what's YOUR best way of knocking out a cold?

[Fish of Fury]

My vote :

500 mg Echinacea every hour or 2 while acutely ill
fresh garlic (if you eat a couple of cloves of it it'll hurt, but it'll work)
Vit C 2- 5 grams / day

I've used massive doses of Echinacea on a daily basis and I did notice that I developed a tolerance to it ie. it stopped working so well, so I'd recommend only using it when you need it.\
Don't be afraid of it though.
Also, the Echinacea liver damage thing is not true, the rumour was based on an incorrect extrapolation about the types of constituents in the plant (basically it contains natural substances that are similar to those in other plants that can be harmful to the liver, but the ones in Echinacea are OK)

Also, everybody tends to be able to absorb different amounts of Vit C. Many natural therapists suggest the more you need it the more you're able to absorb

[Mr. Bao]

There is no cure to the common cold. If there were, we wouldn't have this post up wouldn't you think. While people will post up magical secrets and home made remedies and or supplements. Honestly, the only cure is preventive medicine which is simply a healthy diet, good cleaning habits, good exercises, and a balance supplementation. If you get sick, get plenty of rest and take some good over the counter medicine and let nature that its course.

[Mr. Bao]

kathy,

where did you get this tea idea? why does it work?

[Ming Yue]

I have learned recently that lots of pepper - black and red - and garlic in the diet will shorten a sinus-related cold or head one off. Ginger helps too.

Drink sugarfree, non-caffeinated, non-aspartame beverages (decaf tea or water, pretty much) till you slosh, and give your body extra sleep to heal.

Of course the best way to avoid a cold is wash your hands more.

[Mr. Bao]

Just recently I came acrossed something in about colds and flu, there is actually something scientific about a certain chinese herb that actually shown to lessen and prevent the common cold or flu.

For the Past 13 years by the Swedish Health Council has honored the winner product award to a company called Sweedish Herbal Insititute for "Kan Jang". This chinese herb is called "andrographis paniculta", a natural defense against respiratory dieases, irritation and general fatique. It has also shown to process anti diarrheal and anti malarial activity. The Nordic people have benefited from Kan Jang with much success.

In Chile, there were a double blinded test which shown Kan Jang to accelerate the recuperative powers in patients with common colds. It was found within four days, that it reduced the symtoms of the common cold. Another test shown it to be a superior preventive medicine for the common cold. It has shows to stop colds and flu 2:1 quite effectively without hurting the body's own natural defenses. It safe and does not interact negatively with any other drugs as well. However, pregnant ladies may want to talk with their doctors before taking this product.

You may purchase this Kan Jang at your local herbal stores or health stores. It recommended to take two pills at day. For more infor check out www.adaptogen.com.

I hope this helps and I will take this product during the cold seasons and if you have kids, pls consider giving this preventive medicine to your little ones.

[ricksitterly]

I could recommend some natural herbal medicines proven to have anti-microbal / anti-biotic properties. Some of these helped me get over some illnesses I've had, although any type of antibiotic is not good for you, especially prolonged use, as they kill the good microbes in your body, particularly the flora in the digestive tract, which can result in candidiasis and all types of nasty ailments. Many people recommend taking acidopholus supplements while on any antibiotic to help maintain healthy flora.
Personally, I've found that if I can live with it, I'll just stick it out and wait for the cold to go away. If I'm nearly bed-ridden, I'll see a doc. No sense buying a bunch of a crap and playing doctor (although doctors are also lately being accused of perscribing antibiotics unnecessarily). Anyways here are some "natural remedies" that are supposed to be decent antibiotics.

Such medicines are

tea tree oil (strong)
oregano oil (strong)


colloidal silver ( debatable, but supposedly very strong antibiotic, anti viral, etc. ... look it up)

garlic (mild)
echinachea (mild)

others:
goldenseal (root)
cat's claw (tree bark)
tiger claw
licorice root
ginseng
ginger there's a ton of em'
who knows if they work

[Oso]

"a cold is your bodies way of getting rid of viruses and for preparing it for extreme weather changes."

hmm, I thought a 'cold' was germ related and the flu was viral.

And how does the 'preparing for extreme weather changes'
make sense?

Something else that I think affects us is rapid temp changes
that accur often in winter as you move from the outside cold
air to inside warm, and usually very dry air.

I didn't have a cold for 3 or 4 years till this past fall.

For 3-4 years I was intaking up to 2 teaspoons of black pepper
every morning with breakfast. I was also doing chi kung on
a regular basis.

This fall I broke a 3-4 years breakfast routine and did almost no
chi kung. I had the most severe reaction to allergies I've ever
had, which led to a bad sinus infection. I also had an absessed
tooth which got infected. This actually happened before the sinus
infection and I think really nailed my immune system.

So, I feel the black pepper (or any pepper) works. I was told it
is a natural anti-biotic (which works on germs but not viral
infections) and it seemed to be.

The chi kung was also a factor in overall better health, imo.l