Watch out for the ingredient pseudo-ephedrine!!!
It makes me go squirrely.
Unfortunately Health Canada has banned almost every other decongestant; I do not understand why they continue to allow pseudo-ephedrine when they have banned real ephedrine(the stuff that was in many over-the-counter diet pills and killed a number of people).
Pseudo has much the same effect as real ephedrine.
I have to be very very diligent about checking ingredients of cold medications to ensure they don't contain this stuff (just back from Greece where everything seemd to contain it so I had to suffer with no meds).
It makes my heart race and my mind go at warp speed. And if combined with codeine - yikes. It puts you into a kind of no-man's land where your body is knocked out (codeine) and your brain is going 100 miles an hour. The stuff of nightmares!

A word about zinc...I really believe it works. I had heard about it some years back from a fellow traveler.

My daughter and I went to London and on our second day there we both woke up feeling the unmistakable symptoms of an oncoming cold. Drat!

I recalled the zinc advice and went to the local chemist for a small bottle of capsules.

They were a rather large dose, more than is standard in the States I think, and it made us both rather nauseious. I later learned to take it with a meal.

The bottom line was that we were both much better by evening. Another capsule before bed and we both woke the next day feeling as if we'd just gotten over a bad cold, some residule nose blowing and the like, but feeling altogether fine.

Now I take a capsule once a week or so and I don't beleive I've had a cold since that time.

Now there are zinc pills, rubs, nose sprays, lozenges, etc.

However you take it, I really beleive that for a great many people zinc is a godsend.

Good luck...If you find a miracle out there, remember us and let us know.

Another vote for Zicam here. That stuff works great - I usually take the chewable tabs, which taste pretty vile, by the way. They start off tasting like a piece of strawberry bubble gum, but if you chew it for much longer, it starts to disintegrate and gets nasty. I usually swallow the tab before it gets to that point.

I also take the Zicam in conjunction with Airborne - that alka-selzer type tablet you dissolve in water.

I think the main thing is to start taking something now, before it develops into a full blown cold.

could pseudo-eph- whatever be sudafed? common decongestant in the u.s. known for its "no-doze" qualities.

too much will make anyone squirrely!

I totally believe in zinc. When you start to feel a cold coming on, take some, and echinacea, and some C. Works like a charm for me every time!

Zinc can make some people feel nauseous. I know for my sister Zicam made her feel sicker than having a cold (so although it's worked for me, it's not for everyone).

I lived in Holland and got a cold or flu very often in the cool wet climate. None of the store remedies worked so I came up with one that is foolproof. When the nose gets blocked and the sinus starts throbbing bundle up in several shirts and sweaters and extra socks and long pants and a stocking cap. Before you do that buy a fifth of Hennessy cognac. Start drinking. You can mix the first few glasses with tea or lemon juice but then go neat. When you have passed the point of pouring it all in the glass find your bed and cover up with a few blankets. Sweat it out. You'll probably still be drunk in the morning but the cold will be gone.

And if you follow Scotch's advise come back and post your report "CanuckDrunkInSpain"

Bourbon and NyQuil... you sleep for 2 straight days, but you wake up with the cold gone!

My husband converted me to Cold-Eze and I'm definitely a believer now. It tastes a lot better than other zinc pills so when I think I'm coming down with a cold I just suck on them all day until I feel better. It's stopped quite a few colds in their tracks.

hopscocth..I was told to hang a hat on a bedpost, drink brandy till I saw two hats..wake up next day - allegedly the cold's gone..I suspect the resulting hangover drives removes awareness of any other discomforts

Here's another believer in Zicam. I only wish I had realized they now have something for cough and throat symptoms before my recent cold symptoms appeared. I immediately started using the nasal gel, which I had in my medicine cabinet, and have had no stuffiness or congestion, which is the part of a cold that always makes you feel so awful.

The cold did, however, settle in my chest, and I've had a pretty bad cough. I don't feel bad, but just have a persistent cough. When I went to get some cough medicine, I found the Zicam zinc tablets in the pharmacy. After starting to use them, my cough is subsiding, but you really do need to start the Zicam at the first sign of a cold for maximum effect.

Hopscotch, reading your remedy for a cold reminded me of my father's remedy. He was raised in Austrailia. About once a year, usually after Christmas, he too got a terrible cold. He was a Scot. He would take a really hot shower, put on long johns, flannel PJ's, a wood robe, drink a big cup of
scotch mixed with a bit of boiling hot water, honey and a bit of lemon and than get into bed with a ton of blankets. He would stay there for 24 hours, sweating and very sick. And than, he was completely cured!! I tried that once and believe it or not it worked!!

Hopscotch. Actually the robe was wool not wood. But by the time he departed the bed I believe the sheets were stiff as wood.

drink a Danactive a day and stay in bed.

If the cold includes a sore throat, a tea made of tincture of echinacea and goldenseal works wonders. Take it as early as possible, and drink some every 4 hours or so. Have nipped many colds/sore throats in the bud this way. (Its helpful for colds without sore throat, but not as miraculous).

I find that raw garlic will solve all your ills.. take a head of garlic or more, chop it and saute with EVO and toss with pasta or anything for that matter.. seems to work for me and my family and friends who now all swear by it..double happiness if you put it in some chicken soup..Eat fresh parsley to combat the bad breath odors..

I can't believe noone has suggested snorting salt water! Fill a glass with warm salt water, pour a little in your hand and snort it up your nose. Oowey. The guck will come out and you will prevent sinus infections. Do this every day until the symptoms are gone.

Well, Canuck, did any or all of these methods work?

Canuck,
How is the patient doing? Which cure did you take?