Curing a cold when your mom isn't around

Now that flu and cold season are here, it is extremely important to know what exactly needs to be done to make your symptoms tolerable. There are common medicines and home remedies out there. The trick is to figure out exactly which one works for you, if it even works at all.

Should you take an antihistamine or a decongestant?

Decongestants work by reducing the swelling in the nasal passages and thereby relieving the pressure and improving the airflow through your nose. Decongestants come in pill and nasal sprays and it is important to remember not to use nasal sprays for more than 3 days. When it comes to antihistamines, it is uncertain as to whether these can be helpful at relieving cold symptoms. Some people, however, feel that it brings relief from sneezing and a runny nose during a cold. Antihistamines work by blocking histamine from interacting with the nasal tissues, preventing sneezing and runny nose. The older antihistamines, such as brompheniramine and chlorpheniramine, are the only antihistamines effective at relieving cold symptoms. Newer antihistamines, like Allegra and Clartin, have not been shown to work against cold symptoms.

Most over the counter cold medicines have either acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help with the aches and the fevers and headaches that can happen. However, there are other types of anti-inflammatory drugs that could help with the pain. These can include aspirin, ketoprofen (Orudis KT) and naproxen (Aleve).

Should you take antibiotics for your cold?

The short answer is no, you should not. Antibiotics fight bacteria related illnesses. Viruses, which are definitely not bacteria (or technically "living"), cause the common cold and are therefore not affected at all by antibiotics. Taking antibiotics that are not needed are very harmful to your body. About 1 in every 40, 000 people can have an allergic reaction to the antibiotic which can turn fatal. In addition, those that take antibiotics that are not needed add to the growth of several strains of bacteria that have become antibiotic resistant. The time to take antibiotics is only when you have infections and illnesses caused by bacteria, such as bacterial bronchitis, pneumonia, strep throat, bacterial ear infection, and pink eye.

How about organic remedies?

Now, more and more people are turning to natural flu and cold remedies. Vitamin C is perhaps the most well known natural treatment for the common cold. It is important to note that studies do not show vitamin C helps prevent colds in most people, at least when taken in a dose of 1 gram a day. To help treat colds, however, the evidence shows that vitamin C can reduce the duration of a cold by as much as 24 to 36 hours. Other studies show, however, that high doses have no effect.

Zinc lozenges have also become very popular when it comes to treating the common cold. Studies have shown that zinc can fight the cold virus in a test tube, but it is not clear whether or not zinc can do this in the human body. Some studies do show that lozenges with 9-24 mg of zinc can shorten the duration of a cold and ease symptoms. You need to start as soon as symptoms appear and take them every 2-3 hours.

With this helpful information and some good common sense you should now be ready for cold and flu season. Mom may not be around to take care of you while you're here, but I'm sure you can make her proud by taking care of yourself.