Treat Your Colds Naturally and Avoid Unnecessary Over-The-Counter Drugs

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Dr. Joseph Mercola

Every year upper respiratory infections such as the common cold and sore throat send 5 million people fleeing to their local pharmacy to stock up on over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The danger here is that most people don't consider the risks associated with these seemingly safe OTC medications.

Since OTC medications don't require a prescription many people assume that makes them safer to take than prescription drugs. Also, easy accessibility is often mistaken for safety.

It's important not to lose sight that OTCs are still drugs that contain many powerful ingredients. For example, Bayer, maker of the popular Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine, was ordered to pay $400,000 to a consumer who claimed the ingredient, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), had caused a stroke. The well-known OTC cold medicine endured another fizzling blow after a state court jury in Texas found that the U.S. unit of Bayer produced a product considered defective and dangerous.

Create a False Need for OTC Sinus Medication

Every year Americans spend a whopping $1 billion on OTCs to treat sinus headaches. The question this brings to mind is, "How did OTC sinus medications turn into a $1 billion dollar industry?"

Daily exposure to TV commercials for sinus headache remedies has created a misconception among Americans that sinus problems cause headaches. These advertising ploys supported by the pharmaceutical companies have helped OTCs successfully reach their goal -- create a need for OTC medications by convincing the public they are suffering from sinus headaches. This direct-to-consumer advertising is not only driving people straight to their nearest pharmacy, but directly to mistreatment.

These dollars are not only being wasted but are also going towards treatment of the wrong condition, as 97 percent of the people experiencing sinus headaches are actually suffering from migraines.

The Health Costs of Mistreatment

One of the major consequences of mistreatment by relying on OTC medications is exposing your body to unnecessary side effects. Some of side effects of antihistamines and decongestants include:

• Drowsiness
• Nervousness
• Agitation
• Palpitations
• Sleeplessness

This doesn't include the chronic users of certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Motrin), which has been linked to gastrointestinal and liver damage. Also, the highly marketed acetaminophen (Tylenol), if taken in excess, has been shown to be toxic to the liver.

Prevention -- The Doctor's Orders

It is particularly important to be highly proactive in the winter months as we have far less sunshine. Not getting enough sunshine on our skins in the winter is one of the primary reasons that we become sick. The total amount of sunshine is also significantly decreased in the winter for most of us which is another major factor. If you are one of the fortunate subscribers reading this newsletter in a subtropical or tropical area than it is far less likely that you and your community will get sick this winter as one of the primary reasons for catching a cold, not enough sunshine, is simply not an issue for you. So if you are fortunate enough to live in such an area please take advantage of the sun and get some exposure. But remember never to get burned and throw away the sun screen as most of the benefits will be avoided if you use it.

Rather than putting your health at risk by taking OTC drugs that solely mask the symptoms and fail to treat the underlying symptoms, your best option is taking a preventative approach.

By far, it is most effective to be proactive and not get colds in the first place. It seems the major reasons why one gets them to begin with are:

• Not following a proven healthy diet (It is absolutely vital to avoid sugars, sweets, pastries, cookies, cakes and candies if you want to avoid colds, but especially if you are already sick as these will serioulsy impair your immune response.)
• Stress
• Not enough sleep
• Any combination of the above

So clearly the first approach is be careful and avoid food choices that will sabotage your health. If you are stressed you can use an amazing effective energy psychology tool like EFT, to address the foundational and core reasons as to how the stress is impairing your immune system. It only takes a few minutes to learn this technique with my free on-line manual.

Many people struggle with getting a good night sleep. If you struggle with this please read my sleep guidelines. Please also understand that improving your melatnon levels are key to getting a good night's sleep, so make sure you have exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime and sleep in absolute darkness at night. I strongly recommend installing black out shades and/or curtains in your bedroom.

If you don't have them already installed you can go to the grocery store and cut out some large pieces of cardboard to fit your window. It is important you sleep in cave like darkness and not be able to view your hand in front of your face. Remember no night lights or clock radio lights and never turn on the light should you need to get up and use the rest room. Any small amount of light will instantly shut off your melatonin production. Please also remember that any alcohol use is a sure fire way to stop your body's production of melatonin for that night.

Another practical prevention tool is proper handwashing, as it is critical to keeping colds and other viruses at bay. One word of caution is avoid using antibacterial soaps. These soaps are completely unnecessary and could easily cause more harm than good. The antibacterial compounds found in most of these soaps sold in the United States are likely contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In my practice, I have found the best way to maintain the ultimate hygiene and protect your immune system from colds is by using the Clenzology Advanced Hygiene System. This hygiene kit is simple to use and only takes a matter of minutes, which makes it ideal for families with young children.

Most importantly, the Clenzology soap is not antibacterial and it is capable of reaching the tens of thousands of germs on the backs and palms of the hands, on the fingers and under the fingernails that are breeding grounds of infections such as the common cold.

Treating Your Cold Naturally

If, for whatever reason, you have come down with a cold, my personal recommendation would be to use zinc lozenges. I have been using zinc in my practice for over 15 years, far before it was popular.

When using zinc lozenges, it is important to recognize that they need to be sucked on, NOT swallowed, and smaller doses more frequently seem to work better. I usually advise patients to suck on a quarter lozenge every 30 minutes. If started early, this approach seems to work well for the clear majority of patients.

A word of caution should be heeded though; if the lozenges make one nauseous they should be stopped immediately as that is a sign of zinc toxicity.

One of the most exciting, simple and inexpensive natural options to treat a cold once you have it is to use hydrogen peroxide in your ear canals. It is amazingly effective expecially if used at the first sign of a cold. Don't ask me how it works, but it seems to help more than 75 percent of those that use it. Please be sure to review the peroxide page for more information

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