What really helps against colds - nine myths put to the test
Child, put on a vest or you'll get sick!" Who doesn't still have this parental admonition in their ears? And we cheerfully pass it on to our own children when they set off into the winter morning all too lightly dressed. From weather-appropriate clothing and the benefits of vitamin C to home remedies for fever: there are countless pieces of «wisdom» and tips circulating about colds. But what is true and what really helps - and what doesn't? Here are nine common myths and how experts categorise them.
1. «Lots of vitamin C, then you won't catch a cold.» Wrong.
Vitamin C helps to ward off infections. However, if a child eats fruit and vegetables several times a week, it will absorb enough of it. «Giving additional vitamin C will not prevent a cold,» says Anita Niederer, senior physician for infectiology and hospital hygiene at the Eastern Switzerland Children's Hospital and the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital. «We simply excrete the excess in our urine.» Making sure that your child eats red peppers, broccoli or citrus fruits is therefore the best way to prevent infections. And if the throat is already scratchy and the nose is running? «Vitamin C will neither ease nor accelerate the course of a cold,» says Niederer. «But fresh orange juice is good because it hydrates the body.»
2. «Don't go out in the cold without a cap!» Wrong, but ...
«Child, not without your hat!» The parental veto comes immediately if the offspring wants to go out in sub-zero temperatures without a hat - or even without a vest or tights. Behind this is the concern that cold weather leads to colds. «That's not true,» says infectiologist Niederer. «We catch a cold when a virus gets onto the mucous membrane and enters the organism.»
Fever in itself is not dangerous, it is the cause of the fever that could theoretically be dangerous.
Anita Niederer, Infectiologist
No cold without a virus. Lea Abenhaim, paediatrician at the children's and adolescents' practice in Muri BE, nevertheless puts a hat on her children in winter. «More viruses circulate in winter.» The mucous membranes are also less well supplied with blood if you are not dressed warmly enough. They are also often drier due to the cold and heated air. «This makes it easier for viruses to enter and multiply.» Complementary physician Bruno Bischof from Wil SG has observed that some children are more susceptible than others when they are sweaty or with wet hair in the cold or in a draught: «Wetness cools down the surface of our body.» This effect is exacerbated by cold or cold wind. «It is therefore advisable for many people to change their clothes or dry their hair in such situations.»
3. «Sick? Strict rest is the order of the day!» Wrong.
Your forehead is warm and your eyes are shining. «Off to bed», you want to say. And worry when the little patients with colds don't want to stay there. But that's unnecessary. «The child's organism regulates itself,» says paediatrician Abenhaim. «Children who aren't feeling well lie down on their own.» Only in adolescence do they sometimes feel less well when they need rest and sleep. A younger child realises this intuitively.
«Parents can just let them do it. Even if they want to go outside, they can.» She has rarely experienced an infection being «dragged on». «If it does happen, it's just bad luck - and not because you didn't take it easy enough.» There is nothing wrong with taking it easy, says complementary medicine specialist Bruno Bischof. «But bed rest without or with a low fever is unnecessary.» Instead, he recommends going outside when you're well wrapped up. This is because fresh air has a positive effect on breathing and mucous membranes.
4. «Fever does not always have to be reduced.» Correct.
To lower or not to lower? That is the question here. «There are myths on both sides when it comes to dealing with fever,» says Anita Niederer. Both - «always bring it down immediately» and «never bring it down» - are wrong. «Fever in itself is not dangerous,» says the infectiologist. «It's the cause of the fever that could theoretically be dangerous.»
As long as a child drinks enough and the fever can be reduced with medication, parents need not worry.
The key question is therefore: How is the child? Does it feel well and want to play even though the thermometer shows 39.8 degrees? Then the fever can stay high. If the child has aching limbs, headache or sore throat and is suffering, an antipyretic painkiller with paracetamol or ibuprofen may be indicated even at 38.5 degrees. «This won't make the illness last any shorter or longer, but it will make it easier to bear,» says Niederer. «And a child shouldn't have to suffer, it's no good for them.»
5 «You can sweat out a cold.» Wrong.
Killing the bug with heat, for example with a hot bath? The myth that a virus will go away if we just sweat enough is a persistent one. However, a virus causes an inflammatory reaction in the mucous membranes. This has to go through its stages and heal, says Lea Abenhaim. This cannot be done by sweating.
«The viruses don't go away with sweat,» says Bruno Bischof. Drastic sweating is therefore not advisable. However, according to Bischof, sometimes you feel better when you have a cold if you sweat lightly. But this can also be achieved gently: «For example, with a slightly sweat-inducing lime blossom tea with lemon.» Warmth and fluids also ensure that the mucous membranes are well moisturised and supplied with blood - which in turn makes it easier for the body to heal.
6. «It doesn't get any faster than this.» That's right.
«A cold lasts seven days without treatment - and a week with treatment.» The old adage is actually true: «There is nothing that can speed up an existing cold,» says Anita Niederer. How long it takes to recover is an individual matter - and has nothing to do with the quality of the immune system. «So treating symptoms doesn't speed up the process. But you support the body and increase the child's comfort.»
7. «Yellow-green mucus: a case for antibiotics.» Wrong.
When the mucus in the handkerchief shimmers from bright yellow to dark green, the red warning light flashes in some parents' heads. A case for antibiotics? No, says paediatrician Lea Abenhaim. «With many colds, the mucus turns yellow or green at a certain stage.» For example, if it contains defence cells and dead mucosal cells. Other factors are needed for antibiotics. For example, thick mucus from the nose, combined with fever and pain at the level of the sinuses. Or fever and cough with sputum. Such additional signs indicate that a bacterial infection has been added to the cold, which may make the use of antibiotics advisable. Abenhaim: «However, the children are then much sicker than if they just have a cold and should be examined by a doctor.»
This helps with colds
- Drink a lot! Water and herbal teas are best. Fruit juices or chicken broth are also suitable. The liquid prevents dehydration and helps to keep the mucous membranes moist and liquefy the mucus in the nose, sinuses and bronchial tubes.
- Honey is the mucolytic, anti-inflammatory and cough suppressant par excellence: «A teaspoon of it in tea can work wonders,» says paediatrician Lea Abenhaim. Paediatrics Switzerland also recommends honey against coughs for children aged 12 months and over - cough medication is not recommended.
- If the nose is blocked, complementary medicine specialist Bruno Bischof advises placing half a sliced onion on the bedside table for smaller children. «But not too close to the bed so that it doesn't irritate the eyes.»
- Decongestant nose drops should be used with caution, especially in children. However, they are useful for earache so that the middle ear is well ventilated via the nose.
- For sore throats, Bruno Bischof recommends blackcurrant as a gemmotherapy spray or gargling with sage or thyme tea or Emser salt.
- Dry heating air is a problem in winter. A humidifier or a clothes horse in the home help to keep the mucous membranes well moisturised. A good indoor climate not only prevents, but also helps with healing.
- Lea Abenhaim's most important tip: «TLC! That means tender loving care.» In other words, tender loving care. «Children and young people who are ill can and should be cuddled.»
8. «A cold doesn't need a doctor.» True, but ...
To the doctor with every «Schnüderli»? Of course not! Colds are practically always harmless. However, it can happen that a cold virus makes you sicker. «It can move from the nasopharynx down into the lungs, for example,» says infectiologist Niederer. Even if only the nose was running at first: Whether a trip to the doctor's surgery is necessary does not depend on the type of infection. «It's always about the condition of the child.» If the child with a cold is well, drinking well, breathing normally and the fever can be brought down with medication, there is no need to worry, says Abenhaim. If the child is suffering from a serious infection, such as meningitis, they will have a severe headache as well as a fever, won't want to drink or stand up and may even vomit. «Parents can trust that they will notice if something is wrong.»
9. «A cold is good for the immune system.» True, but ...
A virus as a workout for the immune system? «If we catch a virus, the immune system has to deal with it,» says Niederer. In fact, every infection involves a certain amount of training. «However, the protection and defences that are built up in the process disappear again over time. They also mainly affect the virus that has been contracted.» However, there are over 200 different viruses that can trigger flu-like infections, i.e. colds. So it cannot be said that a child who catches many infections has a «better immune system» afterwards. The system as such is not better after this or that infection, says Lea Abenhaim. The immune response to the viruses that the child has been through and against which it has been able to build up protection is better.
The most important facts in brief
- The best prevention against colds is a healthy and balanced diet. This way, children take in enough vitamin C, which contributes to their defence against infection.
- Will my child catch a cold if it is cold? No, it always needs contact with a virus. However, cold can lead to drier mucous membranes with poorer blood circulation - which increases susceptibility to viruses.
- «Prescribe» rest? Not necessary. Children automatically lie down when they are sick enough to do so.
- Fever in itself is not dangerous - so it does not need to be reduced as long as the child is well. If the child feels unwell, paracetamol and the like will alleviate the suffering.
- Sweating out viruses? Not possible.
- It takes as long as it takes: there is no way to speed up the recovery from a cold.
- In the vast majority of cases, antibiotics are not needed for colds. Not even if green-yellow mucus shimmers through the handkerchief.
- A cold is usually harmless and a visit to the doctor is almost always unnecessary. Almost - because complications such as middle ear infections or pneumonia can occur from time to time.
- Colds train the immune system. However, this primarily builds up protection for the virus caught - and with many viruses this is only effective for a certain period of time.
