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"Coming down with a cold? You&amp;#039;re not alone. This winter has been an unusually heavy one for colds so far, says Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, head of the Montefiore Cough Center in New York. So, you know you should rest and drinks lots of fluids, but here are four other things you might not know when it comes to avoiding and getting rid of that nasty cold and cough: Loading up on zinc because of this news? Not so fast. This report was a review, which means that the authors analyzed the information from 15 previous studies to come up with a conclusion. What they found: if zinc was started within 24 hours of a cold coming on, symptoms were, on average, a day less. Sometimes they still last for a few days and other times they&amp;#039;re less than a day. &amp;quot;In my opinion, this doesn&amp;#039;t change our zinc knowledge or recommendations,&amp;quot; says Dr. Dicpinigaitis. &amp;quot;There have been some positive outcomes, but more research is still needed.&amp;quot; Antibiotics won&amp;#039;t help\u2026at all. These meds only treat bacteria, but the common cold is a virus. It&amp;#039;s as simple as that, says Dr. Dicpinigaitis. Antibiotics, like Z packs, don&amp;#039;t kill viruses. Plus, if you take antibiotics when you don&amp;#039;t need them, they can change the bacteria in your gut and render future meds ineffective (when you really do need them) and cause problems such as diarrhea. Hand-washing is the most effective way to prevent colds. It may seem obvious, but a good reminder never hurts: hand-to-hand or hand-to-object contamination is the easiest way for a cold to spread. Wash your hands with soap and water for 30-60 seconds frequently throughout the day. Pay close attention to dosing instructions. Studies have shown that up to 90 percent of people don&amp;#039;t give themselves the correct dose of medicine, says Dr. Dicpinigaitis. Whether you&amp;#039;re taking over-the-counter cough syrup or a prescription med, make sure you read the label and follow exact instructions (pay attention to measurements if it&amp;#039;s a liquid!). The wrong amount can be dangerous or just plain useless. Want more info? You can watch Dr. Dicpinigaitis discuss further cold and cough topics here. \u2013 Abby Cuffey, Associate Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a45904/cold-cough-consult-569/>