Chicken Soup Still the Best Bet in Weathering Common Colds

To everything there is a season and right now, as the thermometer dips into the 30s, it’s the season of the very common cold. As WebMD notes, every year Americans collectively suffer through a whopping one billion colds. Grownups score two to four during the season, kids average two to six, with moms getting racked with a few more than dads–possibly because the majority of mothers spend more time with their sneezing kids.

Anything that common and annoying is bound to give birth to myths about causes and cures. For example, is there anyone reading this who hasn’t heard that going out right after a shower when your hair is wet is a definite way to catch cold? Well, Fuhgeddaboudit. As Sean O’leary, chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics told The Washington Post, “You can’t get a cold just from going out in the cold even with wet hair.”

But winter weather can create a more agreeable environment for germs both outside and inside your body. Your nose, for example, knows a lot more than you may think. The area just inside the tip of each nostril contains receptors that can detect bacteria you inhale, signaling your immune system to send out a swarm of tiny bubbles, known as extracellular vesicles, that go right into the nasal mucus to eliminate the bacteria before they have a chance to cause an infection. Two recent studies, one in 2018 and the second in 2022 showed that a drop in the outside temps can interfere with this process. The result? As Massachusetts Eye and Ear otolaryngologist Benjamin Bleier, lead author on both studies, told The Washington Post, “Our susceptibility to viral infection roughly doubles as you drop in temperature, even by only five degree Celsius.”

The true worry among infectious disease people is less about going outside with wet hair and more about skipping vaccinations for COVID, influenza, and the respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. Wait! What about a vaccine against that cold? Hardly likely. Our colds are caused by more than 200 different viruses. That means you’d need 200 sticks a year to catch them all.

As for natural remedies, the latest on the list are echinacea and zinc. Unfortunately, three large studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, found no evidence that echinacea cut the length or severity of colds. As for zinc, way back in 1984, one study showed that people taking a zinc lozenge did shorten the time a cold lingered, but zinc takers commonly complained of upset stomach and some who used zinc nasal sprays ended up with a permanent loss of the sense of smell.

Which leaves Vitamin C. You will not be surprised to hear that after years of trying to validate its benefits, the common conclusion is that high doses of the vitamin don’t actually affect a cold but “can cause heartburn, nausea, headaches, and even kidney stones,” says Mayo Clinic family physician Jennifer Johnson.

Yet, all is not lost. As COVID taught us, sensible sanitation serves us well. In short, wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer before eating. Use disposable tissues to capture your sneezes, then toss the tissues and, yes, wash your hands again. Don’t share drinking glasses or utensils. You might even want to label your own cups so you know they’re yours. As for diet, food may not be appetizing when a cold numbs your senses of taste and smell, but do drink plenty of water or other fluids such as the fabled chicken soup. Even some infectious disease experts say inhaling the steam from the soup bowl may help to clear congestion and maybe even reduce inflammation. And getting veggies plus some chunks of chicken protein is always a good thing.

Then rest and relax. In the end, the wisest words may be those of William Osler, a founder of Johns Hopkins Medical school: “The only way to treat the common cold is with contempt.”

Gesundheit