usuallycoldA viral infection of the nose and throat with symptoms such as a runny nose or cough. Usually the common cold clears up within a week or ten days without medical attention, and may last longer in smokers. Colds can lead to complications including fatal pneumonia, so prevention is very important.
coldLike influenza (Influenza), the initial symptoms may be very similar. They are both respiratory diseases and have similar symptoms, but the two diseases are caused by different viral infections. Colds are relatively common, and those at higher risk include infants, people with certain medical conditions, or people with weakened immune systems.
Complications from a cold
According to Miu Medical International, these conditions may occur along with a cold:
· Acute ear infection (otitis media):This condition occurs when cells or viruses enter the space behind the eardrum. Typical signs and symptoms include ear pain, or a fever that comes back after a common cold.
· Asthma:Even if you don’t have asthma, a cold can trigger wheeze. If you already have asthma, a cold can make your asthma worse.
· Acute sinusitis: In adults or children, an unrecovered common cold may cause sinus swelling and pain (inflammation) and infection.
· Other infections:The common cold may lead to other infections, including strep throat, pneumonia, and in children, croup or bronchiolitis. These infections need to be treated by a doctor.
GreenMedInfo website introduces 5fight coldA valid method for:
1. Take Vitamin C
The study found that taking 500 mg of vitamin C per day was 66% less likely to develop a cold than taking a placebo dose of 50 mg. A review of 21 studies that used 1 to 8 grams of vitamin C found that in each study, vitamin C reduced the duration and severity of colds by 23%.
2. Zinc supplementation
Studies have shown that zinc lozenges have a remarkable ability to fight colds.Some studies have shown that people who take 13-23 mg of zinc lozenges every 2 hours when they are awake will be able to improve their health in about four days.beat the coldwhile the use of placebo takes 7 to 11 days.
A recent meta-analysis of three placebo-controlled studies that used zinc lozenges: zinc acetate found that zinc lozenges shortened the duration of colds by almost three days. In these three studies, the average duration of colds was 7 days, but after taking zinc lozenges, the duration of colds was shortened by 2.73 to 2.94 days, which is a great improvement.
Zinc lozenges canbeat the coldand very safe and without too many side effects.
3. Eat Echinacea
Known as the king of immune herbs, Echinacea can prevent and treat colds. In an echinacea study, 673 healthy people took either echinacea or a placebo in a double-blind fashion for 4 months.
Colds and cold symptoms were significantly reduced in those who took echinacea, proving that echinacea can prevent and treat colds. The echinacea group had 149 colds that lasted a total of 672 days; the placebo group had 188 colds that lasted 850 days.
Additionally, six high-quality, placebo-controlled long-term studies of echinacea on recurrent respiratory infections and complications (including pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infections, and sinusitis) were included in a major meta-analysis. Echinacea reduced the risk of relapse by 35%.
For people with a higher susceptibility to infection due to stress or weakened immunity, the reduction was even as high as 50%. Echinacea reduced the risk of complications by 50%, including a 64.9% reduction in the risk of pneumonia, otitis media, and tonsillitis.
4. Eat elderberries
The elderberry produced a quick recovery from the cold, taking only two to three days, compared with seven to eight days with the placebo. A placebo-controlled study found that elderberries relieved fever, headache, nasal congestion, and cough in just two days. Elderberry also worked better than a placebo in treating nasal congestion.
In addition, studies have shown that elderberry can prevent viruses from entering cells, inhibit infection at a very early stage, and prevent viral replication. If the virus has already entered the cell, elderberry is also better at inhibiting the reproduction of the virus at a later stage. The researchers found that this is because elderberry anthocyanins, “powerful antioxidant flavonoids,” are doing their antiviral work.
5. Use Andrographis paniculata
In fifth place is the lesser-known herb Andrographis paniculata. A placebo-controlled study showed that andrographis significantly improved runny nose and sore throat in just two days. Cough, headache, earache and fatigue improved significantly within four days.
Andrographis can treat and prevent colds. When 107 children were given andrographis or a placebo during the 3 months of winter, those who took the herb had a 2.1 lower risk of developing a cold.
In addition, eating probiotics and garlic can also prevent colds.
Probiotics help fight off colds and can also help you recover faster from respiratory infections. A review of 14 controlled studies found that taking probiotics for at least a week was associated with a lower likelihood of respiratory infections, including the common cold.
Double-blind studies have shown that taking 2.5 grams of aged garlic extract daily can significantly reduce the severity of colds and flu and significantly reduce the number of days missed from school and work. In the 6-month study, the garlic group had 58 percent fewer colds, 61 percent fewer days with colds, and 21 percent fewer cold symptoms.
(Editor in charge: Zhuo Jing)
URL of this article: https://www.ntdtv.com/b5/2023/01/17/a103626809.html
