How to Stop a Cold at the First Sign

According to Medline Plus, over there are over one billion colds in the United States each year. With over 200 virus strains causing the common cold, no one is exempt. Rather than sitting back and suffering for a week to ten days fighting off the next cold you catch, you can take immediate action to reduce the duration of your cold.

Things You'll Need

• Vitamin C
• Chicken soup
• Zinc lozenges

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Instructions

• 1

  Take 1000-mg of vitamin C daily until the cold goes away. The Mayo Clinic states that vitamin C can lessen the duration of a cold, although it can't prevent you from catching it to begin with.

• 2

  Consume a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. Grandma was onto something, when she prescribed chicken soup for a cold. The soup moves the mucus through the nose faster, which reduces the time a cold virus spends in the nasal lining. You will also receive some relief from any congestion associated with the cold.

• 3

  Suck on two 24-mg zinc lozenges every 2 hours, as soon as you feel the cold coming on. In addition to making the cold symptoms less severe, zinc can help lessen the duration of your cold.

• 4

  Get lots of rest. When your body is at rest, it is able to fight the cold virus off faster. Jill Blakeway, M.S. L. AC. recommends 9 hours of sleep or more, if you can get it.