How to get rid of a cold fast?
I am going on holiday in 3 days and of course my body decided a couple days ago to catch a cold...right before my long awaited holiday!!
Any tips on how to get rid of it asap? Speed up the recovery somehow?
I have flu/cold medicine with paracetamol, caffeine and phenylephrine hydrochloride, however I have stopped taking it after 2 doses (of two capsules each) so I can allow my body to do what it needs with no obstruction before I go away..
I am resting (sleeping until I feel rested. I have free days before the holiday so can sleep as much as I need), eating light meals, plenty of drinks and soothers for the dry/sore throat
Does taking medicine to relieve symptoms prolong the actual healing process? Or am I suffering for no reason right now?
Please, any help is appreciated, I'm desperate here 🙏🙏
I have good and bad news for you. And they're the same piece of news - no matter what you do, the healing process will take the same time. You can't really speed it up, but treating the symptoms as they appear won't make it go slower either.
So while the cold is going on, focus mostly on your comfort and well-being. Based on what you said in the OP and across the thread ("I noticed my symptoms gradually start about 3 days ago", "I am going on holiday in 3 days"), you'll probably be fine for the holidays.
[Off-topic: you probably selected "bot account" in the settings, didn't you? You're being marked as a bot by Lemmy.]
If it's a bot he should make sure Windows Defender is running and look for some reputable anti-malware programs.
Sorry, but as a language model I cannot install anti-viral software for a cold.
Beep boop
I have just woken up and notice my symptoms have noticeably weakened!
And yeah, I got a DM from a moderator saying the same thing about bot account. I have unmarked it when I posted it. The API auto marked it when I did some testing with this account
Fluids! Fluids! Fluids!
Honestly just gotta let it run its course - treat the symptoms and don’t let yourself suffer. But the one thing I personally dislike is the combo drugs, as a rule of thumb it’s better to take individual meds instead of something like nyquil/dayquil - it can just get messy with appropriate dosing. Just see what’s in those combos and buy the individual meds if you can - not the end of the world if you use the quils but I think it’s just better overall.
To answer your question though - no, taking meds to manage symptoms won’t prolong the illness. It might make you more likely to physically exert yourself and then make the healing slower but that’s likely gonna be negligible.
Fluids, eat, and rest. Hope you get better soon!
First of all, get a Covid test, and if positive, cancel your trip. Sorry but stuff happens. Go after you recover. For a cold, consider same approach, though very large vitamin C doses apparently help some people.
Thank you for saying this!
Also, if positive for covid seek a paxlovid prescription if available. It's an effective treatment that can reduce illness time and severity but has to be taken early in your illness. Same with a flu test and Tamiflu if positive (though less likely to be flu right now depending on where you live).
Add zinc with the vit-c.
This should be the top answer. Works like a charm for me.
Rest, treat the symptoms as needed, some evidence maybe that zinc might help early on for shortening the cold maybe… but maybe not.
Really, just needs to run it’s course
Yeah im hoping it at least heals to a point where it's not bothering me
I noticed my symptoms gradually start about 3 days ago
the old adage still holds true... you can rest for 7 days and recover, or take this medicne and be good in a week.
I mean as long as it doesn't actually prolong the illness, all good with me lol
Taking the medicine makes it much more bareable
Source: ChatGPT
Saw some research results a few years ago, they were testing whether vitamin supplementation helps with recovery from cold. Vitamin C did nothing, some of the vitamins of the B group were helpful. I'll try to find the paper later.
Well, at least it say "may help" so, it was honest at least 🤣
Medicine does not prolong the healing process. The only "beneficial" side effect is the fever, but there isn't hard evidence that it's better or worse to bring down a fever (unless you hit 102°F or higher). If you choose to let your body do its thing and burn down the house, just avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Colds often take up to a week or more to pass, so there's a chance that you won't be better in 3 days.
Vitamin C and vitamin D3 are also good for your immune system.
Why?
Looking it up, I only see indications that acetaminophen is included in pretty much every pain or flu drug so if you're already taking something for your cold, you've probably already taken acetaminophen and don't need any more.
For more clarity: the amount needed to overdose on acetaminophen is quite low, you can enter liver failure quite easily if you overdo it. People have been known to sometimes take more acetaminophen when they start feeling the resulting liver pains, making the problem gradually worse, and sometimes ending up dying from it.
So, if you’ve already taken acetaminophen as part of some medication, it’s not just that you don’t need to take more, it’s actually dangerous if you do.
Acetaminophen is a fever reducer
(I'm sorry, I haven't been on in awhile but saw that you didn't get an answer)
I do have a slight fever (I think), it comes and goes. It's not intense at all. but right now my forehead seems to be normal temp, no idea if that's because I'm using my own hand though lol
I think I'll let it run it's course and then start the medicine closer to the day
If you're running a fever you should definitely let that happen (assuming it's nothing too crazy, of course). Your body does that to try to kill the infection with heat.
Anything that involves spreading bodily fluids around (coughing, runny nose) should probably be treated, in general diseases do that to help themselves spread.
Disclaimer: this only very general advice, if you have any serious medical concerns please talk to a doctor irl and do not rely on internet randos.
Yeah I have a slight fever that I'm letting it do its thing. I am not taking anything to reduce fevers.
As for coughs, I am doing my best to prevent spread! Isolating myself, and drinking tea with honey mixed in (which is actually really nice, I will most likely have honey tea more often!)
There's this idea that relieving the fever makes your recovery take longer, but that's based on a misunderstanding off the role of fevers. Yes, a fever happens because it helps you eradicate viruses and other infections, but it's basically the last line of defense. Your immune system is also working on making antibodies and white cells. That will still happen regardless of whether you're allowing yourself to suffer through a fever or not. There is no evidence at all that treating a fever lengthens an infection, so you might as well help yourself rest by not feeling totally miserable.
Your body is also trying to kill the infection by finding the virus "cells" and consuming them. The fever's helpful just in case your body can't get a handle on things. That was useful back in the days before evidence-based medicine, but not so much now. There's no good reason not to treat the fever.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/treating-fever-in-adults#:~:text=Fever%20is%20one%20of%20the,such%20as%20viruses%20or%20bacteria.
This is the largest study published, 700 people randomly assigned to receive acetaminophen or not. They found no difference in the number of ICU days:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26436473/
A. Lowering a fever is not the same as no fever B. the study concluded taking Tylenol did not affect number of ICU days. It did not conclude that fevers are not an important part of the immune system.
C. This is also on an ICU setting, with (presumably) significant treatment protocols in effect. You shouldn't assume it applies to other situations.
You seem like you’re already doing everything you can to treat your symptoms. As Kolanaki said, there is no cure for the common cold. I’d continue getting as much rest as you can before your vacation. My colds usually take atleast 7-10 days to fully go away and that’s with proper rest. Sometimes I’ve gotten lucky and only had symptoms for a few days. If you have a sore throat, throat coat tea helps as well.
There is no cure for the common cold. All you can do is treat the symptoms and wait for it to go away. I prefer NyQuil so I can just sleep through it all.
They usually only last about 3 days anyway, so you should be fine by the time you're gonna go on vacation.
I always drink freshly pressed juice of one lemon two days in a row and feel better. Maybe it's imagination but I do it for years now everytime I have a sore throat. Hope you get better soon!
Sleep a lot, take vitamins immunity boosting supplements, take the proper cold meds (what you need depends on the type of cough/cold you have. Sometimes you need a decongestant, sometimes you need an expectorant, and so on), and, of course, stay hydrated. There's no need to stop taking cold meds if they're working, your body will do "what it needs to" just fine with medication. Cold meds don't prolong a cold. The only symptom that might have an effect if you treat it is a low grade fever, but even then it doesn't have a significant effect so it's really not worth suffering over. So you can either look for some cough meds that don't treat a fever (aka stuff without acetaminophen or ibuprofen in them), or you can just get the individual ingredients that are found in generic cold medicine which don't target fevers and take them that way like guaifenesin or dextromethorphan or whatever one fits your particular cold. Or if you're feverish and don't want to feel uncomfortable you can just take cold meds that also target fevers and even if it does affect how long your sickness lasts, and tbh it probably won't, then it likely won't be to a degree that you'll notice (honestly there's debate on whether treating a fever can prolong an illness, but I'm trying to cover my bases). Most of the time when people think their cold meds made them sick longer what actually happened is that their meds suppressed their symptoms enough that they stopped resting and recuperating too soon and/or over-exerted themselves, and that's what made them sick longer. Just make sure to continue to rest and stay hydrated properly for an appropriate amount of time and you won't have that issue.
I've found that sweating like mad helps clear the cold faster. Like put on a ton of jumpers and go for a brisk walk. Or sleep with way too many blankets. DRINK A LOT OF WATER!
Slightly worse advice: get drunk before going to bed (that's one of the things that make me sweat).
Oh I'll be getting drunk for sure on holiday..
(My symptoms have weakened this morning, hopefully it's all recovery stage from here and the peak has passed)