When you get the Common Cold, how long are you contagious for? What are good ways to get rid of it?

Answer 1

Please check the Resolved questions for "common cold" - there are many worthwhile responses.

My personal fav is AIRBORNE (or if you buy the Walgreen's version WALBORNE for $2.00 less) a vitamin/mineral/herb combination that functions very effectively to rev up the immune system & I have actually killed colds with it, but you must keep it on hand & take within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms.

COLD-EAZE zinc losenges are also very effective if taken within the first 6 hours of onset of symptoms - the zinc interferes with viral replication. I have also stopped colds dead in their tracks with this stuff.

The traditional remedies - hot liquids, especially chicken soup - plenty of rest, vaporizor in the room @ night - have their therapeutic place for symptom relief.

Echinacea & goldenseal have only placebo effect - once the cold starts they are not helpful. What's worse, goldenseal has not been shown to have any immune-enhancing effect in lab tests whatsoever. I am not anti-herb - have taken lots over the years, but there's no point in wasting your money.

Orange juice has vitamin c in it - good for you any time - but the large amount of sugar in the juice has an immuno-suppressive effect. Better to get the C in a form that doesn't have so much sugar when you have a cold.

Avoid dairy products - they elicit great mucus production in adult humans & are a questionable food to begin with but when you have a cold the last thing you need is more mucus.

I do not know how long the contagious period is.

Good Health !

;-)

Answer 2

Several years back, the New England Journal of Medicine published research that proved zinc supplementation cut the duration of the common cold in half. That is a similar treatment effect for viruses that an antibiotic gives for bacterial infections (antibiotics don't work on viruses, only on bacteria and a few other causes of disease). Since then, the research has been repeated numerous times and published. The treatment effect is well established.

They make these cold lozenges that have a large amount of zinc in them that are perfect for this (and work very well I might add). I forget the brand but you can tell they are the real ones by the fact that they are dirty gray and gritty (because they have elemental zinc in them). They taste alright but not like candy like regular throat lozenges do.

One word of caution. Make sure it doesn't say "homeopathic" on the box. There are several brands of zinc lozenges that are, quite frankly, fraudulent. You can tell these because they look like candy, just like a normal throat lozenge. That's because there is actually no zinc in them. Homeopathic medications are made by putting an ingredient in a sealed bottle, then placing that bottle in a metal vat filled with water. The side of the vat is hit with bat or something to make the water inside vibrate. Supposedly, this causes the water to absorb the "energy" of what is inside the sealed bottle. The water is then mixed with sugar and then evaporated. The sugar is then formed into pills (or mixed into the lozenges). THERE IS NOT ACTUAL INGREDIENT IN THIS.

Needless to say, that doesn't do anything. And zinc isn't used in homeopathic treatments for colds anyway. The whole thing is a big fraud to sell cheap lozenges for a premium price while doing nothing. Don't fall for that crap.

Instead, get the real lozenges with actual zinc in them. These are a proven treatment with medical research published in respected medical journals to back up their efficacy.

Answer 3

Any common cold is contagious . If you squeeze, blow your nose--millions of germs are released into the air in the form of millions of water droplets!! Please stay indoor till you get well !! There is no guarantee that your cold will be less contagious in a few days time. How do you know when you are going to squeeze again ?? To reduce squeezing, please ask your doctor for certain drugs that can help it to stop. Do not self medicate !!!