Most people probably know that there is no cure for the common cold, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t treatments for a cold. Cold treatments just have slightly different purposes; although they can’t fight the cold themselves, they can help your body fight the virus and make you feel better in the process.

1. Get rest. Having enough sleep and allowing your body to mend from bed is one of the best things you can do when a cold strikes.

2. Drink fluids, especially water and hot fluids. Hot fluids can clear nasal passages, relieve a sore throat, and ease a cough.

3. Let nature work. In other words, don’t sniff your mucus back in, and do let yourself cough! These are your body’s way of getting rid of the cold.

4. Gargle with salt water. If your throat is sore, a good saltwater gargle can ease the pain. Warm it up a bit and you may even get a decongesting effect.

5. Eat a healthy diet. While your body is battling the common cold, it’s important to give it the nutrients it needs with immune boosting foods. Fast food and overly processed foods do not provide the vitamins and minerals that fruit, vegetables, and whole grain foods offer.

6. Take vitamins. Remember that vitamin C is especially effective for strengthening the immune system. Also, zinc, selenium, and vitamin A are good for bringing you back from a cold and keeping colds away after.

7. Take an OTC cold symptom treatment. When you just can’t stand it anymore, try using a syrup for relieving cold symptoms. Most syrups will help with congestion, fevers, and sore throats, as well as drying up the runny nose. Beware though, these do not CURE a cold, just relieve the symptoms.

8. Take an immune boosting supplement. There are many supplements on the market that contain herbal, fruit, and lab-created ingredients that are designed to boost your immune system.

9. Eliminate stress. This is akin to the “get rest” treatment above. Stress weakens your immune system, and will make your cold last longer. Take a day off or go easy on yourself, or your common cold may last uncommonly long.

10. Exercise. Studies show that regular exercise can cause your body to produce 50 to 300 percent more immune cells. Don’t overdo it, but exercise can definitely help.

1. Being cold causes a cold

            This is probably the most widespread and well-known myth of all. Haven’t you ever heard “put a jacket on before you go outside or you’ll catch a cold” or “don’t play outside with wet hair, or you’re sure to get a cold.” These are the types of phrases we have been hearing since we were little. Much of the reason we think the cold weather causes a cold may be attributed to the fact that there are more colds in the winter than there are in the summer. There is no evidence, however, that cold weather causes a cold. There are actually studies that have been done where volunteers were kept very cold and they were no more susceptible to the cold virus that people who were not cold. In addition, if they already had a cold, being in a cold climate did not make their cold worse.

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2. Treating a cold isn’t good

            Many people think that having cold symptoms is good for you because they help you get over a cold, so you should not treat a cold. There is research, however, that shows that 25% of people who get a cold do not show symptoms and they get over the infection as well as people who do have symptoms. Nose blowing, sneezing, and coughing do not eliminate the virus since the virus is multiplying inside the nasal cells; all sneezing and coughing do are help spread the virus to other people.

3. Antibiotics cure the common cold

            Antibiotics usually do not help a cold. Antibiotics work against bacteria, while most colds are viral. The over prescription of unwarranted antibiotics has actually caused our bodies to develop antibiotic-resistant bacteria so that when you do have a bacterial infection, you may not be able to treat it.