Already, during my first week of med school I am now sick with a cold/flu viral infection. As I was sitting in class today sniffling, I got to thinking about all the things that I could use for my ailment. Remedies for colds are incredibly varied, often strange and usually strongly defended. Echinacea, vitamin C and ginseng for instance are often utilized to treat this annoying, yet benign, infection with great enthusiasm. But how do these remedies stack up? Do they actually work? To find the answers to these questions I turned to the published research and found confirmation in some remedies, denial of others, and even a few that I’d never thought of.
 
One result that did not surprise me especially was that for echinacea. It would seem that, although it does not have any benefit as a prophylactic, echinacea is effective at reducing the duration of cold/flu symptoms, when taken at the first sign of symptoms. The mechanism by which this occurs is not yet entirely certain, but seems centered around the ability of echinacea to acutely increase the circulating number of white blood cells – important cells in your immune system. By contrast, a recent meta-analysis (research paper that takes into account many research studies) concluded that vitamin C is not an effective treatment for cold/flu. It would seem that the only trials in which vitamin C showed protection against these viruses was in situations of extreme physical duress, such as marathon runners and soldiers in the arctic.
 
Ginseng is another remedy that I was unsurprised to see supported in the literature as a treatment for colds. Like echinacea, it shows little benefit as a prophylactic, but is quite effective at reducing the duration of a cold, when taken at the first sign of symptoms.
 
Finally, I found a new remedy to treat this unpleasant virus that currently plagues me – probiotics. Recent research has suggested that Lactobacillus acidophilus – one of the most common probiotics – can help reduce cold symptoms, such as cough, considerably. This was a surprise to me because I know that probiotics generally work in the intestines, and I can think of no reason that they would affect the throat. That said, I am an avid researcher and I’ll trust the literature for now. Hopefully you’re healthier than I am at the moment, but if not, maybe some of these remedies could help you out. It’s worth a shot.