chicot60
01-30-2011, 03:50 AM
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Americans catch an estimated 1 billion colds each year
And by this time of year, as weary cold sufferers line up at local pharmacies, it may not sound surprising that Americans spend at least $4.2 billion annually on over-the-counter cough and cold medications and even more on alternative therapies.
Yet here's the dirty little secret about the common cold:
Nothing cures it. Nothing makes it go away faster.
And there's little evidence that popular treatments really do much to relieve symptoms.
"In a nutshell, there's nothing that works," says Aaron Glatt, a doctor and spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America. "There's a tremendous industry out there, and some people really swear by them. But there really aren't great studies to show any benefit."
Research has found that some therapies from echinacea to humidifiers, vitamin C, zinc, vapor rubs and Neti pots have little to no measurable benefit, say pediatricians Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, authors of Don't Swallow Your Gum! Myths, Half-Truths and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health.
For other folksy favorites such as chicken soup, garlic, honey or hot tea there's just not enough data to tell, Vreeman and Carroll says. That's partly because big drug companies don't tend to spent much money to research products, such as honey and tea, that people can buy anywhere.
"When it comes to over-the-counter therapies, they're pretty cheap, so people will buy them anyway," Carroll says. "But if they don't work, you shouldn't be surprised.. .. But it's all about symptom relief. So if tea makes you feel better, go ahead. If a warm blanket and a pillow makes you feel better, do it."
In some cases, however, even over-the counter drugs can have serious side effects. The Food and Drug Administration has warned not to use zinc nasal products touted to prevent and treat colds because of concerns that it can make people lose their sense of smell.
In children, cough and cold remedies are not only ineffective, but can be harmful, Vreeman and Carroll says. That's why manufacturers no longer sell these drugs for kids under 4.
Since colds go away on their own after about a week, improving a little each day after symptoms peak, it's easy for people to believe that their medicines rather than time should get the credit, says James Taylor, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington. And cold sufferers are so desperate for help, studies show, that even placebos can make people feel better about one-third of the time.
USA TODAY asked experts to summarize the evidence for some of the most commonly used remedies.
Decongestants
In the lab, these over-the-counter drugs look like a winner.
Decongestants shrink dilated blood vessels in the nose, which should provide relief for that stuffed-up feeling, says Elizabeth Funderbunk, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
In the real world, however, their effects are modest at best.
A single dose of a nasal decongestant reduces adults' symptoms by 6% according to a 2007 Cochrane Systematic Review. Additional doses reduced symptoms by 4%.
To reduce the risk of side effects, it's best to take the lowest dose possible such as found in nasal sprays, says Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.Even then, people shouldn't use nasal sprays for more than a few days, because overuse can actually increase congestion. Wolfe also advises avoiding products that treat multiple symptoms, because they typically provide way more medication than people really need.
Vitamin C
Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling popularized the idea of taking vitamin C to prevent colds.
But a review of studies with a total of 11,000 people found that taking 200 milligrams or more of vitamin C a day didn't reduce the chance of getting a cold, and it reduced the duration of a cold only by a matter of hours. The only people who got any protection against colds were those whose bodies were under extreme stress, such as soldiers in sub-arctic conditions, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Echinacea
Scientists have been intrigued by echinacea because of laboratory studies suggesting that some constituents of this herbal folk remedy decrease inflammation, while others appear to boost the immune system.
But improving immunity in a human being is far more complicated than in a petri dish, says Wendy Weber, a program officer at NCCAM. She notes that there are three species of echinacea that are used medicinally, and concentrations can vary from bottle to bottle.
Three studies found by NCCAM concluded that echinacea was no better than a placebo for treating or preventing a cold. While doctors continue to research echinacea, Weber says there isn't yet enough research to prescribe it. And although echninacea is the most commonly used herbal supplement in children, studies also show it can slightly increase kids' risk of rash.
Zinc
While a 2007 research review found that zinc nasal gel helped improve cold symptoms, the Food and Drug Administration now warns people to avoid them, because of concerns that the products can make people lose their sense of smell.
In a 2007 review of the research, only one of four high-quality studies found that a zinc product a nasal gel helped to improve cold symptoms. But before you stock up, consider this: The Food and Drug Administration in 2009 warned consumers not to use any intranasal zinc products because of concerns that it can make people lose their sense of smell. While zinc lozenges may not cause any lasting damage, they taste so awful that they can cause nausea, say Carroll and Vreeman. Also, the 2007 review found that they didn't work.
Honey
Generations have turned to hot tea with honey to soothe a sore throat.
One study, in which children over age 2 were given up to 2 teaspoons of honey before bedtime, found that honey did help reduce coughing. But Weber notes that researchers need to confirm these findings with additional studies. She says honey should never be given to children under age 1 because of the risk of botulism. And while many people like honey cough drops, Weber notes that they can a choking hazard to babies and toddlers.
Eucalyptus oil and vapor rubs
In a recent study in Pediatrics, children with cough and cold symptoms improved the most when their parents rubbed their chests with Vicks VapoRub, a strongly scented gel made with camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil, compared with those given a placebo.
But it's hard to know if Vicks really deserves the credit, says Daniel Frattarelli, a doctor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because VapoRub smells so strong, parents could tell if they were using the real thing or a placebo, even though researchers did their best to "blind" parents to which treatment they were using. Still, there were no serious side effects, so Frattarelli says the study, funded by manufacturer Procter and Gamble, suggests that VapoRub seems safe.
Nasal saline (such as Neti pots), humidifiers, hot steam
Even many doctors tell patients to treat congestion with devices such as Neti pots, which flush out the nose with warm, salty water; with humidifiers or by taking steamy showers.
While these treatments seem safe and helpful, there's also no data that they work, Glatt says.
When using a humidifier, Santa suggests using cool mist, rather than hot steam, which can scald small children.
"I'm not aware of any studies showing a humidifier can help (children) to sleep" when congested, Glatt says. "But I'm never going to argue with a parent who tells me that it does."
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/coldflu/story/2011/01/No-cure-in-sight-for-fighting-the-common-cold/43061868/1
Americans catch an estimated 1 billion colds each year
And by this time of year, as weary cold sufferers line up at local pharmacies, it may not sound surprising that Americans spend at least $4.2 billion annually on over-the-counter cough and cold medications and even more on alternative therapies.
Yet here's the dirty little secret about the common cold:
Nothing cures it. Nothing makes it go away faster.
And there's little evidence that popular treatments really do much to relieve symptoms.
"In a nutshell, there's nothing that works," says Aaron Glatt, a doctor and spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America. "There's a tremendous industry out there, and some people really swear by them. But there really aren't great studies to show any benefit."
Research has found that some therapies from echinacea to humidifiers, vitamin C, zinc, vapor rubs and Neti pots have little to no measurable benefit, say pediatricians Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, authors of Don't Swallow Your Gum! Myths, Half-Truths and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health.
For other folksy favorites such as chicken soup, garlic, honey or hot tea there's just not enough data to tell, Vreeman and Carroll says. That's partly because big drug companies don't tend to spent much money to research products, such as honey and tea, that people can buy anywhere.
"When it comes to over-the-counter therapies, they're pretty cheap, so people will buy them anyway," Carroll says. "But if they don't work, you shouldn't be surprised.. .. But it's all about symptom relief. So if tea makes you feel better, go ahead. If a warm blanket and a pillow makes you feel better, do it."
In some cases, however, even over-the counter drugs can have serious side effects. The Food and Drug Administration has warned not to use zinc nasal products touted to prevent and treat colds because of concerns that it can make people lose their sense of smell.
In children, cough and cold remedies are not only ineffective, but can be harmful, Vreeman and Carroll says. That's why manufacturers no longer sell these drugs for kids under 4.
Since colds go away on their own after about a week, improving a little each day after symptoms peak, it's easy for people to believe that their medicines rather than time should get the credit, says James Taylor, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington. And cold sufferers are so desperate for help, studies show, that even placebos can make people feel better about one-third of the time.
USA TODAY asked experts to summarize the evidence for some of the most commonly used remedies.
Decongestants
In the lab, these over-the-counter drugs look like a winner.
Decongestants shrink dilated blood vessels in the nose, which should provide relief for that stuffed-up feeling, says Elizabeth Funderbunk, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
In the real world, however, their effects are modest at best.
A single dose of a nasal decongestant reduces adults' symptoms by 6% according to a 2007 Cochrane Systematic Review. Additional doses reduced symptoms by 4%.
To reduce the risk of side effects, it's best to take the lowest dose possible such as found in nasal sprays, says Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.Even then, people shouldn't use nasal sprays for more than a few days, because overuse can actually increase congestion. Wolfe also advises avoiding products that treat multiple symptoms, because they typically provide way more medication than people really need.
Vitamin C
Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling popularized the idea of taking vitamin C to prevent colds.
But a review of studies with a total of 11,000 people found that taking 200 milligrams or more of vitamin C a day didn't reduce the chance of getting a cold, and it reduced the duration of a cold only by a matter of hours. The only people who got any protection against colds were those whose bodies were under extreme stress, such as soldiers in sub-arctic conditions, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Echinacea
Scientists have been intrigued by echinacea because of laboratory studies suggesting that some constituents of this herbal folk remedy decrease inflammation, while others appear to boost the immune system.
But improving immunity in a human being is far more complicated than in a petri dish, says Wendy Weber, a program officer at NCCAM. She notes that there are three species of echinacea that are used medicinally, and concentrations can vary from bottle to bottle.
Three studies found by NCCAM concluded that echinacea was no better than a placebo for treating or preventing a cold. While doctors continue to research echinacea, Weber says there isn't yet enough research to prescribe it. And although echninacea is the most commonly used herbal supplement in children, studies also show it can slightly increase kids' risk of rash.
Zinc
While a 2007 research review found that zinc nasal gel helped improve cold symptoms, the Food and Drug Administration now warns people to avoid them, because of concerns that the products can make people lose their sense of smell.
In a 2007 review of the research, only one of four high-quality studies found that a zinc product a nasal gel helped to improve cold symptoms. But before you stock up, consider this: The Food and Drug Administration in 2009 warned consumers not to use any intranasal zinc products because of concerns that it can make people lose their sense of smell. While zinc lozenges may not cause any lasting damage, they taste so awful that they can cause nausea, say Carroll and Vreeman. Also, the 2007 review found that they didn't work.
Honey
Generations have turned to hot tea with honey to soothe a sore throat.
One study, in which children over age 2 were given up to 2 teaspoons of honey before bedtime, found that honey did help reduce coughing. But Weber notes that researchers need to confirm these findings with additional studies. She says honey should never be given to children under age 1 because of the risk of botulism. And while many people like honey cough drops, Weber notes that they can a choking hazard to babies and toddlers.
Eucalyptus oil and vapor rubs
In a recent study in Pediatrics, children with cough and cold symptoms improved the most when their parents rubbed their chests with Vicks VapoRub, a strongly scented gel made with camphor, menthol and eucalyptus oil, compared with those given a placebo.
But it's hard to know if Vicks really deserves the credit, says Daniel Frattarelli, a doctor and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because VapoRub smells so strong, parents could tell if they were using the real thing or a placebo, even though researchers did their best to "blind" parents to which treatment they were using. Still, there were no serious side effects, so Frattarelli says the study, funded by manufacturer Procter and Gamble, suggests that VapoRub seems safe.
Nasal saline (such as Neti pots), humidifiers, hot steam
Even many doctors tell patients to treat congestion with devices such as Neti pots, which flush out the nose with warm, salty water; with humidifiers or by taking steamy showers.
While these treatments seem safe and helpful, there's also no data that they work, Glatt says.
When using a humidifier, Santa suggests using cool mist, rather than hot steam, which can scald small children.
"I'm not aware of any studies showing a humidifier can help (children) to sleep" when congested, Glatt says. "But I'm never going to argue with a parent who tells me that it does."
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/coldflu/story/2011/01/No-cure-in-sight-for-fighting-the-common-cold/43061868/1