How Do You Deal with Disease and Sickness?

So as we all no doubt know, disease can really suck. You pick up a cold from someone, then two days later your shivering and using up boxes of tissues like they're glasses of water. I'm currently nursing a nasty one myself, first one I've had in quite a while, and its got me thinking the best protocol for dealing with it. Not only ways of treating the symptoms, but also methods to stop it from spreading to others (especially pertinent if you live with other people).

Details I'm particularly looking for are

  • medications to minimise symptoms
  • tools like facemasks
  • Procedures like having a bag filled with single use water bottles and easy to make meals.

that kind of thing. Although honestly I'm just curious to see what other people do. In my family, its always been that if you got sick you retreated to your room to sleep it off. No meds, no special treatment, just lots of water and maybe a few crackers. Then if all was well you would arise 3 days later, like Jesus coming out of his cave. That's whats normal to me. But I see all these adverts on TV about taking amphetimine based cold and flu tablets to allow you to push through it. Given that even minimum wage every day you lose to sickness is $200+ dollars down the drain, imo its something that warrants thinking about.

thoughts?

Results
Drinking water and consuming a source of electrolytes allows the body to keep up the offensive through mucus production. Especially important if your a big tissue user.
Aspirin helps with minor pains and inflammation
Small amounts of codeine (~6mg) removed fever. Instead of needing to be in a room heated to 24c to stop shivering, I could be at 18c and feel fine. See your doctor for advice/prescription
Pseudoephedrine (sold as the behind counter medication sudafed) stops running nose for a short time
Menthol containing items like Minties or Extra Mint chewing gum work great for suppressing coughs.
Lozenges, such as strepsils, or for a very sore throat, Difflam, which contains an anaethestic.
Throat gargles, with salt water or betadine

Then there's an assortment of herbal remedies, which may have varying effects.
Highanddry swears by large doses of Vitamin C
Clear suggests careful dose of Zinc may have positive effects
Cheapskatequeen recommends garlic and ginger, which do have some interesting properties
cosmogirlz shared some enlightening information on the pills high earning professionals take (Armaforce)
Ptenkae and morebunnings strongly support steam rooms, but according advice from a nurse the warm humid temperature makes public ones a germ breeder, so do a morebunnings and get your own.
And then there were also recommendations for Black seed oil, horseraddish, echanacea,

Generally though it seems the common sense approach is to avoid contact with other people, don't overstress yourself and get plenty of rest. For the stronger meds like codeine or pseudoephedrine, they are best taken in small doses infrequently, as they disrupt the bodies defense mechanisms and so will likely lengthen the duration of a cold. In my case I mainly took them when going to sleep or going outside.

Comments

  • +4

    All you can really do is take some Cold+Flu (inc paracetamol to reduce fever). Push though if you really want to.
    Wash your hands and don't cough on people. Staying away from people is the best way of not transmitting a cold. Just being around them is enough to pass it on.
    You have 10 days of sick leave a year if you're full time, so as long as you don't burn though that you're not really losing money. Most work places would prefer you don't come in when you're sick.

      • Name checks out.

        • Why is everyone negging me for being sick?

          • +1

            @Scab: "That's not true, Centrelink gives me 365 days a year."

            Disability support pension then? It's very hard to qualify for now, compared to 15 years ago, but much less hassle than the dole, and pays better.

  • +18

    using up boxes of tissues like they're glasses of water.

    I don't know how you use tissues or water, but I'm confident you're using one of them wrong…

    Anyways, my approach is:

    1. Feeling like I've got one coming on - start chugging Vit. C tablets (1000mg per tablet, 6x a day).

    2. When I actually come down with the cold - Lemsip + Berocca + Strepsils basically keep me operational no matter what.

    3. Drink (hot) water (with honey and lemon if you can) non-stop (literally a glass an hour), plus get as much sleep as humanly possible.

    4. Food-wise - instant oatmeal (again plus honey), plus porridge, plus pickles, and a tonne of oranges for that Vit. C.

    • +1

      Analogies aren't my strong point :P

      Sounds like your really invested in the Vitamin C

      • +4

        Anecdotally in my personal experience I've felt that it makes a difference haha. Maybe it's a placebo effect - but hey, I'll still take the placebo effect over nothing, and buying large bottles of Blackmores from Woolies when they're on sale, I'm more than happy to pay that price for the placebo effect too.

        • +8

          The fluids probably doing more than Vitamin C. Studies seem to indicate it don't do much for common cold.
          Zinc very early on was supposed to be good too, but need to watch the dose.

          • @Gandalf the Thrifty: Even preventatively to boost the immune system?

            • +2

              @HighAndDry: https://www.cochrane.org/CD000980/ARI_vitamin-c-for-preventi…

              Basically regular supplementation may be of some benefit in reducing duration of colds but not strong enough evidence to recommend outright as a definitive measure. Worth a trial on an individual basis was the author conclusion.

            • @HighAndDry: The jury's still out on Vitamin C as a immunity booster AFAIK, but you might have stumbled onto it being effective in another way.

              What I'm finding right now is that mucuous draining into the stomache tends to level out the pH. A low pH level is needed for stomache acid to be effective in killing captured virus particles. Its possible by taking such large amounts your boosting your stomache acid, and its working that way. In which case, HCL pills should be equally as effective, so I might try some of those.

            • +4

              @HighAndDry: A few good replies already, but I'll add this Harvard Study showed slight benefit in reducing length by 1 day. Unless you are super active athlete then might reduce chance of getting cold by 50%. Note: They only say 200-400mg not your 6000mg :)
              A daily dose of 2,000 mg or more can cause nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain

              • +5

                @Gandalf the Thrifty:

                A daily dose of 2,000 mg or more can cause nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain

                Ah. I uh, probably should cut back a little eh.

                • +1

                  @HighAndDry:

                  A daily dose of 2,000 mg or more can cause nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain
                  Ah. I uh, probably should cut back a little eh.

                  Well that's only if you were taking that all at once. You can spread it out, and people become more tolerant over time as well.

                  We used to make our own vitamin C internally, IIRC an 8 stage process converting glucose, but a mutation occurred in the past which has left us unable to complete the last stage. Animals produce the 70kg human equivalent of 2-24g a day depending on their health/disease/stress status.

    • +1

      Vitamin C? Just do a line of C and you will move through the day like it's nothing.

  • +11

    just lots of water and maybe a few crackers.

    Laughter is the best medicine.

    • +1

      Lies, your fave hot food and treats are the best

    • +1

      In that case, care to share a joke?

    • Laughter is the best medicine.

      Only if it's not people laughing at your misery.

  • +19

    Honestly, you can't buy disease prevention. Unless you are malnourished, supplements do nothing.

    As long as you're healthy, ie some excercise, and have a moderately balanced diet, the rest is just habits.

    1. Stay away from crowds.

    2. Do not touch your face.

    3. Stay away from people who are obviously sick.

    To speed up recovery, improve circulation. Warm drinks and rest. Plenty of fluids. Honey, ginger and traditional remedies can be comforting and in turn, reduces stress which helps recovery.

    • Sounds like good advice. What do you use personally to improve circulation?

      • If I'm well, exercise. A few overhead squats with a long broom stick with 2-3kg of sandbags on each end.

        If I'm unwell, stretching. Remember those old school stretching posters with a dozen or so stretches, I just work through them.

        Next to free.

        • +2

          Have you seen the price of sand these days?

          I think not!

        • +3

          A few overhead squats with a long broom stick

          Do you use any lubrication?

    • -1

      Honestly, you can't buy disease prevention.

      You can, Ansell make them.

    • +2

      Of course you can buy prevention, the most obvious way being immunisation. Yearly influenza vaccination being the most likely to have benefit. Other things like probiotics have low level evidence with little risk of harm link

      • Vaccinations are a lie.

        Just kidding. I was under the assumption everyone already vaccinates.

        • There's plenty of fools around when it comes to vaccination.

          • +1

            @WhyAmICommenting: Hence stay away from crowds. There's really no accounting for stupidity.

  • +2

    I try to sleep early, drink more fluids and keep warmer than I normally would if I feel like I am coming down with something, so this means before you actually get sick, usually when you start to feel that rough feeling at the back of your throat. Most of the time this works and I am back to normal the next day or a few days sometimes. Most people I know cannot sleep early if they wanted to, so usually some sleeping aide helps, like medication with paracetamol+pseudoephedrine in it. Pseudoephedrine is the only one that I have found that works for me.

    If I do catch something, then I basically do what you do, hibernate like a bear in a cave. For me, trying to push through it just prolongs the sickness. If I hibernate for 2-3 days, I will feel much better after that, if I push through, it might take me a week or two to get better. Mind you, I only hibernate for a day when I was younger, growing older really sucks.

    But like djsweet says, if you are a permanent employee, sick leave to cover your wages while you are sick. I just don't like the feeling of being almost dead(or manflu as my wife calls it) when I am sick.

  • +5

    pseudoephedrine

    • +1

      Second that.

      in my experience, the single worst part is the loss of fluids - most inconveniently, via the face - and short of silicon sealant, pseudoephedrine is the best way to stop that.

      Get the cheapest generic cold'n'flu tablets your local pharmacy sells; pseudo is the key ingredient, doesn't matter what other herbs and spices it has or if it's like swallowing half a stick of bitter chalk.
      That dripping nose will ease or stop and that makes the other symptoms tolerable.
      Bonus points if they contain Placebo (tm); that's the good stuff /s

  • +3

    You've got that minimum wage part INCREDIBLY WRONG. But otherwise, yeah I take 2 days at home to get over the worst of it, and nurofen cold pills help ignore the symptoms for the week after, then deal with the lingering symptoms myself the week after that. I'm already a clean person who avoids physical contact with people and sharing things etc, so I don't need to change my behaviour really. Can't avoid my husband though, we just continue as normal and accept the 50/50 chance of getting sick ourselves. I wouldn't survive during the worst of it without Shapes biscuits, Kirks Lemonade, Ginger Beer, and vanilla ice-cream with Milo on it.

    • ?
      Time is money.

      • +4

        I think they meant minimum wage is much less than $200 day

      • +2

        Yes like Super Kami Dende said, it is much much less than $200 a day. You are so very out of touch, but I won't hold it against you, the majority of OzBargain users actually seem to have quite a lot of money. When you don't have money you're not really looking to buy anything, regardless of if it's a good deal.

        • -5

          You sound like you might be a young person, in which case the situation is a little different. But I don't think I have it wrong, and that figure is conservative even for a minimum wage standard.

          • @outlander: The fair work commission sure says you have it wrong.
            https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/minimum-wages-c…
            Keeping in mind that $719.20 is before tax.

            • -1

              @Some Human: $19 an hour for full timers, but when you factor in entitlements your getting around 23.50 an hour AKA the casual rate. Times 8 thats $188.
              But a day isn't all about working, and sickness doesn't discriminate between fun time and work time. Assume you sleep 8 hours a day, even if you value the remaining time at half your working rate you're still clocking over $200 easy.

              This is all semantics. The point I was making there was to establish a price point, to give people a starting place for whether solutions were justified or not. And when I wrote that I was imagining that the people who frequent here make a fair bit more than minimum wage.

              Take morebunnings suggestion (below) to get an infrared sauna. He paid $1000. Is that worth it? Without a reference point, how do you know. But if you figure that it relieves 50% of the pains of a cold, and the average length of a cold is 3 days, you can work it out based on earning potential.

    • Consuming complete and utter crap like that is an excellent means of prolonging your sickness.

  • Generally I sleep on the couch (to stop the spread to the msr) and go to bed by 7pm for the number of days I am sick so I can get 10hrs sleep per night before work the next day and I generally get better within 1 to 4 nights.

    • This is me this year but sometimes it hits me harder and a day or two or a weekend is written off. Also normally takes me longer to get over it but peak symptoms are probably 1 to 4 days

      • Usually if I follow the above and it hits hard I generally make it to a weekend for extra rest.

  • +6

    I’m afraid what we have here is an advanced case of hypochondria. There’s only one known cure: a lollypop.

  • +2

    garlic, CBD oil, vitamin c

    • CBD oil, now we're talking. Unfortunately thats a little hard to come by

      • +1

        been getting mine through a lovely older lady on facebook.

        • RIP inbox

  • Prevention best medicine.

    Shopping trolleys baskets self service screens filth filth filth.

    Return to car and apply hand sanitizer ASAP after mission especially during winter months.

    If someone starts coughing a bit phlegmy at work douse them in a can of glen 20 just to be safe.

    • Elevator buttons and toilet handles in a busy building …..

      • Your own oxygen tank and full body radioactive suit as well.

        • would be nice

  • I get flu imunization every year, try and keep up my vitamin c intake (preferably naturually).

    Cold and flu tablets and all the other things really don't seem to make a lot of difference, my doctor said they really wouldn't make a lot of difference.

    Rikodeine is great but only cause I get high when I "äccidentaly" take too much.

    • -7

      Independent studies over the past decade have consistently shown flu vaccines are worse than useless. The flu vaccination means you're more likely to get sick, and sicker for longer.

      Also more worrying was the study early this year by Yan et al (2018) which has identified early results that vaccinated people are FAR more likely to spread the flu just by breathing into the same room as other people - you don't even need to sneeze. This is because the flu vaccine helps generate aerosol particles that vaccinated people breathe out, instead of just droplets in sputum like unvaccinated people. This means droplet precautions are useless when there are vaccinated people in the room - they'll just breath the flu onto everyone else.

      So the flu vaccine makes you more likely to spread it to others too.

      • +9

        Independent studies over the past decade have consistently shown flu vaccines are worse than useless. The flu vaccination means you're more likely to get sick, and sicker for longer.

        Reference link?

        • +4

          And is it a peer-reviewed paper, in a reputable scientific journal?

      • +5

        I read the study, it concludes with:

        The association of current and prior year vaccination with increased shedding of influenza A might lead one to speculate that certain types of prior immunity promote lung inflammation, airway closure, and aerosol generation.

        From that cautious conclusion, you've assumed 4 things:

        1. More likely
        2. Get sick
        3. Sicker
        4. Longer

        The study isn't confirming anything. Simply states that from their results they've noticed an association, not even a causation.

        Be careful what you say. Stupidity spreads faster than any disease.

      • +5

        Here's a couple of meta-analyses (higher evidence rating than small independent studies from college communities):

        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29879206 from PLoS

        Our findings reinforced the influenza vaccine effects in reducing infection incidence and length of absenteeism.

        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147330991… from the Lancet

        Influenza vaccines can provide moderate protection against virologically confirmed influenza, but such protection is greatly reduced or absent in some seasons.

        At worse in some cases it's useless. At best, it gives some level of protection. Bear in mind this is only for the general public. For the old a frail (>65yo) it's benefits are greatly emphasised.

        • -4

          If you're going to include industry sponsored studies, which are far more likely to find positive results than independent studies, then I would look at the latest Cochrane review from 2018:
          https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD…

          The Cochrane review is far more comprehensive than your meta-analysis of 13 studies.

          At best (including industry sponsored results), the flu vaccination /may/ reduce the infection rate by 1%, which is another way of saying that 99/100 people don't benefit from the flu vaccine at all.

          There are serious problems with the assumptions in how we use and manage influenza vaccinations, and you can easily find discussions in respected journals and databases:
          https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k15/rr
          https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD…

          • +7

            @RJK:

            the flu vaccination /may/ reduce the infection rate by 1%

            No, this is simply bad maths. "Healthy adults who receive inactivated parenteral influenza vaccine rather than no vaccine probably experience less influenza, from just over 2% to just under 1%". That is a decrease of one percentage point or 50%.

          • +2

            @RJK: I would learn how to do a critical analysis before regurgitating sentences if I were you. Plenty of doctors and medical scientists here that would (and are) tearing you apart on your poor analytical skills and ability to interpret scientific literature.

            I could do a systematic literature search and review on this topic, but something tells me that I'd simply come to the same conclusion that I already have. That while the influenza vaccine at worst is useless for healthy individuals with no risk factors (at best, shortens severity, prevents infection), its benefits outweigh the risks. And I haven't even started on the high risk individuals yet (>65yo, pregnant women).

  • +2

    Eat healthy and exercise, and maintain a positive outlook on life.

    I very rarely get sick

  • -5

    I take a multivitamin almost every day. Vitamin D every day or two. Vitamin C and Zinc every day or two when it's cold and flu season, every day if someone in the family is sick (so, every day for the past couple months). I've barely been sick, wife has barely been well the past few weeks.

  • +1

    when I'm bed ridden hating life with a cold i make a raw garlic, raw ginger, lemon hot drink. garlic is meant to be natural antibiotic, ginger does lots of good things including an anti inflammatory and lemon to break a temperature/ cool down.

    lots of water and fluids. lots of rest.

    paracetamol is good for breaking a fever. After a major surgery I laughed cos i was getting all these super high dose pain killers but nurses kept giving me paracetamol on the clock. at one point I laughed and asked why and they explained it was actually very helpful for preventing fever/temperature etc.

    there is no cure for a cold. just rest.

    a lot of cold medications are unproven OR they're suppressors. e.g cough suppressor, mucus suppressant etc.

    i do get the betadine gargle liquid to kill throat bacteria or other throat spray which can help numb the irritation. and cough syrup to help get me thru the night sometimes

  • +5
    1. Get enough sleep. If you avoid this everything falls apart health and motivation wise.

    2. Maintain a healthy diet. Many people have terrible diets because they rely on their memory which conveniently forgets eating poisons.

    3. Commit to exercise. This is difficult if 1. and 2. are avoided but the human body evolved so that it is beneficial to have some physical activity. It causes the whole system to work better which makes 1. and 2. easier in a virtuos circle.

    4. Expose yourself to illness eg. travel on public transport, attend a university, work with large numbers of people. Your immune system becomes compromised without fighting regular threats. Think of it as exercising the immune system.

    The average Aussie is proud to avoid the first one because being busy at the expense of everything else is a virtue which makes number 2. and 3. more or less impossible.

    Without being a medical professional it is astonishing to me that my GPs have never discussed diet or exercise with me. It is basic preventative measures to avoid illness. Increasingly it appears that many psychological issues such as depression and social anxiety disorder are caused or exacerbated by avoiding these things.

  • +1

    i eat kfc

  • +1

    As the saying goes, a cold goes away in 72 hours if you don't take medication and 3 days if you do. Just get rest and don't spread the cold.

  • -2

    Keep your vaccination up to date (eg flu injection every year, best time to do it is late Apri/early May), exercise at least 30 min a day, 5 days a week, eat healthy fresh food ( eg Mediterranean diet ), get enough sleep every night. Don’t smoke and only drink in moderation if you have to. Do some meditation if possible ( good for the mind).

  • +3

    I always recommend Armaforce, all the partners at my big4 firm use it to reduce the severity and duration of a cold (once they've caught it). It's also supposed to be an immune booster but am not sure how good it is at preventing colds/sickness.

    I also used to work in a pharmacy and all the doctors were on it.

    • +1

      See, now thats the kind of information I'm looking for. Thanks!

      • +1

        Glad I could help!

  • I work in hospitals so I tend to get cold-like symptoms all year round.

    For preventative it's always good to wash your hands with soap or use hand sanitiser. Shopping trolleys, self service machines, door handles and all the other things you touch while out and about spread germs. I keep a bottle of sanitiser in my car for this reason.

    Skip the vitamin C bs as there is no research behind it. Larger doses of zinc have research behind it (particularly lozenges) in decreasing the symptoms but you have to watch your dose. Too much is very bad.

    Always ask the pharmacist for cold and flu tablets with pseudoephedrine like Corral Original formula. Works a treat in eliminating symptoms compared to what the shelves stock now. Just be prepared to get a few questions or funny looks if you have no visible symptoms. There is a reason it's behind the counter 😉😉😉

    Diet and sleep is the easy part. Skip the fast food and opt for nutritious food. Water is fine, juice can be too but don't go for the fizzy. Honey is also good for sore throats.

    • Always ask the pharmacist for cold and flu tablets with pseudoephedrine like Corral Original formula. Works a treat in eliminating symptoms compared to what the shelves stock now. Just be prepared to get a few questions or funny looks if you have no visible symptoms. There is a reason it's behind the counter 😉😉😉

      Codral or Demazine.
      Fun fact for anyone reading this, pseduo.. is what you need to do a little Breaking Bad.
      So if you aren't getting your license checked (Schedule 3), you probably are getting the wrong.

  • -1

    Flu shots every year.

  • +2

    Before you get sick:

    • Take a daily probiotic.

    I started taking one for issues with my gut, and an unexpected side effect was that my severe hay fever has vanished (i've counted no more than 5 sneezes this year) and even when surrounded by sick people (partner, close proximity colleagues) I just don't get sick (touch wood).

    Its a new area of research probiotics, but your immune system is tied to your gut so maintaining your gut health with good bacteria seems to have a positive flow on effect in strengthening your immune system.

    After you get sick:

    • Up the calories

    • Hit the steam room and sauna.

    The steam (even better with eucalyptus oil spread around the room) from the steam room clears out your respiratory system and i believe the heat (which you get more of from a sauna) not kills, but helps inhibit the prosperity of what ever virus you've got. There seems to be plenty of cited research confirming the premise.

    I havn't been struck with a cold/flu in over a year since using a probiotic daily and steam/saunaing at least 1-3 times a week.

    Before that, i usually struggle with sinus problems year round and get struck down with some particularly bad cold/flu 1-2 times a year. Havn't used cold + flu meds since.

    • Would you mind sharing where to find saunas/steam rooms in Sydney?

      • I dont live in sydney so cant really help but try your local gym/rec centre or North Sydney Olympic pool.

    • And vary the types of probiotics you are taking regularly aswell for optimum gut health.

  • I don't have time to get sick.
    when I do I try to ignore it, drink lots of liquid and early nights..
    if it is a cold/flu like sickness then gargling whisky helps.

  • School assignment?

    • +5

      Yes, the teacher infected all of us with Rhinovirus A, and we're being graded on how fast we recover

      • -1

        At least it wasn't the dude from Human Centipede running experiments on you

  • With balls of steel.

    Knuckle up!

  • As soon as I start getting the sore, tickly feeling at the back of my throat signalling an incoming cold I start gargling warm salty water a few times a day. It provides instant relief to a sore throat and while there doesn’t seem to be any conclusive studies I swear that if I get onto it quick enough my colds are a lot shorter.

  • Rule no.1 wear a mask
    To prevent and to pass on to someone else.

    Rule no.2 dont be a dic@hea$
    Cover your mouth when you sneeze

    Rule no.3 see a doctor or visit a chemist
    If you are sick and expecting miracles to happen or heal…stop dreaming and take ur medication and rest at home.

    Rule no.4 wash your hands
    Wash your bloody hands

    Rule no.5 Repeat rule 1
    Please wear a mask, if you see a tokyo ghoul kaneki mask that would most probably be me lol.

    • +2

      Good advice, apart from rule 1 and 5, which is great advice lol. Do you serious wear that though?

      • -1

        Masks become ineffective after 20 mins of use… don’t waste your time.

        Source: many doctors, including an infectious disease specialist, and a cancer consultant.

  • +3

    Sex

    • I think you are mixing up flu with hangover

  • eat healthy and keep your immune system strong.

  • +3

    When I feel like a cold is coming on, I start taking zinc tablets. Studies have shown that taking zinc before & during a cold can reduce the length of a cold by 1 day.

    A tip to prevent getting sick in the first place: get (at absolute minimum) 7.5 hours of sleep at night, every night.

    Don't treat this as something that you can cheat a few days here and there - be meticulous and religious with getting your 7.5hrs of sleep (minimum) every night. This means building a process where you know exactly what time you need to sleep each night, and what you need to do to prep to achieve that goal (e.g. dim lights, stop using your phone/laptop, if it takes you 30 mins to fall asleep, then get into bed 30 mins earlier etc.).

    Studies show that our T-cells go down if we are sleep deprived, which increases your risk of getting a cold or flu.

    I never realised how important sleep was important for health until I listened to a Joe Rogan podcast where he interviewed a neuroscientist (Matthew Walker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig) whose research focuses on the impact of sleep on human health and disease.

    A semi-related but interesting fact: studies show that every year on daylight savings there is a one day spike in heart attacks, strokes, and fatal car accidents when the clocks go forward 1 hour.

    Anecdotally I've been less sick after moving to a job where I work from home. Although, not getting on the public transport every day probably also helps a lot with this!

  • Wash your hands.
    Stay home from work to prevent spread and help you prioritise sleep, paracetamol or ibuprofen will reduce symptoms enough to drive it down. It is not heroic to work with a cold.
    Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze.
    Can try combo of vitamin C and zinc (poor quality evidence showing length of cold reduced by a day)
    Prioritise sleep - you will not get better quickly without doing this - sleep causes secretion of antioxidants, melatonin is one.

  • +2

    Vitamins are ever so popular for basically close to no scientific evidence. I get that people want to cling to the tiniest hopes from the smallest studies out of desperation… but you should at LEAST consider the downsides. Overdosing on that junk is only going to make you worse, in some cases, dramatically worse. It’s not like a “no harm done” sort of thing. If you’re concerned about your vitamin intake, ask a doctor to check your level at next checkup, and focus only on the level that are abnormal. Don’t go grabbing Vitamin C when what you’re actually deficient in is D… worthless.

    • +1

      BS. There are vitamins that can be overdosed on but vitamin C is not really one of them. You’d have to be taking exorbitant doses to actually OD on it. Vitamin D on the other hand….

      I know for a fact that taking 3000-10000mg total vitamin C throughout the day when I’m sick dramatically reduces the severity and duration of the sickness.

      • Yeah, no. That’s way above your recommended intake AND the upper maximum intake. You are unlikely to feel ANY better, much less “dramatically” so. Not even the pill bottles themselves will tell you to take that much. Where do people get these stupid ideas… it says 1000 mg so I might as well triple it or take 10-fold for… the sake of it?? Thankfully the symptoms of overdosing on C aren’t too dramatic, this is true, but if you’re doing so to make yourself feel BETTER you’re doing yourself a disservice. Either way, can’t see how you could POSSIBLY disagree with my pretty diplomatic suggestion of just having your levels checked. Common sense. Don’t take pills supplements unless you are deficient.

  • +1

    What usually happens to me when i get sick and remedies/tips from mum. idk how to describe it but in chinese its directly translated to "hot air" when the throat gets dry and sore and generally not feeling well, a bit heated? thats the first sign of illness for me and i usually wake up with it. What i do, camomile tea, not the tea-bag stuff but the dried flower + boiling water, no sugar.It soothes the throat. Make a massive jug of it and drink it throughout the day. Eat light, and take a really hot shower at night. Hot enough to sweat it all out. TLDR; Soothing tea and flaming hot shower

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