Cold 101

There are quite a few herbal medicines that aim to help boost your immune system and help your body overcome the common cold. We evaluated some of the leading herbal products on the market to bring you the low-down:

Airborne
These tablets can be found in most grocery stores and we designed to help busy travelers keep healthy. Essentially, this is a multi-vitamin with a high level of potency, but it also contains artificial sweeteners. Overall, this is a good vitamin supplement, but nothing more.

Fortified Orange Juice
We all know that the Vitamin C in orange juice can be effective in enhancing immune response, and now orange juice makers have enhanced the juice with everything from calcium to  Omega-3s to vitamins and minerals. Pay close attention to the cost of these “plus” brands, as they do have additional benefits, but may not be as effective as taking naturally occurring forms of nutrients.

Green Tea
We give this choice a thumbs up: with a bevy of antioxidants, as well as a natural composition that will help clear your sinuses, green tea is one of the most effective, natural ways to ward off colds.

During the winter season, you may have come down with a cold that seems a bit more severe than normal. Since the viruses that cause influenza and those that cause the common cold are related, it can be difficult to understand when your illness might require more significant treatment.

Influenza is unique from the common cold in its symptoms: fevers are generally higher, and you may also experience muscle aches that go well beyond traditional colds. If you feel that your immune system has been compromised, you may want to see a doctor within the first few days – that way you can be properly tested and diagnosed for your illness. Influenza is contagious, so make sure that you stay home from work or school for a few days after you’ve recovered. While you can get a flu vaccine in either a shot or nasal-spray (such as Flumist), this is a precautionary measure and will have no effect after contracting the illness.

Rather than spending a good portion of your paycheck at the pharmacy, there are a number of natural cold treatments to consider. While there is no instant cure for the common cold, prescription or otherwise, these leading home remedies will help you to regain your health more quickly:

Vitamin C
A number of clinical studies have shown that taking Vitamin C, in natural form, can help boost the immune system, lowering your risk of catching a cold, as well as helping to reduce the severity of the virus after contact.

Zinc
Available in a variety of resources, including nasal spray and lozenges (see our Eeze Cold Review), Zinc has been shown to be effective in helping to combat basic, common colds by elevating your body’s natural response to pathogens.

Echinacea
An herbal supplement which can help improve immune response, taking echinacea can potential lower one’s susceptibility to air-borne viruses.

Rest and Relaxation
While there’s not prescription for good health, ensuring that your body is well rested, while keeping your stress levels under control is one of the most effective ways to stay healthy. Always make sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and try drinking chamomile tea to ensure proper sleep during a cold.

Designed to provide base-level health care access to low-income families, as well as the disabled, Medicare is administered by each state in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services. Created in 1965 as part of the Social Security Act, the program funds a wide range of state-based programs, including SCHIP (Children’s Health Insurance) as well as other state-level initiatives.

Often times, people confuse the program with Medicare, which is a federal program for disabled individuals over 65; enrollment in Medicaid, by contrast is entirely a function of need, as determined at the state level. Poverty levels are determined by each state, which sets the requirements for enrollment; priority is given to families, pregnant women, the disabled and seniors, although anyone can apply for enrollment. Recent changes in federal policy limit the type of core provided to seniors, especially in terms of private nursing home coverage.

With nearly 50 million individuals enrolled, the program is highly contingent on Federal funding, which helps to supplement state-level budgets. Recent legislation has adjusted the fee structure so that recipients have to pay a co-pay, much as private insurance patients would. Going into the Obama administration, many observers expect the program will be overhauled and expanded to provide coverage to the uninsured, nearly half of whom decline to enroll under a voluntary structure.

The influenza vaccine is formulated annually to protect against the most common forms of the flu. While no single formulation can cover the wide variety of virus mutations, the vaccination process has been shown to help reduce the health risks from the virus, especially among vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.

Studies have shown that nearly 3 in 4 patients who are administered the vaccine avoid the flu during the winter season, although additional studies have calls into question the effectiveness of the vaccine, giving the high level of variability in the influenza virus. While a scientific debate remains open, data suggests that the vaccine can help prevent serious illness among those most vulnerable, even if it does not cover the exact strain of the infection in question. It remains to be seen how well the vaccine will be against serious outbreaks, such as the Avian flu or the strain which infection millions in 1918, but scientists continue to improve the formulations.

While there are minor side effects that last a few days, related to those of the common cold, most patients are quick to overcome these minor symptoms. The vaccines are reformulated on an annual basis, so you should make sure to check with your local clinic on a regular basis.

The common cold is caused by a variety of viruses, most commonly the rhinovirus, along with more virulent forms such as the para-influenza virus, the syncytial virus as well as several others. As air-borne viruses, the cold is highly contagious by way of the nasopharynx (the nose and throat), which explains its rapid spread.

Within 48 hours of initial infection, most patients began to suffer symptoms ranging from a sore throat, nasal congestion, coughing and sneezing; more serious cases are accompanied by muscle fatigue, headaches and weakness in the body – the related influenza virus can causes even more sever symptoms lasting several weeks. Among the more serious concerns related to the common cold is that, by weakening your immune system, the cold can result in parallel infections such as pneumonia, bronchitis and strep throat, which are caused by independent viruses.

Although vaccines against certain forms of influenza are increasingly common, there is no universal vaccine against the common cold, given the rapid rates of mutation among various strains and the wide diversity of serotypes from virus to virus. As a result, the best treatment for combating the cold virus is by taking steps to strengthen your immune system, by ensuring proper consumption of Vitamins (such as C), ingesting plenty of antioxidants (in tea, among other sources) and getting plenty of rest.

We’ve all heard the saying “there’s no cure for the common cold” but Cold Eeze Lozenges have been clinically shown to reduce the impact of the cold virus. There is no magic formula to Cold Eeze; in fact, the active ingredient in the tablets is simply all-natural zinc, which can help make the common cold easier to handle, while also potentially reducing the time frame of the cold itself.

Unlike other cough and cold drops, Cold Eeze has only four ingredients: zinc, glycine, honey and sucrose, which makes them much more palatable, while also cutting down on potential complications from artificial sweeteners. A number of clinical studies showed that the product is effective in helping to deal with common colds, and our experience echoed these trials: the severity of my cold went down after taking the lozenges at their daily recommended dose (six times per day), and I was back to full health in just a few days. You can even find generic versions of the tablets in supermarkets and drug stores, which can save you money (make sure you check the label for zinc) while delivering the same set of benefits.