Stop trying to “cure” your cold!

With the nights drawing in and the weather getting colder, most retailers are filling up their cold & flu shelves to the ceiling.
But is there any point buying cold and flu remedies?
Yes and no.
No, because there is no cure for the common cold.
It is caused by a virus and viruses are the toughest organisms to fight against in terms of drug design.
They are bits of genetic information hiding inside a protein cloak.  They're tiny, they change their appearance and structure continuously and they are incredibly adaptable.  In fact, every cold and flu season, we are faced with a fresh new virus.
I would argue your own immune system is better than any drug at fighting against the common cold virus.  As soon as your body detects a virus taking hold, it starts sending out an alarm message to gather all the white blood cells which fight infections.
These attack the virus by engulfing it, injecting it with lethal chemicals, blood rushes to the infection sites to deliver your warrior white blood cells and mucus traps the virus.
Your core temperature rises in an attempt to kill the virus by overheating it, which is why feeling feverish is actually a good thing.
So why are we rushing to the pharmacies to buy cold treatments if our body is putting up such a magnificent fight ?
Well, to get symptomatic relief.
While our immune is at war, inevitably we feel pretty poorly,  We feel feverish and we ache everywhere.  So cold and flu treatments just mask this and make us feel better while our body is at war with the virus.
That is the whole role of cold and flu treatments.
Till next time.