Urgent cold cure needed!

[dee]

I was wondering if any of you have any tips for getting rid of this bloody cough and cold that has come on over night. I need to get rid of it by Friday at the latest or otherwise the hospital are going to cancel my op as I can't have a general anaestetic with one.

So put your thinking caps on, and if you do manage to alleviate my symptoms then many thanks in advance!

Dee xxx

[Cuddles]

If anyone actually manages this, next stop Nobel prize.

[Admin]

I was wondering if any of you have any tips for getting rid of this bloody cough and cold that has come on over night.

[bobdezon]

I always find a "hot toddy" works wonders for a bad cold. Heres my recipe.

White (clear) lemonade, some decent like R Whites.
Shot of a decent single malt (Glenfiddich, Glenlivet etc) Pinch of cinnamon
Spoonful of honey (clear)

Heat up the lemonade until its boiling, add the scotch stir in the honey until dissolved and add a pinch of cinnamon. Drink it as hot as you can stand it.

[Janot]

I don't know what to make of Vicks FIRST DEFENCE stuff, but I can say that I have never had a cold develop since I've had it in the house. Previously, I was always catching anything going, but now whenever I get the first symptoms, a couple of bursts of that stuff up my nostrils seems to kill it dead. It seems to boost your immune system .....

[Mongrel]

I don't know what to make of Vicks FIRST DEFENCE stuff, but I can say that I have never had a cold develop since I've had it in the house. Previously, I was always catching anything going, but now whenever I get the first symptoms, a couple of bursts of that stuff up my nostrils seems to kill it dead. It seems to boost your immune system .....

It's not that great, it's just another anti-bacterial product. Washing your hands frequently and throwing tissues away promptly will achieve the same thing.

[Janot]

It's not that great, it's just another anti-bacterial product. Washing your hands frequently and throwing tissues away promptly will achieve the same thing.

Not if the bacteria are already up your nose.

[Cuddles]

It's not that great, it's just another anti-bacterial product.

But colds are almost exclusively caused by viruses, so anti-bacterials won't actually help at all.

[Janot]

But colds are almost exclusively caused by viruses, so anti-bacterials won't actually help at all.

The blurb in the packet says

FD is a Micro-Gel nasal spray based on plant extracts. It works by trapping cold causing germs and helping your body to remove them naturally.

Hmmm - what is a germ? It sounds like complete nonsense, but it does in fact appear to be quite effective, at least in my case. How can you measure this? you might ask. Dunno

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

I've become fairly scrupulous at work with regards to washing my hands very thoroughly, particularly before eating anything.

In the last couple of years, I've found my incidence of colds compared to colleagues pretty low.

It may also be related to the fact I rarely drink and have a decent diet, but in general I think the biggest thing you can do is try to keep your hands clean and stay out of the way of colleagues who cough and sneeze everywhere....and keep them away from your keyboard.

[Mongrel]

The blurb in the packet says

FD is a Micro-Gel nasal spray based on plant extracts. It works by trapping cold causing germs and helping your body to remove them naturally.

1) The surface area of the nose compared to the whole of the upper respiratory tract is a small percentage
2) Your body can also trap germs and remove them, that's why your mucus membranes ramp up production
3) You have a cold and are infectious before you show visible symptoms, by the time you start to think to use this product you're already on your way to recovery

Hmmm - what is a germ? It sounds like complete nonsense, but it does in fact appear to be quite effective, at least in my case. How can you measure this? you might ask. Dunno

Double blind placebo trials, same as normal.
First select (or recruit) people who present with classic cold symptoms
OR
Expose a group of volunteers to the cold virii

then give each of them a can of spray\handwash to use and ask them to keep a log of symptoms. Half will have perfumed water the other half will get the product.

Either check regularly or have them come back in a week and compare the two groups; most cures have no significant effect (knock 4-6 hours off the duration of the cold)

But colds are almost exclusively caused by viruses, so anti-bacterials won't actually help at all.

Sorry, sloppy on my part I blame the marketing of these things

[dee]

I always find a "hot toddy" works wonders for a bad cold. Heres my recipe.

White (clear) lemonade, some decent like R Whites.
Shot of a decent single malt (Glenfiddich, Glenlivet etc) Pinch of cinnamon
Spoonful of honey (clear)

Heat up the lemonade until its boiling, add the scotch stir in the honey until dissolved and add a pinch of cinnamon. Drink it as hot as you can stand it.

Ok been to Tescos and have all the ingredients - now wish me luck it's either going to cure me or make me tiddly

[bobdezon]

Excellent, let me know how that worked out for you

Oh small point you should rest and stay as warm as you can after drinking it.

[vbloke]

Ok been to Tescos and have all the ingredients - now wish me luck it's either going to cure me or make me tiddly

be careful of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy - you'll have to keep up this experiment for a long time to derive any benefit...

[dee]

Well I've had it and it tasted so lovely that I had another one... by this evening at this rate I'm going to be as fissed as a part