How To Cure A Cold Fast
How To Fight A Cold Effectively - Zinc Is The Key
How To Cure A Cold Fast Using Natural Remedies
Anyone suffering from a common cold wants to know how to cure a cold fast. There really are cold remedies that work. The important thing to cure a cold fast is to act quickly once the signs of a cold emerge.
During the annual cold season, the average adult in the United States experiences two to four colds. Curing or preventing the common cold is something that medical researchers have contemplated for centuries, but have failed to achieve due to the hundreds of variations of viruses that can cause the common cold and the limited options for preventing and treating infections from viruses. There is a growing body of medical research which indicates that the nutritionally essential metal zinc is effective at preventing and shortening the length of the common cold due to zinc's anti-viral properties. By taking zinc lozenges and supplements, colds can be minimized greatly or even avoided altogether. This is how to cure a cold fast and effectively or simply avoid a cold altogether..
Has The Cure For The Common Cold Been Found? Medical Studies Say Yes!
Since 2008, there has been a growing buzz regarding medical studies performed by reputable medical research institutions that have shown certain zinc containing lozenges to be effective at reducing the length and symptoms of the common cold, when taken at the onset of a cold (within 24 to 48 hours). The reason I use the phrase certain zinc containing lozenges is because not all of the zinc containing lozenges studied have had positive results. The research has found that the formulation of the zinc containing lozenges is very important in regards to how effective they are at treating and shortening the duration of colds.
Medical and scientific researchers have long understood the anti-microbial and anti-viral properties that many metals possess, including zinc and silver (see: How to Clean Surfaces of Norovirus and Other Germs). While research into utilizing the anti-viral properties of metals to treat human health conditions has occurred to a limited degree for decades, the pioneering research by George A. Eby of Austin, Texas regarding the use of zinc containing lozenges to treat the common cold has enlightened the world to the fact that zinc containing lozenges can be used to help prevent colds, reduce the length colds, and relieve the symptoms associated with colds.
George A. Eby was not a likely person to make such a ground breaking medical discovery.He was not trained as doctor or a scientist. His motivation for researching zinc’s potential to cure colds and lessen their symptoms was driven by his young daughter’s leukemia in 1979, which made her susceptible to catching bad colds due to her weakened immune system. By chance, Mr. Eby’s daughter let a zinc pill dissolve in her mouth instead of swallowing it, and much to Mr. Eby and his wife’s surprise, the symptoms of their daughter’s bad cold had subsided substantially within a few hours.
Mr. Eby started researching the potential for using zinc containing lozenges to treat the common cold. He initiated the first study of the effectiveness of zinc containing lozenges in treating the common cold in Austin, Texasin 1983, with the results published in 1984. There has been a growing awareness since his original 1984 research paper that simply letting a properly formulated zinc lozenge dissolve in the human mouth and allowing zinc ions to naturally flow into the infected person’s throat, not only reduces the duration of a cold, but also alleviates the cold symptoms during the shortened cold. For example, a report of a zinc lozenge medical study that appeared in the March 2008 edition of The Journal of Infectious Diseases indicated that zinc containing lozenges used in the study were effective in reducing the length of colds from seven days to four days in patients given the lozenges. Coughing experienced by people in the study who were suffering from colds was reportedly shortened from five days to two days. There is also a body of medical research that indicates zinc syrups and zinc supplement pills are effective at preventing colds.
In February 2010, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, which is a highly regarded source of medical information, updated their meta analysis of the results of studies that looked at the effectiveness of zinc for treating the common cold. The Cochrane meta analysis looked at fifteen medical studies that studied a total of 1,360 people who either had colds or were trying to avoid getting colds, and used zinc in either pills, syrups, nasal sprays, or lozenges. According to Cochrane, the studies were all methodologically sound with a low risk of study bias since they compared zinc use with placebos. The Cochrane meta analysis concluded that studies demonstrated that zinc containing lozenges use shortly after infection reduced both the duration and severity of cold symptoms and regular use of zinc syrups and zinc supplement pills by study participants appeared to prevent colds, when compared to control groups.
Not all studies regarding treatment of colds with zinc containing lozenges have had the same startling positive results; some have, in fact, shown zinc containing lozenges to be completely ineffective.The reason why some studies have reported no noticeable improvement in cold suffers that were administered zinc containing lozenges appears to be due to the fact that not all zinc containing lozenges are the same. As discussed further in the following section, it is important that zinc containing lozenges contain an adequate amount of zinc ions and do not have other ingredients that interfere with or cancel out the anti-viral properties that zinc ions have.
How Zinc Lozenges Actually Prevent and Treat the Common Cold
It is not very difficult to understanding how zinc containing lozenges treat and shorten the length of the common cold.Research has found that zinc ions that are released by zinc containing lozenges have antiviral properties that when provided in adequate amounts prevent or limit the viruses that cause cold from affecting humans.Zinc ions from zinc containing lozenges that are dissolved in the human mouth flow down into the throat and upper respiratory areas, and attach to nasal membranes within the nose and throat, which prevents cold viruses from attaching and replicating within these areas, limiting their ability to infect, multiply, and cause cold symptoms in their human carrier.
Has The Cure For The Common Cold Been Found? Not Exactly
So, has the cure for the common cold been found in zinc containing lozenges? To some degree the answer is yes. If the medical studies and anecdotal evidence reported by zinc supplement and zinc containing lozenge users are to be believed, then common colds can both be prevented and limited by a significant amount as the result of using zinc supplements and zinc containing lozenges. However the answer is no, if one is looking for a common cold cure that is 100% effective against all cold causing viruses in the way in which a vaccine is effective. For those looking to prevent catching colds, it is important to take a zinc supplement on a regular basis. For those who have caught a cold, the key to benefiting from the medicinal benefits zinc containing lozenges offer is to commence with taking zinc containing lozenges immediately upon realization that a cold infection has occurred, and to then continue taking zinc containing lozenges on a regular basis until cold symptoms fully subside.
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Final Thoughts Regarding Zinc Lozenges For Treating the Common Cold
While the benefits of taking zinc supplements and zinc containing lozenges to prevent and treat the common cold are obvious, the side effects of taking zinc supplements and zinc containing lozenges should be understood by those contemplating using them. Users of zinc containing lozenges have complained of stomachaches and cold sores. To prevent stomach aches, it is recommended to take zinc containing lozenges on a full stomach. The long term health affects associated with taking zinc supplements has not been studied adequately, so moderate use of zinc supplements is advised.
Some prefer to obtain zinc naturally from foods that contain relatively high concentrations of zinc. Foods that provide significant amounts of zinc include: oysters, toasted wheat germ, veal liver, sesame seeds and tahini (sesame butter), roast beef, roasted pumpkin and squash seeds, dried watermelon seeds, dark chocolate and cocoa powder, lamb, and peanuts.
It should be noted that zinc nasal sprays have been banned in the United States because over 100 people have reportedly lost their sense of smell after using zinc nasal sprays. There are safer ways to obtain the zinc one needs to prevent or treat the symptoms of the common cold. Zinc supplements and zinc containing lozenges are widely available in supermarkets, nutrition stores, and drug stores. In some respects, the cure for the common cold has been found in zinc, but requires actions on the part of those trying to prevent or treat colds.