by Fran Moriarty

Created on: September 05, 2009   Last Updated: September 09, 2009

Battle the common cold by common sense. Common colds are caused by a virus, a rhino-virus. A virus is an extremely small entity and enters the body in a variety of ways including through the nose as breathing occurs. ["Rhino-" is a prefix that means "nose."] Common sense sets off alarms when infected people are sneezing and wheezing nearby. Virus that cause colds and flu will be more prevalent in these areas. Each breath of air contains millions of these viruses. Avoiding people with colds and the flu is common sense (1).

Preventing the common cold involves two things: avoid people with colds and keep the body working. Avoiding people is next to impossible but maintaining a proper working body is easy to accomplish. The immune system fights disease such as colds. Understanding how the body fights disease helps in prevention of colds.The rhino-virus attacks the mucous membranes of the nose creating an increase in mucous production. Thus, there is a runny nose, nasal congestion, wheezes and sneezes. Mucous containing the virus may enter the lower respiratory system causing viral pneumonia. Sustaining a strong immune system is a good common sense practice (1).

How does a person maintain a healthy and strong immune system? A healthy diet is the key to improving the actions of the immune system and then in fighting the common cold. Common colds last for 7-10 days. (Some claim that regardless of the measures taken after the cold begins, it will run its course). However, there are some means that seem to help reduce the impact of a common cold. Some commercial products claim that taking their zinc tablets at the onset of a cold will reduce, if not, prevent the cold. Old remedies and wives's tales propose the use of chicken soup as the cure for a cold. Scientific testing is contradictory. Individuals swear that chicken soup is the ultimate cure-all. The use of chicken soup can be traced to the medieval times. Medical literature of the 12th Century have references to chicken soup as a cure for a host of respiratory afflictions. Colds are the most common ailment suffered by humans. Healthy individuals deal better with the cold symptoms than those with weaken immune systems (2, 7).

Besides the panacea cure of chicken soup, there are other foods that have an impact in the war on the cold. It isn't just the chicken soup, it's the chunks of chicken and lots of vegetables, Garlic added to the soup may actually boost the medicinal value. In fact the use of garlic in meal preparation

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