WebProNews

Tag: common cold

  • Amazon Working to Cure the Common Cold

    Amazon Working to Cure the Common Cold

    Amazon is working on a cure for the common cold, under the aptly named “Project Gesundheit.”

    According to CNBC, Amazon has a research and development group called the Grand Challenge, which focuses on the biggest challenges facing the world. Amazon wants to make sure it can see the next big thing coming, rather than be surprised by a shift in industry or a disruptive startup.

    As part of the Grand Challenge, Project Gesundheit is “hoping to develop a vaccine, but is exploring a variety of approaches to the problem. Internally, the effort is sometimes referred to as the ‘vaccine project.’” The effort has been going on for years, although Amazon will not acknowledge either the project’s existence or that of the Grand Challenge.

    If Amazon is successful, it would be a boon to both the company and the U.S. economy. As CNBC points out, in 2003 a study showed the common cold costing the economy some $40 billion a year, a figure that is likely much higher now.

  • Common Cold Cured With Natural Remedies

    Cold season is in effect and if you haven’t already come down with a cold this winter, you more than likely will before winter is over. Symptoms of the common cold include coughing, sneezing, runny nose or congestion and headaches. While there are many over the counter medications that can help shorten the lifespan of a cold and make you feel better faster, many of them contain unhealthy ingredients. There are many natural cures that are just as effective in curing the common cold and lessening symptoms and they are better for you.

    Honey And Tea
    If you are suffering from a sore throat or a cough, one of the best natural remedies is a mixture of honey and tea. Honey and tea both have the ability to sooth your throat and get rid of that itchy feeling. Hot tea works best and sipping on this mixture for a few days will quickly lessen your cold symptoms.

    Elderberry
    Elderberry is a herb that is great at treating cold symptoms and can actually help you get over a cold faster. If you feel yourself getting sick, start taking the herb and you may find that it makes the cold disappear. “It comes in liquid and tablet form, and it’s one of the few that has scientific studies showing it’s very effective against Influenza A,” said Dr. Roberta Lee, Medical Director of the Continuum Center for Health and Healing.

    Orange Juice
    Many people drink orange juice to help prevent a cold, but if you already have a cold or feel one coming on, drinking orange juice can help you get over it faster. Orange juice can also help sooth a sore throat. If you don’t like the taste of orange juice, consider popping some Vitamin C tablets instead. Vitamin C is what makes orange juice so healthy.

    You don’t have to spend a lot of money on over the counter mediations that rarely work. The next time you feel a cold coming on, don’t raid your medicine cabinet, raid your kitchen instead.

    What other natural cold remedies do you swear by?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • New Drug May Cure Common Cold

    As we start to approach allergy season here in the United States, many people will start to acquire the common cold. When people are infected with the common cold, there is only one thought on their minds “I want this gone now!” For temporary relief, there are various antibiotics on the market that help relieve symptoms to help you feel more comfortable; however, the cold still lingers within your system. Now, there may be a solution to completely rid your system of the cold that makes us feel so terrible.

    This past Wednesday, leading Australian drug maker Biota (based in Melbourne, Australia) announced their success with an antiviral compound called Vapendavir. This compound was tested in a clinical trial with 300 asthma patients that were diagnosed with colds. The results of this clinical trial concluded that the patients that were given a placebo experienced cold symptoms for two and a half days. Those that were given Vapendavir recovered from the cold systems within two days.

    Dr. Robert Stirling from Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, had the following response to Vapendavir’s results:

    (image)

    “If this reduces the intensity and duration of a respiratory cold, especially in asthmatics, it is an important finding. I think eventually we will be able to incorporate this treatment into our usual practice and we will find the economic benefits will outweigh health costs of treating infected patients. This could signal the death of the sickie.”

    (Note: Sickie = Australian slang for “sick day”)

    Before Vapendavir is released to the public, Biota needs to conduct more tests and perform more studies in a larger group of patients, along with convincing regulators that this is an “unmet need in healthcare.”