Common Cold Myths

Catching a cold is never fun. When it happens, you may find that anyone who is not coughing or sneezing has some advice on how they avoided or recovered from the virus. In reality, most beliefs people have about the cold virus are wrong, with one exception: chicken soup. Chicken soup will actually help you get over a cold. It helps the body clear mucus from the bronchial tubes faster and provides warm vapors that increase the temperature of the nose, which loosens thickened secretions.

Weather, Chills and Drafts

• Although you are more likely to catch a cold when it is cold outside, the weather itself does not affect the cold virus. People are more likely to stay inside when it is cold out, thus increasing the chances of the virus being spread through close proximity. Likewise, wet hair, drafts and other chills do not increase your likelihood of catching a cold.

Cold Symptoms

• Not treating the cold symptoms does not help you get over the cold faster. In fact, according to a report published in "Clinical Virology," one-quarter of people affected with the cold virus experience no symptoms at all but get over it as quickly as people who experience symptoms. Even worse, sneezing and coughing will help spread the virus and expose other people to it.

Antibiotics

• Antibiotics have no effect on the cold virus. Antibiotics are only effective on bacteria--they have no effect on viruses.

Echinacea

• Echinacea will not prevent a cold. However, it may treat your cold if taken in the early stages.

Vitamin C

• Large doses of vitamin C will not prevent or relieve cold symptoms. Nor has it been proven that vitamin C will reduce the severity or duration of the symptoms. What is known is that taking large amounts of vitamin C for an extended time can be harmful.

Immune System

• A cold is not a sign of a weakened immune system. In a 1992 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 95 percent of test subjects with normal immune systems developed a cold when exposed to the virus.