Now that the cold season has here, you’re undoubtedly looking for strategies to avoid getting a runny nose.
Others may be reading this in a desperate attempt to eliminate one.
You have likely heard about consuming orange juice, taking multivitamins, and avoiding going out with wet hair.
But do they help you from catching a cold? Or are these simply myths?
Multi-vitamins
It is a multibillion-pound industry based on claims that its products will keep you healthy and avoid illness.
However, doctors advise against relying on multivitamins.
According to Professor Ron Eccles of Cardiff University, who has spent decades researching the common cold, there is nothing available that will prevent you from catching a cold.
In addition, he claims there is scant proof that the pills, which can cost as much as £60 per bottle, are effective after an individual is infected.
He stated, “There is a lot of hoopla surrounding multivitamins, but none of them eradicate the common cold; otherwise, we would be aware of them.”
But vitamin C and D, two elements commonly found in store-bought multivitamins, may strengthen the immune system, the body’s internal army entrusted with fending off illnesses.
But, especially in the case of vitamin C, it may not be essential to consume pricey tablets to obtain the recommended daily allowance.
Critics of the supplement industry argue that a healthy, well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains should offer all the necessary nutrients, rendering multivitamin tablets unnecessary.
Dr. Duane Mellor, a registered dietician located at Birmingham’s Aston University, stated, “If you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, you will easily consume enough vitamin C.”
If you consume more than that, you will just urinate it out.
Orange juice
Orange juice in the morning will not prevent you from developing a cold.
However, the vitamin C it provides may hasten your recovery, according to specialists.
Adults require approximately 40mg of vitamin C per day, which is roughly half the amount present in a typical glass of orange juice.
Professor Eccles, who has participated in multiple pharmaceutical company-sponsored clinical trials, stated, “It is possible that consuming very high dosages of vitamin C will serve as an antioxidant and reduce inflammation.”
However, the evidence is scant.
In 2016, the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine released a review of the evidence supporting the use of vitamin C to prevent colds, concluding that data “suggest a decreased intensity and duration of colds when vitamin C is eaten at levels of 0.2 g or more per day.”
However, according to the NHS, there is little evidence that vitamin C prevents colds or accelerates recovery.
Professor Eccles continued, “There is likely stronger evidence for vitamin D throughout the winter.”
A deficiency in vitamin D, which is present in fatty fish, red meat, egg yolks, and cereal, can result in rickets and other bone abnormalities.
It helps control calcium and phosphate levels in the body, two essential elements for maintaining healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.
In addition, your body produces vitamin D when exposed to direct sunlight outside.
According to the NHS, we do not produce enough vitamin D from sunlight between October and early March.
This is particularly true for northern hemisphere residents.
The NHS recommends that everyone consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the fall and winter.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), a health advising and guidance organization, vitamin D may influence the immune response to respiratory viruses such as Covid.
Therefore, consuming vitamin D may help maintain a healthy immune system.
Wet locks and chilly air
If you must rush out on a cold winter day with wet hair, you need not worry about becoming ill.
The common folk tale, which has been recounted for over a century, is contested by experts.
Respiratory viruses, including those that cause the common cold, influenza, and Covid, are transmitted through body secretions such as coughs and sneezes.
Contrary to what your grandmothers may have told you, having damp hair does not make you more attractive to virus particles, nor does it make you more susceptible.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, has participated in every significant epidemiological epidemic during the past three decades.
He stated, “The primary reason for catching a cold is coming into contact with someone who has a cold.”
If you’re outside, you can’t truly catch respiratory diseases since the wind blows them all away.
According to specialists, the true reason we get colds in the winter is that we spend more time in poorly ventilated, tight quarters with other people – the ideal environment for viruses to thrive.
Professor Hunter continued, “In cold weather, people tend to spend more time indoors, which raises the chance of transmission.
As far as I am aware, it has not been demonstrated that if the lining of your nose or your mouth gets chilly, you would be more sensitive when you return indoors and encounter people.
However, a 2005 study by Professor Eccles revealed that the idiom “you’ll catch your death from the cold” may contain some validity.
Half of the 180 healthy participants sat with their feet in cold water for 20 minutes, while the other half remained dry with shoes and socks on.
Professor Eccles discovered that those whose feet were ‘chilled’ were 10% more likely to report the emergence of common cold symptoms four to five days later.
However, no medical tests were conducted to establish their viral infection.
‘When colds are circulating in the community, you may already have a virus at the back of your nose and throat, but you will have fought it off and it will not have evolved into a cold,’ he explained.
“However, the shock of freezing your body produces constriction of blood vessels in your nose, which temporarily weakens your immunity and gives the virus the upper hand.”
Although it is disputed, I believe that under certain conditions it can cause a cold if you already have the virus.
A 2016 study from the Mahidol University in Thailand also suggests that when the temperature drops, your immune system weakens.
It shows that the cold, dry circumstances of winter may make it more difficult for your immune system to combat harmful viruses by reducing the production of interferons — the immune system proteins responsible for preventing the invasion of foreign infections.
However, no proof going outside with wet hair can cause a cold.
Hot drinks
Having a hot cup of tea can undoubtedly improve your mood.
And study indicates that a cup of tea can indeed alleviate cold-like symptoms.
Professor Eccles and his team from the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University once investigated the benefits of having a soothing hot beverage on a congested nose.
According to a study published in 2008 in the journal Rhinology, a hot beverage provides instant relief from a runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat, chilliness, and fatigue.
However, a room-temperature beverage simply alleviated the symptoms of a runny nose, cough, and sneezing.
Professor Eccles continued, “Any hot, flavorful beverage will alleviate the majority of the symptoms of a typical cold, especially a sore throat and cough.”
This was proved by a clinical investigation conducted with hot blackcurrant cordial.
It doesn’t have to be blackcurrant soup; any hot, pleasant beverage will stimulate salivation and mucus secretion and soothe an inflamed throat.
The assumption is that the hot beverage’s steam helps soften and break up mucus, making it easier to breathe. It also lowers the swelling of a sore throat, although it is unclear why.
However, a 2017 Cochrane study of heated, humidified air for the common cold revealed scant evidence that inhaling steam can clear mucus and kill germs.
However, Professor Hunter feels that drinking tea while suffering from a cold may just improve one’s mood.
He stated, “With mild illnesses such as the common cold, the degree of discomfort is influenced by both physical and psychological factors.
‘Tea or soup (or honey, lemon, and whisky in hot water, which is my favorite) won’t do much to terminate the illness, but they may provide sore throat sufferers with symptomatic alleviation.
Furthermore, if they improve your mood, they will make you feel better, and who doesn’t feel better after a good cup of coffee or tea?
Chicken noodle
Is chicken soup therapeutic, or is it merely a soothing placebo?
Similar to a cup of tea, the steam and warmth of a bowl of soup can rejuvenate you.
However, it has also been proposed that chicken soup can prevent the onset of a cold by warding off the earliest symptoms.
In 1998, the American College of Chest Physicians examined the effect of the soothing broth on our immune cells.
It was reported that chicken soup may include several compounds with therapeutic characteristics, including anti-inflammatory qualities.
Others believe that it could simply be the water in the soup that is hydrating you and making you feel better.
Dr. Mellor stated, “Probably the primary benefit of chicken soup is that it is hydrating and easy to consume.”
“Some claim that the nutrients in the food are beneficial.” However, it is mostly the temperature that helps to clear the air.
In addition to chicken, spicy soups have a reputation for being therapeutic.
The dietician stated, “I have heard of spicy curry soups having a similar effect, but if you have a stuffy nose, the spiciness of the chilies will help clear it out anyhow.”
It is the hydration and warmth, not the soup, that has these legendary cold-fighting properties.
Putting garlic up one’s nose
One wintertime TikTok trend involved users trying to unclog their clogged noses by stuffing garlic cloves up them.
The theory is that inserting something into your nose would restrict the flow of mucus, such that when the object is withdrawn, the mucus will trickle or even stream out of your nose.
Unsurprisingly, specialists discourage this practice.
Not only is putting objects up one’s nose discouraged for obvious reasons, but garlic can also cause inflammation.
Dr. Mellor advised against sticking objects up one’s nose because it can cause injury.
We do not need additional adults to visit A&E for the same reason, as there are already a large number of youngsters requiring the removal of various things from their noses.
He continued, “Garlic has irritant chemicals.” It merely irritates your nose, which may help clear it slightly.
Numerous lab tests demonstrate the immune-boosting properties of garlic, but they were conducted on cells, not humans.
According to a 2016 study by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee, this procedure would be ineffective regardless.
The study says that although being inconvenient, especially when you have to frequently reach for a tissue, the mucus in your nose serves to catch and eliminate microorganisms, including viruses.
