Health Hints 7 Common Myths About The Common Cold (NAPSA)—It starts with a minor tickle in the throat, fol- lowed by some sniffles and a cough—suddenly, you’re faced with a full-blown cold. Feel the familiar symptoms coming on? Tell your friends and soon you're inundated with recipes for “Mom’s chicken soup” and other homemade concoctions and remedies. What is known of this pesky virus? Generally, the common cold is caused bythe rhinovirus (rhino means nose) that enters the body through the nose andresides in the nasal passages and cells. It then infects and re-infects the body for a period of several days, eventually overwhelming the body’s immune system. Commoncolds are so widespread that few people escape infection each year and most suffer multiple infections. The National Centerfor Health Statistics estimates that there are approximately 22 million lost school days, 22 million lost days of work and 300 million days of restricted activity associated with the cold each year. Solutions do exist, but the myths are almost as frequent as the estimated one billion colds suffered annually in the United States alone. Following are some of the cold facts regarding the common myths aboutcolds: Vf, C= 7 Sweat out your cold? If you have no fever, continuing an exercise routine is generally fine. Contrary to popular belief, however, you cannot sweat out a cold. Most importantly, keep yourself well-hydrated and don’t push yourself beyond your limit. Is symptom relief the only solution? Not anymore; the October 2000 issue of the ENT— Ear, Nose Cold weather, more colds? Yes and no. Colds are more common during cold weather, but temperature has little or no relation to the developmentor severity of a cold. In the wintertime, people tend to stay indoors, in poorlyventilated areas, which become a breeding groundfor the transmission of viruses. Starve a cold and feed a fever or feed a cold (and starve a fever)? Neither, actu- ally. When you have a cold, your intake of fluids, particularly water, should be increased. Hot fluids can help soothe a sore throat or cough. In general, you should eat enough to satisfy your appetite. & Throat Journal, published a study on Zicam™ Cold Remedy, a safe and effective over-the-counter zinc nasal gel for the commoncold. According to the study, homeopathic Zicam™ reduced the duration of the common cold by an average of 75 percent whentaken at thefirst sign of symptoms. “Instead of merely masking or suppressing symptoms like most other products while the cold runs its course, Zicam has been shown in initial clinical studies to substantially reduce the duration of the common cold,” said Dr. Michael Seidman, Henry Ford Hospital. Health experts say the best advice is to prepare for the inevitable cold war by monitoring health and lifestyle, and to keep current on the latest breakthroughsin cold science. For more information on www.zicam.com. colds, visit
