[KathyT]

If it is a cold like virus, this is what I suggest.

Take zinc daily, starting with twice a day for about 3 days, then perhaps only 1 until it subsides. Take with food, otherwise it can upset an empty stomach. When cold is over, you don't take it any more.

Thirty years ago, I had a elderly neighbor tell me he knew how to cure the common cold. He advised me to take zinc the very first day sniffles or cough started. The body uses this mineral to boost natural immunization, and it helps with healing. That is why zinc is in ointments to help baby bottoms heal, or for other skin healing. And it is in dandruff shampoo to help heal the scalp.

So I did what my wise neighbor suggested, and found that it worked. I used it to head off colds for 20 years, until 'science' found out it was true. You'll now find zinc in cough lozenges, and in other cold remedies now. It is because it works. It helps heal sore throats faster too.
All the drug companies selling cold medicines... day quill, night quill... won't tell you about this, because they want you to buy their bottles for days on end.

The sooner in the cold that you take it, the more effective it will be. I still feel that even if I wait until the 3rd day of a cold, that it will hasten getting over the cold. You can take the zinc with other medicine as well.

Slowly I've gotten friends to try this... and they've all come back to me confirming it has worked for them. It's often hard to get people to try something new...we get into old habits. All I can say, is try it.

Good luck!