Monday, 04 January 2010

• How to Beat a Cold on the Cheap

   

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  Cold season is in high gear these days, as evidenced by chorus of sniffles you're undoubtedly encountering out in public. If you've been to the drugstore or doctor recently to stock up on cold remedies, you know that they don't come cheap. From cough drops and decongestants to  the price of meds, getting sick can cost you a pretty penny.

  A recent article from the New York Times  states that Americans spent about $3.6 billion in over-the-counter cold, cough and throat remedies last year, and that doesn't even include the costs of prescription pills and doctor visits.  So the article suggests some dos and don'ts for people watching their pennies while sick.

  Obviously, the cheapest way to fight a cold is to not get one to begin with, so  get any shots you want to get, get plenty of rest, stay hydrated and get some moderate exercise in throughout the year, and this will keep your immunity up.

  The NYT article suggests you either avoid or only use moderately the following things when you've got a cold:

  • Doctor Visits: Generally, healthy people don't need to see a doctor for a flu or cold. Obviously, this doesn't hold true if you have some pre-existing health conditions or are part of an at-risk group. But they advise you call a doctor if your fever last for moret han 3 days, you have chest pain or difficulty breathing, or a cough that produces sputum. If in doubt about whether you should see a doctor, the article advises calling the office and asking for a nurse or physician's assistant first.

  
  

  • Antibiotics: If you have a cold, you also probably don't need antibiotics since these work only on bacteria, and colds are caused by viruses.  Even respiratory infections rarely involve bacteria.  Antibiotics are useful if your cold or flu develops into an infection though. Signs of this happening are, according to Dr. Shmuel Shoham, an infectious disease specialist at the Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, "Tenderness around your sinuses, reappearance of symptoms after your cold seemed to be abating and chest pain."

  • Cough Medicines: Some studies suggest over-the-counter cough medicines don't work on acute coughs, but they can help some people. So doctors say there's no harm in trying them if your cough is annoying or keeping you up at night.

  • Vitamin C, Echinacea, and Zinc: There's still only thin research on the benefits of these supplements, although large doses of Vitamin C all year long make keep your colds shorter when you do get them.  But Dr. Shoham doesn't believe they are worth the money. And he especially advises against nasal applications of zinc because this can mess with your sense of smell.

  • Airborne: After a false advertising  debacle with the FTC, the makers of Airborne had to stop saying it helped fight the common cold. And since then, there hasn't been any proof that it even boosts your immune system, which is is current claim.

  • Multi-Symptom Medicines: The main point is that meds that combine different active ingredients like acetaminophen, antihistamines and decongestants haven't been studied well enough to say anything one way or the other about their effectiveness. Some preliminary reviews show that they don't do anythign for the duration of the colds, but they will help your symptoms. Just be sure to read the lables carefully, especially if young children are involved.

  • Homeopathic remedies: There isn't enough evidence to prove the effectiveness of homeopathic pills like Oscillococcinum either.

  So while you can't do anything about the duration of colds yet, you can do something about the symptoms and make yourself more comfortable.  Nasal sprays can reduce stuffiness (but don't use them for more than 3 days), acetaminophen and ibuprofen can reduce aches and fevers, and nasal rinses or breathing steam can help with congestion. And of course, there's always chicken soup!

  I tend to fall on the extravagant side and will buy anything I can to help  the symptoms and ease the suffering if I can. And that includes splurging on the good tissue with lotion!

  So what do you do when you're sick? Do you watch your pennies or buy whatever you can? Do you have any cheap remedies you use when you're sick?

  
  

  Remember, we aren't doctors here, so always use your best judgment! But you can check out the full New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/02/health/02patient.html

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