How to Get Over a Cold Faster

A cold, and symptoms associated with a cold, can stop you in your tracks any time of the year. A stuffy, runny nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing and headaches all indicate you have caught a cold. A cold is easily caught; a person suffering from a cold can transmit it to another person by shaking his hand or sneezing in his presence. Touching contaminated items can also result in transmission of a cold. Knowing what to do when you've caught a cold helps you recover faster.

Things You'll Need

• Zinc
• Chicken soup
• Vitamin C

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Instructions

• 1

  Take a zinc supplement as soon as common cold symptoms, such as a sore throat and runny nose, emerge. According to Web MD, zinc taken within 24 hours upon feeling sick reduces the length of your cold by approximately one day.

• 2

  Rest your body so it can focus on combating the virus. Fighting a cold virus requires a lot of energy. Instead of using your energy by being active, rest your body so the energy can be used to fight your cold. Lack of sleep could worsen your condition.

• 3

  Eat chicken soup, because the warm liquid is soothing and helps your body fight the cold. According to CNN, chicken soup contains neutrophils, which stop the release of bacteria stimulated by the cold virus.

• 4

  Take a daily vitamin C supplement. According to the Mayo Clinic, a daily dose of vitamin C, taken before the onset of a cold, shortens the length of cold symptoms.