[Tristan Lall]

As a public service announcement, I think there's some information that desperately needs to be passed on here.

Let's start with some simple examples. Ogre refers to a product called "Airborne". From its own website, the following:

Originally Posted by airborne.com

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

That little statement should raise an immediate red flag. It isn't FDA-approved as medicine, and is therefore illegal to dispense or prescribe it as such (in the United States). That, right there, is a good reason to be wary of any claims that are made by its manufacturer (that is, if you're not one of those people who believes that the FDA is just a communist tool, intended to stifle acceptance of natural remedies). In all seriousness, it has not been demonstrated to the FDA's satisfaction that this product, in fact, does anything.

Further to Ogre's post, he said:

Originally Posted by Ogre

My mom saw it on Oprah and had me take it when I started to get sick. I woke up the next morning feeling great.

1. Oprah Winfrey is not a reliable source of medical information. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. It is a strange cultural phenomenon, where a person with no medical or scientific qualifications can be relied upon to pronounce approval of a product with alleged medical benefits--but Ogre's mother's actions imply that something similar may well have occurred.
2. The fact that you woke up the next morning "feeling great" is a classic example of an anecdote. The fact that you felt great in the morning could be attributed to all sorts of things--do I really need to give a list of possibilities--and is in no substantial way indicative of the effect (if any) of the treatment. A "study" with one subject, over one night isn't worth anything. In a medical context, you are effectively proposing that we accept this--which is preposterous.

Now, I realize fully well that people tend to feel that their own experience with a treatment is a major factor in determining its efficacy--but that's just demonstrative of their ignorance of the variability that is inherent to their anecdotal account. The proper course of action, is to wait for the clinical trial (which will investigate both efficacy and side-effects), and then make an informed judgement. It is not productive, safe or logical to take a product on the advice of anyone unfamiliar with the medical information that underlies the condition.

Originally Posted by Ogre

Unfortunately, I think I'm building up a tolerance to it.

Ogre, I hate to be a pest, but have you read the list of ingredients?

Originally Posted by airborne.com

AIRBORNE Original: ingredients.
Supplement Facts: Serv size 1 tablet. Servings, 10. Amount per serving: Calories 4, Total Fat 0g, Sodium 230mg (10% DV*), Total Carb 0g, Sugars 0g, Protein 0g. Vitamin A (100% Acetate) 5,000 I.U. (100% DV*), Vitamin C 1,000mg (1,633% DV*), Vitamin E 30 I.U. (100% DV*), Magnesium (Sulfate) 40mg (10% DV*), Zinc (Sulfate) 8mg (55% DV*), Selenium (Sodium Selinite) 15mcg (21% DV*), Manganese (Gluconate) 3mg (86% DV*), Potassium (Bicarbonate) 75mg (2.5% DV*), Organic Herbal Extracts (Lonicera, Forsythia, Schizonepeta, Ginger, Chinese Vitex, Isatis Root, Echinacea) 350mg (DV**), Amino Acids (Glutamine, Lysine) 50mg (DV**).
*Daily Value.

Other Ingredients: Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sorbitol, Potassium Bicarbonate, Orange Flavor, Mineral Oil, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium.

The simple fact of the matter is that there isn't any ingredient in it for which any antiviral benefit has been proven. No, not even the much-vaunted echinacea. You cannot even build tolerance to vitamins, or metal salts, or amino acids, so I doubt that your assertion to that effect has any merit whatsoever (think about this, or consider studying taking biology and chemistry--12^th grade, or so should provide some much-needed context).

Now, I have no intention to single out Ogre. Let's examine some other insubstantial claims.

Originally Posted by Alaina

*Take Echinacea. Pills, lozenges, tea, extract...whatever you can tolerate! And take a lot of it!

This is an invitation to medicate yourself compulsively. She practically tells us "take all sorts of things, and hope that one of them works". This is not sound advice. If we were dealing with real medicines, it would be idiotic, irresponsible and dangerous; here, it is merely bad advice. (Do you take 5 different painkillers at once, hoping that one might work? If you do, see a real doctor to get yourself set straight.)

Originally Posted by Alaina

*Emergen-C. It's about $15 for a box but it lasts a while and it definitely cures you. It's a vitamin and mineral complex powder. They come in a bunch of flavors. My 'recipe' goes as follows:
Take a water bottle or good sized drinking glass. Pour in 2 packets of Emergen-C. Squirt in 3 dropper-fuls of Echinacea extract. Add water. Stir well and enjoy. =P Take 3 times a day.

Your recipe? Are you a doctor? Or are you just playing doctor? Sorry, but you're out of line, giving out recipes for your own personal home remedy. Hypothetically, if you were "prescribing" ephedra (which you aren't, thankfully), would you feel any measure of responsibility if someone were to die or suffer injury because of your misguided ministrations? (Ephedra causes very severe adverse reactions in some people. Hopefully no adverse effects are discovered in anything you happily recommend. See this FDA advisory.)

Originally Posted by Alaina

*Vitamin complexes. Especially ones that are made for immunity. Deep Defense and Wellness Formula are ones I use. I don't know their brand names, I'll look when I get home.

Just because the manufacturer says it's made for immunity, doesn't mean that it is. Wait for the clinical trial results, or end up embarassing yourself like Linus Pauling did with vitamin C. (See phrontist's post, above.)

Originally Posted by Alaina

If you use all of these liberally as soon as you notice cold symptoms, you should be fine in a day or two.

Here's the crux of the problem. Some of us don't understand what a cold is. A cold is one of many different varieties of similar, but not identical viral infections. You can treat the symptoms (runny nose, coughing, etc.), but you cannot affect the infection itself with herbs, vitamins or drugs (short of antivirals, which are fantastically expensive, and never prescribed for purposes such as these, except in case of extreme autoimmune dysfunction). Symptomatic relief may well be pleasing, but it will not shorten the duration of the viral infection, nor will it somehow grant immunity to infection. Fortunately for humanity, the various cold viruses are typically dispatched quickly by our immune systems, within a few days, with or without symptomatic relief. Your best bet, therefore, is to take simple precautions against the transmission of viruses (wash your hands, don't eat off of the bottom of the sink, don't sit too close to the person who is coughing up a lung, etc.), and save the money you would have spent on drugs and quack remedies, and put it toward an education in the sciences, even if it is only a first-year biology textbook.

Originally Posted by Bharat Nain

Absolutely right. And when you buy things like Echninacea, make sure it's not some cheap brand. Pay the right price for your health. Echninacea really helps... saved me many many times.

Anecdotes don't matter, from a statistical perspective. Don't pay any attention, unless he's got some methodology to ascertain why it "really helps", or how often it has "saved" him. Symptomatic relief does not improve your health, only your comfort. The infection will still progress naturally. That's why it is truly asinine to "pay the right price for your health"; your health is not the issue--if you wish to pay the right price for your comfort, that's reasonable, but either way, your health will be temporarily diminished, and there isn't any medicine (excepting the antivirals) that you can take to restore it faster, once you're been infected. And if you do pay the price for comfort, take comfort in the fact that your herb du jour may not even have any benefit in that regard. In many cases, you might as well be eating grass.

Let me be clear. There exists no cure for the common cold. When you find one--a real one--you'll be damned rich; but until then, avoid taking heed of fantastic yet insubstantial claims.

That may have come off as harsh, but sadly, it is sorely deserved. On the other hand, people like Eugenia seem to have fair advice. For instance, dehydration is real; to alleviate it, drink liquids. It doesn't matter whether the liquid has Jesus's own home remedy in it; it's probably the water that will help. And this, most of all: "Don't pay attention to false medical claims." Those are words to live by, in a country (and indeed world) where any fool or conniving charlatan can market a miracle cure on Oprah's show, and have legions of uninformed people flock to the pharmacy to guzzle his quack potion at the slightest sign of illness.