Fighting the Common Cold!

As winter starts to set in down under, we start to see everyone coming in for their cold and flu tablets. Here are some of the tips that can help you during this winter:

1. Have your flu shot; and your children too! It won't help with the cold and you might feel the aches for a few days from the shot, but it is well worth it. With GFC sets in, taking anytime off work is not a good thing, let alone five days off because of some virus? Of course it has its side effects, but the risks are usually small (some people can get a severe reaction). Getting your children immunised is important too, as they are usually the culprit in spreading those nasty little buggers!  Yes, thats right, they pick them up from school.
   
2. Be healthy!  Look after yourself, have your compulsory seven to eight hours sleep.  Eating healthy, drink enough water, and have a couple of drinks less in that party will make sure you will are well prepared for the invasion.
3. Vitamin C.  Many studies show that taking vitamin C everyday doesn't do much. However, all the studies that shows that it is of benefit suggest a dose of at least 4000mg per day spread out on the first signs of symptoms.  There are studies that shows using up to 8000mg of Vitamin C without too much ill side effects (if you have too much, you usually starts getting the diarrhoea!).  One of the studies suggested that Vitamin C works by increasing the cytokines in your body which sends the signals to the immune system to respond - your body can respond up to five to twelve hours quicker than without Vitamin C.  The moral of the story - start taking Vitamin C as soon as you feel you are getting sick, and make sure you take enough of them!
4. Colostrum derives from cow's milk contains immunoglobins that can boost the ones that your body produce.  It is contained in breast milk and it is a way for the mother to pass the immunity to their child.  It is well absorbed when taken, and it can potentially be the best thing to fight off the cold!  For the people who are under a lot of stress, including physical stress like series athletes, your body's own production usually decrease, and it is a good idea to supplement yourself daily.  It is also not too late to start when start feeling your symptoms.
5. If you do get the flu - make sure you see your doctor.  Anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza works very well in fighting off the flu.  Instead of taking five days off, you could be up again in two, three days.  Don't leave it too late though because otherwise it would be pointless.
6. Echinacea and olive leaf extracts have certainly got some studies indicating that they could help with the cold after onset.  Again, like Vitamin C, it doesn't seem to show much use to prevent the cold from happening.
7. If everything fails and you do catch something, there are things that can help with your symptoms - apart from the cold and flu tablets, don't forget your lozenges, throat spray, throat gargle.  If you prefer something more natural, andrographis has been widely used in Asia and Europe for the treatment of the symptoms of the common cold.  It exerts anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effects.  Horseradish is also a natural decongestant that can help.  Don't forget Ma Huang - isn't that in cold and flu tablets? If you are taking other medications or have any other medical conditions, make sure you check with your pharmacist before taking any of these.

That's it folks for today.  If you have more questions, just send me an email!

sparoz (BPharm)