Treating the Common Cold Without Medications

By Ron Conte, Pharm.D.

Tis the season, once again, for combating the common cold. After centuries of dealing with this nemesis, there still is no cure. My old college pharmacology professor put it another way: “It takes an average of one week for drug therapy to cure the common cold. Otherwise, without drug therapy, it takes seven days.

What we really are doing is just treating the symptoms of the common cold. The usual symptoms of a cold include a sore throat plus a runny nose. Other symptoms may include coughing and/or sneezing, stuffy nose, watery eyes, mild headache, and body aches. At times it is difficult to determine whether a patient only has a cold or possibly the flu. Adults average two to three colds per year. Children under twelve years of age experience more colds per year than adults.

The common cold is due to a virus, usually a rhinovirus. However, the common cold can be caused by over 200 different viruses. This is one reason why it is so difficult to find a cure for the cold. There are some preventative measures that may delay or keep someone from getting a common cold. First, and foremost, is to keep the immune system strong.

The immune system is very complex. Most researchers would agree that a balanced lifestyle might be of benefit in maintaining a healthy immune system. A healthy lifestyle includes proper diet and exercise, minimizing psychological stress, minimizing traumatic factors, as well as some unknown issues. For example, a proper diet can be quite complex, especially balancing micronutrient intake. Zinc usually heads the list, but there also needs to be adequate selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, vitamins A, B6, C and E intake.

Other preventative measures include twenty-second hand washing, staying away from sick people, and avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth.

So, how should some of these cold symptoms be treated? If you are experiencing a sore throat, usually ice chips, or popsicles are effective.

In addition, a cool mist vaporizer is recommended, or gargling with a mixture of one tablespoonful of sodium salt in 8 ounces of warm water. Drinking warm beverages may also be of some help.

For a runny nose, rest is recommended along with an increase in fluid intake. For sinus pain and pressure, it is advisable to put warm compresses over the nose and forehead and/or breathe in steam as when taking a shower or over a sink with the hot water tap open.

As for a cough, a cool mist vaporizer is useful, or breathing in steam. Sometimes taking a few teaspoons of honey by mouth may be helpful for anyone over one year of age.

Note that I have not mentioned any medications to treat the symptoms of a cold. I recommend the above measures as the first lines of therapy for symptoms due to the common cold.

In my next column, “Treating the Common Cold Using Medications” I will write about the proper use of decongestants, antihistamines, analgesics, cough suppressants, and other medications to treat the symptoms of the common cold.

I will also discuss the pros and cons of drug products containing multiple ingredients.

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Contact me with questions, comments, etc. at my email address: rrxconte@gmail.com