Cough… Cough… Ahhhhhh Chuu! Yuup it’s that time of year again, “cold season” and like every year around this time I am once again a victim of the cold, as I’m sure many of you are as well. As I lay here sucking on cough drops and drinking ginger ale, I find myself wondering what exactly is a cold, how the hell did I catch it in the first place, and what are the most effective remedies that will make my cold more bearable.

         According to WEB MD it turns out that the common cold is a group of symptoms in the upper respiratory system that can be caused by more than 200 viruses, with the rhinovirus and the coronaviruses being the predominate perpetrators. Ask Alice tells us that these viruses attack and multiply in the cells that line the nose and throat, causing the congestion that we experience when infected. Colds are predominantly caught through touch, and sometimes even caught through airborne particles from a cough or a sneeze. Contrary to belief colds are NOT caused by being underdressed in cold weather or by getting wet, so the next time your mom tells you that “your going to get sick dressed like that”, you can tell her otherwise. However one is much more susceptible to a cold if they are extremely fatigued or under emotional distress which is likely the cause of my cold considering the fact that I am pledging a fraternity. The common cold although it is usually mild, is the leading cause of doctor visits and absences from school annually. Colds have such an effect on our everyday lives that the CDC estimates that Americans suffer 1 billion colds per year, which is an astonishing number considering that fact the we only live in a country of 317 million people.

         So now that we know what a cold is, it’s time to find out what is the best way to heal the pesky illness. Cold remedies are almost as common as colds themselves, and many cold remedies date back hundreds of years, but does longevity truly guarantee success? Well in the case of chicken noodle soup, longevity would  definitely guarantee success. According to the Mayo Clinic the soup does more than heal the soul, it actually acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of immune system cells that inflame the infected respiratory system, and also acts as a catalyst in the movement of mucus, limiting the amount of time the viruses are in contact with the nose lining. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that chicken noodle soup is the most effective cold remedy, however taken along with others it is an effective contributor. Now I don’t know about you but whenever I’m under the weather my mom urges me to drink lots of fluids, and it appears that the woman is up to something. Colds thrive in dry conditions, which explains why they are most prevalent in the wintertime, so the more moisture you can keep in your body the better. You should try to drink lots of water, juice, and tea with honey, which can loosen congestion, all while staying away from alcohol, coffee, and caffeine, which can make dehydration much worse. However the remedy that I find most useful in dampening the symptoms of a cold is salt water. Salt water can have many beneficial uses when suffering from a cold, as both a gargle and as a nose spray. Salt water when gargled can provide much need relief to a scratchy throat, and helps keep the respiratory system moisten all while clearing out excess mucus. I have just began using the Nelimed Sinus Rinse which acts sort of like the Neti pot, with a much more powerful blast of saline in the infected area, removing infected mucus all while clearing the respiratory system. I would highly recommend this product and have already begun to feel better since implementing it into my daily routine.

         Now that we know what works well, we can talk about the remedies that are not so effective. First and foremost antibiotics will have no effect on the common cold, which is a virus. Antibiotics attack bacteria, but not viruses and therefore are ineffective, taking antibiotics during a cold will not get you better any faster and will only contribute to the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Over the counter cold and cough medications are also not as effective as we may think, they will not prevent a cold or shorten its duration in any way, coming with annoying side effects, and if used more than a few times a day can actually make symptoms worse.

         Overall colds are a pain to deal with. If you catch a cold you can expect to be sick for a couple of weeks with no cure, only remedies that can help dampen the symptoms. However, if you implement these remedies your cold will be much more bearable to deal with, therefore allowing you to function as normally as possible.