From the experts: How do you treat a winter COLD?

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

I know I'm am not a doctor and I never will plan on becoming one, however I do not want to go to the emergency department at my hospital at the first signs of a sniffle as some unfortunately do. So I find myself thinking of things that will help to stop my cold immediately, close to dead in its tracks. I've heard warm water with lemon juice helps and vapo rub on the bottoms of one's feet. Here are my favorites:

1. Sore throat: I gargle with salt water q hourly. Water warm and salt aplenty. (natural antibiotic)

2. I chew garlic once a day, has to be a raw clove though, a natural antibiotic. I saw my sputum go from green to yellow to light brown to clear once.

3. Drink plenty of water to loosen phlegm and help the system flush the bad bugs down the drain.

4. Get a lot of sleep. Don't push, it'll backfire.

5. Recently my wife got some lozengers called COLD EEZE, these work well, homiopathic remedy.

NOW, I know I may get blasted. We are not trained in medicine. So, if you have a lingering cough or sore throat that won't go away after 3 weeks go see your health care provider. Or anything that is outside the norm of a common cold.

[SewHeather]

How do you treat a winter cold?

The same way you treat a spring, summer or fall cold!

Bah da, bah!

[BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

btw one of the best ways to catch a winter/spring/summer cold,....go to an er!

[nghtfltguy, BSN, RN]

How do you treat a winter cold?

The same way you treat a spring, summer or fall cold!

Bah da, bah!

ok heather... for your first post..im gonna have to give you props!

that really made me laugh!!

im still laughing!!

how to treat it?

salt water... like you are doing..

apap 650mg tid

rest..

let time take its course....

[nghtfltguy, BSN, RN]

btw one of the best ways to catch a winter/spring/summer cold,....go to an er!

don't be so quick to judge~~

i have worked in a level 1 trauma center for many years...

i have not had a cold in 4 years~~

[Piki]

I pop zinc lozenges and vit C chewables, let them dissolve in my mouth. Take them every couple of hours. I also swear by a supplement called "Cold MD" - it's some sort of homeopathic/herbal remedy. I have not had a cold in a long time, if you immediately start taking this right when the cold is coming on, it stops it right away. I even use it on my two oldest kids, that are 15 and 12. Works for them too.

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

Orange juice, chicken soup, take vitamins!! And SLEEP... oh I can always stick up for people getting more naps.

If the cold hits you anyway, I always have good luck with the generic ibuprofen/sudafed combination tablets, usually get at walgreens. They work soooo well in my experience, for all that comes with a cold, and don't make you sleepy. I have given them to people at work (coworkers haha, not patients) who didn't have anything with them and they all had good relief from them too. (I get the kind with the "real" sudafed in them, that you have to ask the pharmacist for; the PE stuff just doesn't seem to work as well)

Wow that was way too much info about a generic pill... haha. Now back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Sleep, tea, 7-Up, and the great homeopathic placebo, oscillococcinum. I don't believe in homeopathic remedies one little bit, but I down that stuff like candy when I'm sick. I'm pretty sure it's literally nothing but sugar, but that's what mommy gave us when we were little, so I take it nonetheless.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go dooooown...

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

don't be so quick to judge~~

i have worked in a level 1 trauma center for many years...

i have not had a cold in 4 years~~

As the saying goes, your immune system could probably kill squirrels in the back yard!

You've been exposed to all kinds of germs by now. The general public might not be so fortunate since they probably have not experienced your level of exposure!