How to treat a cold

How do you know when you’re getting a cold, and what’s the best way to treat it?

Symptoms

• When you are catching a cold you feel run down, have the sniffles, are congested, possibly have a cough or a runny nose. You may even have a fever.

Treatment

• The more fluids the better.
• Get into bed, warm up and make sure you get plenty of rest.
• Yes, studies have shown that chicken soup actually shortens the time of your cold and improves your symptoms.
• Multi-vitamins and vitamin C as well as saline sprays for irrigation are all good over-the-counter products you can buy to help prevent and combat a cold.
• Hot water, lemon and honey as well as lozenges are great for relieving your sore throat.
• If you really can’t breathe or sleep and are severely congested you may need a decongestant.
• Decongestants should not be used in younger children and in moderation with adults due to its effects on the heart.
• Aspirin or anti-inflammatories will help treat a fever.
• Chest colds and head colds are treated very similarly.

Prevention

• To prevent catching a cold try to eat right, stay warm when it is cold out, avoid drastic changes in temperature when possible, stay hydrated and take vitamins.
• Wash your hands frequently to remove germs.

If your cold lingers for more than 5 to 10 days then you probably have more than just a cold—it may be a sinus infection or the flu. You may want to go see your primary doctor or an ear, nose and throat physician.

LISA: I'm Lisa Birnbach. What do you do when you catch a cold? Stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids and eat chicken soup? Do you go to the doctor? Luckily for us Dr. Jordan Josephson, top ear, nose, and throat specialist has paid a house call to help us with these questions. Dr. Josephson how do you know you're catching a cold?

JORDAN: Well when you're catching a cold you just feel run down, sniffly, congested. You just don't feel yourself. You'll have a runny nose, a post nasal drip, maybe a cough. You may feel a little tight in your chest and you may have a fever. Overal you're feeling just plain lousy. 

LISA: Is there any way to avoid catching a cold?

JORDAN: Absolutely. People should eat right. In cold weather they should stay warm, bundle up when they go out. They should avoid changes in temperature which are drastic if they can. And we certainly know that eating right and staying well hydrated are very helpful. And maybe some vitamins: a multivitamin or vitamin C. 

LISA: What about hand-washing?

JORDAN: Hand-washing is extremely important. Hand-washing wipes all the germs from your hand and you're shaking hands, you're touching things during the day, so there's tons of germs on your hands. So hand-washing is extremely important. 

LISA: Once you do have a cold, should you go to bed. Should you be with other people? Should you be taking aspirin around the clock?

JORDAN: Well most colds are due to viruses and we don't have any anti-viral agents that you treat these colds with, but certainly stay well hydrated. A lots of fluids, the more fluids the better. Number two get into bed, bundle up, warm up and make sure you get plenty of rest through that cold period. That's probably the quickest way to get through your cold. 

LISA:  And chicken soup--is that just what grandmother's suggest or is there really some real value to it?

JORDAN:  Grandma always knows and they didn't studies out in Nebraska and they showed that chicken soup actually shortens the time of your cold and improves your symptoms. 

LISA:  There is a whole shelf or a whole aisle now at the drugstore dedicated to over the counter cold products. What do you like?

JORDAN:  Many of them are very, very good. Certainly vitamins are good, vitamin C, multivitamins. Second of all irrigation, or saline spray, is wonderful. They wash out the infection from your nose, the virus, decreasing the amount of your virus, shortening the length of your cold, improving your symptoms. Hot water, honey, and throat lozenges are wonderful to relieve your sore throat. And then they have decongestants if you're really congested, you may want to take a decongestant. I'm not very for decongestants except for if you really can't breathe or you can't sleep.

LISA:  Why don't you like decongestants?

JORDAN: Well, decongestants have been shown to have effects on the heart. They've actually taken decongestants and they've had a warning recently, the FDA made a warning that decongestants should not be used in children, in younger children. I think decongestants have their risks and I think in most cases you can do well without a decongestant. 

LISA:  Okay well let's say you are feeling some of those symptoms. How do you know it's a cold and not a flu?

JORDAN:  What you really want to do is know that my cold's lingering for more than five to ten days--hey I have more than a cold here. Maybe I have a sinus infection, maybe it's my allergies. And you want to be able to decipher what's a sinus infection and what's a cold. 

LISA:  Right. And you need a doctor to help discern that right?

JORDAN:  Well if your symptoms are lasting for more than five days, you may want to go see your primary care doctor or an ear, nose, and throat physician. 

LISA: Do you treat a chest cold differently from a head cold?

JORDAN: The answer is no. Most of them are treated similarly. If it's a cold and virus in your chest and in your nose, then again, supportive care will treat both of those. If it's a bacterial infection that causes a sinus infection that drips into your lungs, and now you have a nose infection and a lung infection, then similar antibiotics treat both of those problems.

LISA:  And finally I've noticed you haven't mentioned the use of analgesics. 

JORDAN:  Certainly non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as aspirin and Tylenol will help, especially if you have a fever. It will also help if your achey and it will also bring down the inflammation and swelling.

LISA:  Thank you so much Dr. Josephson.

JORDAN:  Thank you. 

LISA:  I'm Lisa Birnbach.