanks, Katherine.

  • Pingback: Honey for Cough

  • Michelle

    I am a nurse (pediatric) for 27 yrs now so I have not only taken care of the kiddos with colds but have gotten my share from being around them constantly working up to 60 hrs a wk during cold/flu/rsv season. Of course, prevention is best… Hand washing often and putting those coughs and sneezes into elbow instead of hand. Hydration is key and sometimes it’s very hard to get little ones to drink enough when the are sick. As for adults, my favorite cures are homemade chicken soup and miso soup. Maybe it’s just the hydrating effects from the liquid but have always read that people in Japan will drink miso soup many times a day even when not sick. Nasal irrigation helps for short periods and I have never noticed a difference with echinacea. We eat garlic everyday at my house and always have miso paste in fridge. The only OTC I have gotten relief from is mucinex DM or just plain mucinex. What are your thoughts on colloidal silver and zinc?

    • http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

      Michelle,

      In my last post http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/08/02/treat-a-cold/ I cite that zinc has been proven to help in kids. Colloidal silver? Okay, there’s no good studies that have shown it effective, but so many people swear by it … . Just don’t overdo it.

Newer Comments →