Recently I heard the Chinese herbs could be used to prevent
or treat the common cold. Is this true?
Asides from vaccination there is no other treatment for the flu. Antiviral drugs are not routinely used to treat people with the flu.
There are many Chinese herbs that are touted to cure the common cold; these include ganmao capsules and E Shu You. Some studies have shown the ganmao capsule can decrease the duration of the cold and decrease the intensity of your symptoms.
However, a fair number of people do not respond to these Chinese herbs. My advice is stop wasting money on herbs, which may contain a lot of other crap. If you have the cold, rest, take in lots of fluids and use the occasional Tylenol. This remedy works in most people. The flu vaccine is another rip off, with no guarantee that it will protect you. Last year, the protection rates were less than 50%.
