Yuletide Colds and The Wisconsin Card Game

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

December 13, 1992

Sir William Osler, one of this nation's most renowned doctors, once gave this advice on how to treat a cold when he himself was feeling well. "Treat it with contempt", he said. But even this famous physician wasn't always consistent. Another day when he too suffered from this common malady he gave this advice, " Go to bed. Put a hat on the bedpost. Drink whisky until you see two hats!"

No one wants to be bothered by a cold during this festive season. And it's tempting to reach for something, anything, when a cold strikes. So it's hard to blame consumers for spending over one billion dollars in North America every year for cold remedies that are heavily promoted. Even when they've been told a thousand times that such treatment may be of questionable value.

One wise saying goes,"It takes seven days to cure a cold with medicine. But if you don't treat the cold it hangs around for a week"!

Researchers have discovered about 200 types of cold virus that pass from an infected person to another. So if you feel a cold coming on during the holidays how did you pick it up?

Should you respectfully decline to hold your best friend's new baby whose runny nose gives Niagara Falls a run for its money? To answer that question you have to know something about a card game conducted at the University of Wisconsin.

Male students with colds were asked to play poker all night with one proviso. None were not allowed to use either facial tissues or handkerchiefs. It doesn't take a vivid imagination to picture how contaminated the chips and cards became after several hours.

These cards and chips were then taken to another room where volunteers were asked to touch them. Initially the sight repelled them and they refused, but were finally persuaded to handle them, then rub their noses and eyes, at 15 minute intervals, for 12 hours! And each hour more mucous laden cards were given to them.

What happened? None of the volunteers caught a cold. But before you get too careless you should know that other experiments at the University of Virginia indicated that germy hands can and do pass on a virus.

In these studies healthy volunteers smeared nasal discharge from infected patients into their own noses and eyes. These volunteers were less fortunate. The moral? Cold viruses are in all probability spread both by direct contact and by airborne particles.

p>So what should you do if a cold hits just prior to an important Christmas party? First, get rid of one misconception. Patients often reach for aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), or leftover antibiotics on the assumption that these medications at least won't cause any trouble. This isn't so.

Australian volunteers with colds were given aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen (such as Nuprin and Advil), or a placebo for one week. Two of these drugs, aspirin and acetaminophen, were counterproductive and increased nasal congestion. And none of the drugs had a significant effect on the virus.

Cold combinations usually contain a combination of acetaminophen, antihistamines, decongestants and cough suppressants. But there's a problem. Some ingredients may work against one another. For instance, a decongestant may suppress nasal congestion while acetaminophen increases it. Studies also show that painkillers may impair the immune response. And antibiotics have no effect on virus diseases.

Use the rifle, rather than the shotgun approach when treating a cold. Go to bed if you have a fever and if you feel you've been hit by a ten ton truck, use a painkiller such as Tylenol. If the nose and sinuses are clogged, an oral or nasal decongestant will help. For a cough use dextromethorphan©containing lozenges or syrup. And for a sore throat gargle with warm salt water.

Some doctors believe that inhaling steam is helpful. Vitamin C remains a controversial remedy. But like steam it too appears to be harmless.

What about Mother's chicken soup? Current studies show Mother's advice wasn't bad. Researchers at Mt. Sinai Hospital, in Miami Beach, studied the effect of chicken soup on the clearance rate of nasal mucous. By using radioactive material they confirmed that chicken soup speeded up the clearance rate of nasal mucous.

What will I do if a cold strikes during the holidays? I admit to taking 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C every day. I'll simply add a couple of thousand more if I feel the shivers starting. And maybe take an aspirin or two.

But I've also had a long©standing respect for Sir William Osler. If I felt as though I'd been hit by a Mack truck I might start looking for my old hat!

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod