The Dose24:13What are the best ways to treat a cold?
Featured VideoOral cold and cough medicine containing a popular decongestant was pulled from some U.S. pharmacy shelves this week. This comes after a panel of experts said phenylephrine is no better than a dummy pill at relieving congestion. But what actually works to treat cold symptoms? Family doctor and CBC Radio house doctor Dr. Peter Lin provides tips on how best to treat a cold or cough, and weighs in on popular home remedies. For transcripts of The Dose, please visit: lnk.to/dose-transcripts. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
There are dozens of cold and cough medicines on the market, and many home remedies claiming to help — like a bowl of chicken soup.
Phenylephrine is found in popular cold and sinus remedies like Sudafed and Dayquil.
Products containing the decongestant are still available in Canadian and some U.S. pharmacies. A Health Canada spokesperson says they are reviewing “all available information,” including the advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s advisory panel of experts.
One Canadian doctor says he expects it’s only a matter of time before oral products with phenylephrine as the main ingredient start disappearing in Canada, too.
“Don’t worry about it, because it wasn’t doing much at all,” Dr. Peter Lin, a family physician in Toronto and CBC Radio’s house doctor, told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of The Dose podcast.
CVS Health, a U.S. pharmacy chain, is pulling from its shelves some cough-and-cold treatments that contain phenylephrine, which has been deemed ineffective by doctors and researchers. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Before trying anything, doctors say it’s important to remember that the common cold virus just needs to run its course.
“A lot of us just think we can medicate away the symptoms that we have. But sometimes you need to give your body a rest in order to be able to heal properly,” said Dr. Melissa Lem, a Vancouver-based family doctor and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia.
She says there’s not much harm in trying some of the common remedies to treat a cold, like an herbal supplement. But it’s important to know what the research shows about its effectiveness.
But if you’re looking to lessen some of the symptoms of a cold, here’s what doctors say can help to treat symptoms.
Try to avoid viruses
Lin says making sure you get the latest COVID-19 booster and the flu shot — and for seniors, the RSV vaccine — can all help to protect someone from catching a virus in the first place.
Lem recommends the following measures to try and avoid viruses:
Sanitize your hands frequently
Wear a mask
Ventilate indoor spaces
“If we use the layered approach, we will have an OK time getting across the cold and flu season,” Lin said.
Some medications can help
Lin and Lem say they still get patients coming to their office during the cold and flu season asking for antibiotics. But in most cases, patients are dealing with the common cold, and antibiotics won’t help their symptoms, according to Lem.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and to stop bacteria from multiplying, according to Health Canada.
Lem says the average cold lasts up to 10 days. But when those symptoms hit, Lin says people often turn to over-the-counter products in hopes of feeling better as soon as possible.
He adds that for most adults, over-the-counter cold and cough medicine won’t cause harm if taken correctly, but they don’t necessarily always help, either. He points to the recent decision from the FDA panel of experts about phenylephrine.
“That’s why they have to do trials, to show is there a benefit or no benefit,” he said.
However, some over-the-counter cold and cough medicine may help symptoms, Lin says. Medicine containing cough suppressants can help address a dry cough, and products containing acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help lower fevers.
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Cold medicine with an anti-inflammatory can take away any minor pain, he adds. But Lin emphasizes it’s hard to know definitively if people would have gotten better on their own or if the medicine helped.
“The Canadian Pediatric Society was pretty clear that we should be avoiding these things.”
Home remedies
Chicken soup is a common suggestion to help those get better — and there is some research to show that it may actually help.
A peer-reviewed study published in 2000 found that chicken soup — when it includes vegetables — “may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity.”
The study’s authors from the University of Nebraska Medical Center also noted that a “mild anti-inflammatory effect” could be a reason why chicken soup helps address upper respiratory tract infections.
Some home remedies like chicken soup and a humidifier can help with congestion, doctors say. (Shutterstock)
The steam from the hot liquid “may open up congested noses and throats” — but it will not cure your cold, say doctors with New York City’s Mount Sinai health system.
“I think soups, fluids, that kind of thing are fantastic and they are a nice alternative to spending money on drugstore remedies that may not have the best evidence,” Lem said.
She’s also a fan of honey in a warm liquid for anyone over a year old to help soothe a sore throat. Gargling with warm water and salt can also help, Lin says.
Lin and Lem add that nasal rinses can help get rid of backup in the nasal sinuses. “I’m a big fan of neti pots and sinus irrigation because sometimes you just can’t get the gunk out without flushing it with fluid,” Lem said.
She adds that it’s important when using a nasal rinse to boil your water or use saline to avoid getting a rare fungal infection.
Lin also recommends leaning over hot water in a cup or using a humidifier to keep the throat moist. He says when someone has a stuffy nose, they’ll breathe through their mouth, which can dry out the throat.
“That’s why the humidifier is helpful.”
What about vitamins?
Vitamins and herbal remedies, such as vitamin C and zinc, are often suggested to help get over a cold or avoid one altogether.
Lem says the evidence on their effectiveness “is really conflicting.” Research into zinc for treating the common cold has shown mixed results, according to one meta analysis.
Authors of a meta-analysis on vitamin C found that taking the vitamin every day over a longer period of time didn’t prevent colds or show consistent benefits if you take it after you’ve already developed symptoms. However they did find that it slightly shortened the amount of time people were sick by about 10 per cent.
While Lem says taking these vitamins won’t cause harm if taken appropriately, “I would say the main drawback would be spending your money on things that don’t work.”
Lem does caution that when taken in higher-than-recommended daily amounts, vitamin C can be harmful and can increase the risk of kidney stones.
Is it a cold or something else?
Lem says the symptoms of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can vary “so much depending on your age, underlying conditions and immune response.” She says that can make it really difficult to tell if you have symptoms caused by either of these or another virus.
If you’re still unsure of what virus you may have, Alberta Health Services has a list of the most frequent symptoms for common viruses. If you are getting sicker, have new or worse trouble breathing, have a new or high fever or a new rash, HealthLink BC recommends people seek immediate medical help.
When to seek help
It’s important to know when cold symptoms become serious, Lem says.
She recommends a person see a doctor or visits their local emergency room as soon as possible if they’re experiencing:
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
