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• Allergies and colds have many of the same symptoms, making it hard to determine weather you have a cold or are having an allergy attack. The only way to determine if it is an allergy is to be tested by your physician.
• Antibiotics and penicillin are useful to take for bacterial infections, such as strep throat, not viral infections. These drugs are of no use against viral infections. People keep trying to get their physicians to write them a prescription for antibiotics when they have a cold or flu. Overuse of antibiotics can cause them to be ineffective when they are really needed. Antibiotics will actually stop the body's defenses against viral invasions.
• Bovine colostrums boosts your immune system, and it is thought that even if you get the cold or flu you will just get a mild case and recover quickly.
• Dartmouth College researchers gave zinc lozenges to a group of thirty-five individuals suffering from a cold, and told them to take a lozenge every two hours. They then gave placebos to another group of thirty-five individuals with a cold. Those individuals that were given the zinc lozenges improved in an average of four days, but the placebo group suffered with their colds for another nine days.
• Factors such as stress, poor diet will weaken the immune system. When this happens individuals are more apt to catch colds or flu. Viruses are sleeping in the body and just waiting for the right opportunity to strike, such as when you are stressed or run down.
• Individuals that get frequent colds or the flu are advised to have their thyroid checked.
• Interferon's are proteins formed when cells are exposed to a virus. It is possible that cold relief will be found in this substance. Interferon's appear to boost the respiratory tract's ability to ward off viruses. Vitamin C boosts interferon production.
• Seventy-nine young adults were infected with a cold virus in a five-week study. It was discovered that the ones that were given the drug naproxen (Naprosyn), had almost a third fewer cold symptoms than those given a placebo.
• The herb Echinacea contains polysaccharides which seems to boost the immune systems responses.
• It is well known that there still is not a cure for the common cold. Once the cold takes hold it seems to last forever, therefore the best advise is to take good care of your health, eat nutritious foods and get good nights sleep, etc. to prevent getting the cold in the first place. Over-the-counter medications cannot cure a cold or flu. In most cases they may alleviate the symptoms somewhat.
• Researchers in Britain may be one step closer to finding a cure for the common cold. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine (JAMA) showed an experimental drug called Tremacamra, cutting cold symptoms in half. It works by blocking the rhinovirus, a common virus that causes some colds. Despite these encouraging findings of the study, it is clear that the cure for the common cold is still not available. It is believed that a vaccine will never be developed for the common cold due to the fact that the viruses responsible are constantly changing in size and shapes, having hundreds of forms.
• Some individuals find it hard to determine if they have a cold or the flu. Usually with a cold you will have a sore throat and/or coughing, but if you also have a fever then it is more likely that you will have the flu. Congestion in the chest should be checked out by the physician as this could be a sign of lung infections. Fevers above 1020F that last for more than three days should be checked out by a physician. Also see your physician if yellow or white spots are visible in the back of the throat, if lymph nodes under the jaw and in the neck become enlarged or if chills and shortness of breath occur.

• Always flush tissues.
• For cold symptoms take vitamin C and zinc lozenges every 3 hrs on the first day.
• Hot broths help symptoms of colds. Try chicken or turkey broth and potato peeling broth 2 times a day.
• Keep your hands to yourself; this is the fastest way to spread to other people.
• Keep your hands washed to keep from spreading the virus.
• Stay active lying in bed will only make you feel worse.