What’s the best way to treat the common cold?

Explore the 4 common categories of cold medicines, and how to choose the right one based on your symptoms.

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From incantations in ancient Egypt, bloodletting in 18th century Europe, to President Coolidge inhaling poisonous chlorine gas in 1924, the common cold has inspired a variety of creative treatments. Today pharmacies are filled with an endless assortment of cold remedies. But how do these products work? And are they effective? Explore the most common categories of cold medicines and their purposes.

Directed by Lippy.

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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Michael Aquilina, Jason A Saslow, Yansong Li, Cristóbal Moenne, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann - they-them, Siamak Hajizadeh, Ryohky Araya, Mayank Kaul, Christophe Dessalles, Heather Slater, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora, Noel Situ, emily lam and Sid.

[refactorear]

"Without medication a cold is cured in a week. With medication, in seven days."

[superpowerdragon]

the best treatment is honestly just rest, unfortunately for some this is a luxury they cant afford

[Dr.NowIsTheGOAT]

Everyone saying “OmG i’M SiCk rN” as if the people at Ted Talk didn’t have this ready to be uploaded during cold and flu season 😂💀

[qknziib]

1 minute ago I sneezed 15 times and now TED uploading this... Wow

[depressoespresso]

i have been just slightly sick for the past two weeks, sick enough to be annoying and a constant feeling of smthn in my throat but not sick enough to get out of work

[umadapuma]

It’s like when everyone’s sick, TED-ED swoops in to save the day. 😭

[nathanwalla]

It's like TED Talk is listening to my mind.

[pmmmAMV]

And remember- ALWAYS look up drug interactions.

Lots of antidepressants have severe interactions with cold medications. I was brought up addressing symptoms individually (not using a combo cold medication) but even without that, there's a slew of 'cold and flu' type products I cannot use due to drug interactions.

[gbpropellerrat]

everybody is getting the cold right now lol

[dagamerking]

One home remedies I use to help ease congestion in particular from inflammation and mucus in the nose and chest is capsaicin! Essentially, I eat spicy food. Capsaicin has been shown to reduce inflammation and increase hydration of the mucus lining.

[joshuaboojulal]

theres no way this video comes out when im sick

[MountainLabsYT]

The art feels like a 2010 learning game.

[El-Burrito]

I'm totally healthy, I just want to be prepared for when I get a cold again

[rusty]

There's nothing you can do. Just let your immune system take its time and manage the illness.

[TheTrueWaterwarrior]

4:50 Nice to know Billy’s still using tangelos into his adulthood

[Andrewltfanai]

Is it just me or the narrator actually started sounding congested around 0:50

[AyuAyu-kun]

I kept on getting antibiotics prescribed for cold since i was a kid. My digestion is pathetic and it is only a few years ago that I stopped consuming antibiotics for fever and im actually falling sick way less, my digestion has also been lil better

[Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

A cartoon of a guy carrying a tub of mucus...good start to my day. And that video was SICK! 😂😂😂

[NiyaKouya]

IMHO the best way to treat a cold is inhaling (1l of boiling water, a few drops of mint oil, a towel and ~10 minutes of time can do wonders to clearing and hydrating your respiratory system), staying bundled up in bed most of the day, and NOT fighting a fever unless you get into the dangerous range above 40°C. The raised temperature helps your immune system with fighting off the "invasion".

[kiffe]

4:22 After everything you told us so far. Wouldn't the better question be whether these drugs prolong our recovery process?