If you feel the onset of a cold, is Echinacea a good remedy to stop it developing?

I wrote a blog post about this once: http://happyhomeopathy.blogspot.co.uk/ which you may find helpful. Thanks, Claire

Zinc tablets all winter and the above work for me

Echinacea is used to build up the immune system when you are run down which helps prevent getting a cold, but it shouldn't be taken longer than six weeks straight without a break. Getting plenty of rest is also important. Eating foods with Vitamin C as Natalie suggested is the best way to prevent a cold. Gargling with tea tree (two drops to a glass of water) or using a drop of your toothbrush also helps prevents colds and helps to prevent gingivitus. Putting two drops of ginger essential oil in the bath can also halt the start of a cold. Elderflower tea (high in Vitamin C and useful for respiratory conditions) and Peppermint tea (aches and fevers) are also useful to help ease any beginning symptoms. Fresh air and safe exposure to sun are also recommended to keep healthy. Hope this helps. x

Hello there, will leave the advice of how to ease symptoms of a cold to those that know more about the subject. However as our family and those that pass our way don't suffer colds any longer I thought you may like to know that prevention is better than cure.
How to we prevent the onset? Well it's not hanging upside down or jumping into plunge pools or even manufactured drugs...no, it's simply the right diet of natural foods. Adopt it and you too will leave colds and flu by the wayside. It's entirely true! The search for a cure to the common cold is much like the search for a cure to cancer,,,they're both driven by corporate greed. The real solution is in a natural diet of real foods our bodies recognise...Simple!

The simplest and easiest way to avoid catching a cold or flu and to stop it in its tracks if you feel one developing is to use oxygen therapy.
Oxygen therapy uses hydrogen peroxide to kill the cold and flu viruses and a regular program can even ensure that you never have to catch another.
This therapy is so safe and effective that Dr. Mercola even recommends it for use on everyone in the household, even your children. See video below.: I advise that you start your entire family on The Oxygen Therapy Program and keep them safe year-round from any and all opportunistic infections such as these. For more information on how oxygen therapy works, see below.:

Increase the number of antioxidants in your body this will help your body combat the common cold. Why not try a supplement that's high in nutritional value :)

Although echinacea may help prevent the cold or make it less severe or shorter, it will not stop the cold from developing once you have the signs (and this was confirmed by several studies). Your best bet is to take 1000mg non-citrus vitamin C x3 every 4-5 hours (remember that higher quantities, i.e. more than 1000mg daily may give you upset stomach) and combine with a good quality multivit containing 15mg of zinc. Plus do not forget to eat plenty of vitamin C containing foods in their raw state including bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and leafy greens, kiwi, cranberries(you can crush a handful in a cup and pour hot water over it to turn into a drink), citrus fruit, strawberries, melon and papaya plus zinc-containing seafood, pumpkin seeds, tahini, cashews, hummus (made with tahini). Have some garlic, either raw or cooked, plenty of water and 1-2 tsp raw manuka honey 10+ or higher. Do your best to relax for a day or so to allow your body to recover a little. Get well!

Judy Echinacea will help, allied with Vitamin C to tolerance levels and of course zinc. Most people don't take sufficient to make a difference; eg for Echinacea I have taken up to 20nl five times a day and up to 12 x 1000mg Vitamin C until symptoms reduce. Fluid extract is best but if you can only get Echinacea which has been made with alcohol put in some v hot water to get rid of the alcohol or you will be fluey and drunk!!
If you have an ENT infection, with lots of mucous you would be advised to make broth with lots of onions, garlic, ginger, fresh veg and parsley to clear the lymphatic system as well.
Hope this helps.

hi Judy,
Sorry if you have the first signs of a summer cold! Lets knock that on the head quickly for you!
I find Echinacea plus chelated zinc and vitamin c * works best and very quickly. I take a very large quantity of Echinacea - if it says 1 3x per day I take 3 3x in the first couple of days of symptoms appearing and that usually does the trick.
I also drink hot water with lemon and manuka honey and more water than usual.
As ever only eat real food, avoid processed foods - you need all those nutrients to make your body well.
Get plenty of rest and do things you enjoy to distract you so you avoid the mental lowering that can go with a cold. Vitamin D also helps massively with this.
Stay well!
Karen
* (only buy quality products, avoid ones with bulking agents)

At the first sign of a cold, the very best thing to do is take some Aconite 30c, usually one dose is enough. Then you can follow it up with Anas Barbaris or one of the Cold & Flu Combination remedies that most of the specialist homeopathic pharmacies do (Helios, Ainsworths, Vital). However colds and flu are usually contracted when you become low in Vitamin D, (which is why flu season is at the end of the winter and research shows that good Vit D supplementation is way more effective than flu vaccine, which isn't effective at all), so make sure you get plenty of sunshine and if that isn't available, some good quality Vit D supplements. Echinacea will definitely boost your immune system but only if taken in short courses of two weeks on and two weeks off, and with additional Vit C. If none of the above helps, see a homeopath x

If I feel a cold developing I take homeopathic Aconite in 30c every few hours (up to 6 times that day) to try to nip it in the bud. If I know there are colds around I take great care of myself nutritionally, drinking water, no alcohol or caffeine and plenty of rest and I do take Echinacea too. When I get a cold, I treat the specific symptoms with homeopathy and natural remedies.