Summer is over (for real). So it's time to face the facts: You're going to get a cold. Actually, you're probably going to get cold s — plural. The average American gets between two and five colds every single year and these bugs are pretty much unavoidable, unless you live in a bubble.
To make matters worse, there's the fact that the common cold doesn't have a cure. If your symptoms are caused by bacteria, your doctor may give you antibiotics. But most colds are viral, meaning antibiotics won't do squat.
If you're sick of getting sick, we don't blame you. The good news is that the cold is self-limiting, which means it'll only last for a predictable (and short!) period of time. That's because the usual symptoms of a cold — sneezing, runny nose, coughing — are really just byproducts of your body trying to rid itself of the virus, not the virus itself.
And the best news is that there are some science-backed ways to feel better while you're counting down those days. Again, these won't cure or prevent your cold, but they might make your life a little easier while your body does its job.
Take Your Vitamin C
No, your megadose of vitamin C isn't going to prevent the common cold or immediately make your symptoms go away. But after looking at 31 studies, researchers concluded that taking vitamin C supplements when you're sick might cut your cold short by a full day.
Photographed by Jessica Nash.
Put Honey In Your Tea
Several studies have suggested that honey can actually soothe a cough at least as well as over-the-counter medications. For instance, in a 2007 study, parents preferred to give their kids buckwheat honey over honey-flavored dextromethorphan (an active ingredient in NyQuil) for nighttime coughs.
Photographed by Erin Yamagata.
Take A Hot Shower
A nice, hot shower can help clear your sinuses out. But there may be another less-obvious reason to take one when you're sick: Researchers recently found that humidity makes it harder for cold-causing viruses to linger in the air. That could be one reason why we have fewer colds during the hot-and-sticky summer months. So while that won't make your cold go away any faster, it might make it less likely to spread to your roommates.
Photographed by Brayden Olson.
Gargle Some Saltwater
Doctors (and parents) have long recommend warm gargling saltwater for any throat-related cold symptoms. That's because the salt actually draws liquid out of the tissue in your throat, temporarily easing soreness and swelling. But a 2005 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that it might also help prevent future respiratory illnesses, too.
If you want to give it a shot, Mayo Clinic recommends mixing up to 1/2 teaspoon of salt into eight ounces of warm water. Then, you simply gargle away. You don't have to swallow it, but don't worry if you do so accidentally — you're probably dehydrated, anyway.
Photographed by Refinery29.
Eat (A Little) Garlic
Garlic might not be your first choice if you've got that distinctly gross "cold taste" in your mouth, but there's mounting research that it's got both antibacterial and antiviral properties. A large review found the current research unconvincing, but still somewhat promising: Only one study found that garlic could reduce the amount of colds you get in a year.
Still, there are anecdotal reports that eating garlic (or taking garlic supplements) while you're sick can help ease your symptoms.
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