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I fly every so often for work and I always seem to catch a big when I do. Does anybody have anything that works.
I have to fly out in early May and was planning on picking some of this up. Glad I read this article.
I fly every so often for work and I always seem to catch a big when I do. Does anybody have anything that works.
I have to fly out in early May and was planning on picking some of this up. Glad I read this article.
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I've used Emergen-C for general blahs and hangovers with some success, but at least for me, it doesn't do too much good once I'm actually sick sick. Airborne was like drinking a fizzy hippy sock.
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Huh.
My boyfriend's mother shoved some of this at him after he was already sick, and he said it made him feel a little better. It's basically just 1000% of your daily dosage of Vitamin C, isn't it? He drank four glasses in one day... haha.
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Airborne... apply directly to the profits. Airborne... apply directly to the profits. Airborne... apply directly to the profits.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-23895-100x100.png\")
I got an email telling me about the lawsuit, at the email address I use to sign up for online things - and presumably a free Airborne offer at one point. Be aware that Airborne may have had their email list confiscated and/or were required to send out the notice to everyone who had ever signed up for a freebie with them. Not sure what this means for your privacy, but it's notable.
Wait, so what are the benefits for joining this claim? Another free package of Airborn?
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I know I'm a lemming, but I always take this stuff when I start getting that weird \"about-to-get-sick\" feeling. I haven't been sick in a few years. Airborne is the world's most effective placebo.
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I used to get a bad cold/influenze about 3 times a year. When I started taking AirBorne in fall of 2005, it worked for me. I would take it every time I felt I was coming down with something, and I didn't get a cold for over 2 years. Then it just stopped working. I suspect they changed their formula! I've switched to taking prenatal vitamins every day, along with an echinecea supplement and making sure I get my vitamin C. I haven't been sick in a long time. I was pretty mad that the Airborne stopped working, though.
I would add Zinc to your regimen because it does seem to affect your system just as you are coming down with something. It helps your body to withstand the infection. I've heard lots of people say that ZiCam (sp?) stuff helps but it tastes really bad. Maybe that's the placebo that works for it...medicine is supposed to taste bad. It doesn't hurt for anyone to take a daily multi-vitamin (make it a soft gel capsule because many of the hard tablets do not ever break down in the body and are just expelled with the rest of the garbage) and mineral. Even if you eat a decent food plan - you might not get everything that it has. For instance, broccoli is a great veggie with anti-oxidants...but if it's microwaved or boiled it loses 70% to 90% of it's nutrients. You need to steam it to retain the nutrients.
I don't dispute the apparent shadyness of these \"clinical trials,\" but I've had good experience with Airborne. If I feel like I'm coming down with something I drink a couple glasses and I almost always feel fine the next day. Before Airborne I would take massive doses of Ester-C, but I feel the Airborne is more effective. As with anything, if you take it after you're already sick it's probably not going to help.
wasnt there just a study recently published that stated Vitamin C has no effect in warding off a cold??
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Look for Mucinex to be in a lawsuit soon too because it doesn't work either!
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@SoCalGNX: What about Musinex doesn't work? It's just guaifenesin, same expectorant as in most other cough medicines. Mucinex DM contains that ples dextromethorphan, the main OTC cough suppressant. I am just getting over the flu and they worked fine for what I used them for (loosening chest congestion and easing coughs, respectively). Of course they didn't work as well as the heavy-duty medicine for gasping asthmatics at death's door that my doctor gave me, but if it worked well enough, the FDA wouldn't approve it for selling OTC, would they?
Even my typing has laryngitis.
Beware the zinc treatments that are inhalers vs a pill/liquid. Apparently the metal can damage your SENSE OF SMELL. That's pretty friggin scary to me. Can't people learn to wash their hands and be careful when traveling??
Where can I find generic Placebo? None of the pharmaceuticals ads I receive in my email offer it.
Or maybe they all do but under other names.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
@orielbean: Hmmm, if that's true, then maybe I'll stop being able to tell when the elevator was last used by someone returning from a smoke break.
@jarchie219: I heard once that pharmacies can sell you the sugar pills that make up placebos as a way to help teach your kids how to swallow pills.
I found that it works. If it's placebo then hey, it still works!
There's also Alfa CF and black elderberry extract.
When I start to get a cold, I take Zicam (contains zinc), and it seems to help. I don't know if it's a placebo or not. It \"seems\" to work for me, and that's enough, I suppose. However, I only use the medicated swabs. I don't think eating it will help. The zinc works to destroy the virus, which resides mainly in your nose (for a rhinovirus-caused cold, anyway, not sure if it helps with the flu). Using the swab to get it directly in your nose is the only way I think it could possibly work, so the tablets, dissolving strips, etc., are a true waste of money; the swabs are only kind of a waste of money :P
And for the reports of folks losing their sense of smell due to Zicam, I have no idea. It's possible you could be allergic to zinc. You can't blame the company if you use something you're allergic to. Test it on your skin, or maybe your cheek or something first if you're worried. However, my guess is those folks already had something wrong with their nose that caused the problem, and using Zicam was coincidental. But again, I don't have any evidence on the matter, other than my wife and I never have any trouble.
BTW, it's possible the swabs work simply because I'm swabbing out my nose, and the zinc isn't doing anything. Next time I get a cold, I'll just swab out my nose with a regular Q-tip and let you know if it works as well as Zicam ;)
@rolla: There's also published studies which show arsenic is good for headaches and studies which say surgery is best for ulcers, but I don't think I'll be taking their advice.
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Zinc and lots of Vitamin C have always helped me during colds. I've never OD'd on Vitamin C, I've been told that once your Vitamin C levels reach critical mass your body just disposes of the excess. I've never found a cold remedy that wasn't some mixture of alcohol &/or decongestants, Zinc, and Vitamin C.
@jarchie219: I keep threatening to give my sister bottles M&Ms with made up \"medicinal\" names.
Phakanix
Licam
Falsex
\"Ooh! The red ones are the best!\"
My sister's father-in-law dropped off a pallet worth of boxes filled with Airborne (I didn't ask nor would I want to know how he came upon them) at her house, so the last time I started feeling a cold coming on I hit up the stockpile, and sure enough it seemed to have helped. All I ever got was a very mild sore throat, and a few sneezes over the course of four days, instead of the normal \"Oh My God, this cold is going to kill me\" feeling. I'm still waiting 'till when I get sick again I can try it out again, and then when I get sick a third time I'll not take Airborne to see if my cold is worse. Ha ha! The Scientific Method.
Either way, I guess I couldn't take advantage of the Class Action settlement since I didn't pay for the Airborne in the first place. Shady father-in-law merchandise, FTW!
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@Dead Wrestlers Society: The only real way to avoid the flu is to get your flu shots. Not a guarantee but it helps. If you're on a plane the best way to stay healthy is to keep hydrated. Planes are very dry environments and that can stress your body especially adding to the fact your legs are probably going numb from all that leg room. :P Other than that washing your hands also helps.
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CVS/Walgreens brand \"airborne\" (wal-borne) are just as (in)effective and twice as tasty. The Orange flavored one could almost pass for a mimosa. For 1/4 the price of real airborne, it's worth taking if you're \"at-risk\", even if it's only slightly better than not taking it at all. It's awfully hard to prove that a preventative medicine DOESN'T work. After all - if you DON'T get sick, does that mean it worked, or does it mean you just avoided getting sick altogether? ha!
Zinc has gotten me to come out of a few bad spells. Unfortunately, the zinc remedies that I've taken taste horrible.
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@pengie: It is if you have kidney problems, or are pregnant. Actually, some of us know that vitamin C can be a preventive measure and sometimes cure for that other kind of cold that only women get ;)
Yes, vitamin C is an early abortifacient.
@pengie:
\"basically just 1000% of your daily dosage of Vitamin C, isn't it?\"
If it is, it's a complete waste. Your body can only absorb so much vitamin C, sick or not. Being water soluable it just comes out in your urine.
Now - I could be wrong but I do recall that the doctor who came up with the theory about vitamin C preventing/curing the cold never had his results duplicated.
The most annoying thing about this product are the claims all over the box that it was \"created by a Grade 2 school teacher\", because she didn't want to catch anything from the kiddies.
What kind of credential is that? Is she also a licensed naturopath? A pharmacologist moonlighting as a teacher? Or, are we supposed to believe in her formulations because she can teach kids to add 1+1? I actually do use some supplements, including herbals, but I'd prefer to use products made by people who've made knowing about these things their profession. And yes, such people do exist (they are called naturopathic doctors and go to college full time for 8 years) and are professionally licensed in many states.
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Who actually remembers when they bought their Airborne? I have no way of remembering from almost a year ago and I certainly didn't keep the receipts. How am I supposed to fill out my claim form without lying?
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I'm a firm believer in Airborne's effectiveness. Aren't placebos considered effective in their own right? I like the fizzy goodness too.
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Don't know if they still have it going on, but there was a promotion on their boxes that if you buy 6, you get a tube free. In order to do that, you had to save the UPC's and receipts from all the purchases. This'll really bite them in the ass when a lot of people filing claims have physical proof of all of their purchases.
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Ya know...I am not sure this stuff is just all crap, I have taken it several times and it always seems to work for me.
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@speedwell:
The FDA also approved Viox and quite a few other things that later proved problematic. I think they draw things out of a hat to see what they will approve next.
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@nycaviation: Word. If you're already sick, it's too little too late.
It works for me, who cares if it's useless to some? Not all cold medicines are effective for everybody, yet people aren't suing the NyQil folks.
ceejeemcbeegee... I agree. All medicines affect people in different ways. Your body will even even adapt to medicines you've taken for a while and basically become ineffective. I can't tell you how many prescription drugs I've gone through in my life simply because they work for awhile, then suddenly have no affect. I've used Airborne in the past because I traveled weekly on planes and it always worked for me. Think about the germs on those arm rests...eeeks! It got to the point where I wouldn't touch my face with my open hands/fingers for fear of transmitting germs directly into my body. Maybe I should've picked my nose and wiped it on the arm rest to help contribute! :)
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I've always laughed at people who use this product, including my close relatives. It says right on the package that is was developed by a school teacher, as if that were something worth highlighting.
Don't get me wrong. I value and respect the contributions teachers make to our society. I'm just skeptical as to whether these contributions include viable pharmaceuticals, or even holistic medicine! What would a single teacher know about immunology that a consortium of doctors and scientists haven't figured out already?
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As for Zicam, my stepfather started losing his sense of taste quite a bit a couple of years ago. Then the reports of people losing their sense of smell from Zicam came out, and we figured out he starting losing his taste right around when he started using Zicam. I never used the stuff myself because I really don't believe shooting gels up my nose is going to shorten a cold (load of crap if you ask me), and I don't know whether or not zinc destroys nasal tissue, but Zicam sounds like a lot of snake-oil and I'd rather just let my body work through the cold itself and build up its defenses than risk losing my sense of smell. And them's my two cents.
And here's a fact apart from all that: Zicam has not been, and is not required to be, approved by the FDA because it is considered a \"natural remedy.\"
@alhypo: I was always confused by the school teacher thing too! What the hell does a school teacher know about medicine?? Shouldn't this teacher be pushing antibacterial wipes instead?
Hey, even though the 'study' isn't what it is cracked up to be, this stuff works. I have used this stuff for the last 3 years and my husband started it 2 years ago. Yes, it is vitamins in large doses, but it has worked well at the first signs of a cold. When we haven't remembered to take it ASAP, it still has helped by reducing the length and severity of the cold.
No complaints. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
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Thanks, guys. I just bought Airborne for the first time today. Couldn't you have waited until tomorrow to shoot down the placebo effect?
Whatever...put in you bought 6 packages (no proof required) and you get an easy $50 or so...
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@SomeoneGNU: But there's a difference between the daily recommended value and how much your body can actually absorb. The amount that can be absorbed also varies based on need (i.e. it will absorb more when you're getting sick). You may not absorb everything you take, but by giving yourself a megadose you'll get the maximum amount, and the rest will just be expelled.
That being said, Airborne is way overpriced. You can buy a huge bottle of vitamin C for a fraction of the cost of Airborne. I personally take 2000mg a day because my girlfriend is a pediatric nurse and brings home all sorts of diseases. Thanks the vitamin C I almost never get sick.
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@monkey33: I've never had Airborne, but Emergen-C makes a decent mixer. Decent, that is, if you like Tang.
@Mucinexhaters: Mucinex works, but you gotta take more than the wimpy instructions sez: If you're using the real Mucinex, take at least 2 to start, and repeat every 12 h. If you're using store brands that aren't controlled-release, take at least 2, and repeat every 4-6 h. Don't take cough suppressants with Mucinex, or you won't get the benefit of the guaifenesin.
The common cold is caused by a virus. Simply put, there are no medicines that prevent colds and nothing that cures them - not vitamin C, not echinacea, and certainly not Airborne. Sure, there are plenty of anecdotes suggesting they work. To them I say, that's the reason real medicines have to be shown to be effective in randomized, double-blinded clinical trials. And there are none - and not for lack of trying - that show the effectiveness of any of these 'treatments'.
Got a cold? Live with it folks. Nothing you can do besides that.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-74864-100x100.png\")
@orielbean: There's no escpaing it on a plane. You, them, and all your germs are all in the same recirculating air for the length of the flight. I almost always get sick doing a non-stop cross country flight.
However, you can count me in as one of the people who like Zicam for killing it quicker than nothing.
The flu is a virus. The only things that work are eating properly and, possibly, getting a flu shot.
Too much Vitamin-C is worse than slightly too little. You don't get sick precisely because your girlfriend is a pediatric nurse - the more germs you encounter, the more effective your immune system becomes.
@mrsmarti:
I hear heroin and PCP completely eliminate all illnesses and make you live forever.
Don't knock it until you've tried it.
Nyquil only treats cold symptoms and only claims to treat cold symptoms. If you have a severe cold, you often have trouble sleeping, which can prolong your cold. At worst, Nyquil will help you sleep through your cold.
-------
For the last goddamned time, THE COLD AND FLU ARE CAUSED BY VIRUSES, AND THERE ARE NO CURES. A CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF EVERY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD, GARNER A NOBEL PRIZE, AND MAKE THE CREATOR WEALTHY BEYOND ANYONE'S DREAMS.
Vaccines may prevent the flu by stimulating the body's immune system, and antiviral drugs have been developed which assist in speeding up the course of the illness. These are not *cures*, and should not be treated as such. Further, there are many strains of influenza, and they are not all treatable.
\"Better than nothing\" is a ridiculous statement. Eating fresh fruit is also \"better than nothing,\" is less expensive, and has far fewer possible side-effects.
\"Better than nothing\" also implies that you knew exactly how long your symptoms were going to last without the treatment - impossible to pinpoint with most diseases.
@RvLeshrac: Of course vitamin C doesn't cure the cold or the flu, but it helps the immune system which is what eventually gets rid of it. And if the immune system is strong enough, early enough, it can fight off the viruses before they have time to get serious numbers.
Also my girlfriend got sick all the time until I got her started taking vitamin C regularly, so I think there's something to that. Although, your comments got me looking into stuff about it, and I'm thinking maybe I should reduce the dose to 1000mg a day, which is great cause it doubles my supply!
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It states on the box that this was created by some school teacher. I'm not surprised he probably hired two guys to do the survey. You're better off taking a daily vitamin and extra vitamin C.
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I fly a lot, and I also have a weak immune system. I've never taken this stuff and never had any problems after flying. I never really looked into it, but I always wondered what the point was if your chances of getting sick are 50/50. When my bro told me he took it before a flight, I thought it was kind of funny, because he has never had a lot of problems getting sick. I guess in the back of my mind I always thought it was BS.
@theblackdog: sure use the nasal zinc if you want to affect your sinus cavities as well as lose your sense of smell permanently.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-20679-100x100.png\")
@chemicalx9: Or you can just apply the stuff to the inside of your nose instead of shooting it all the way up into your sinuses which I suspect is what actually makes folks lose their sense of smell.
As someone who gets a virus every time I fly home for the holidays, I started taking this product and I haven't been sick since. Also, whenever I feel a cold coming on, I start taking it and the cold never takes hold. Maybe I stay healthy because my mind believes I will or maybe this product works. Either way, I hope this suit doesn't take the product off the shelves because it works for me.
Vitamins, especially in the excesses present in this genre of suppliment will not make your cold go away any faster than if you simply drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. If you eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruit, you should already have a healthy immune system and will catch fewer colds. That's the best you can do. Unless you get a great placebo effect from airborne or emer'gen C, then I suggest you spend your money elsewhere.
@RvLeshrac: Encountering a variety of germs strengthens the immune systems of children, not adults. The adult immune system is a relatively static organism.
@Pacifist Pirate Nyo: the school teacher is a 'she' not a 'he'. Her photo is on the bottom of the box.
I've had good luck with adding in some viatmin C, and other goodies. Airborne, however, has a bunch of sugar (why?), and is way expensive, compared to expensive supplements. I'll take the crappy tasting pill, thanks.
A critical part of Airborne's problem is the pseudo-clinical study they used as a marketing ploy. I've tried to locate information on the names of the founders of GNG Pharmaceutical Sciences but have not yet found anything. Does anyone have this information or know how to get it? I've looked in business registers in Florida and Indiana, but no luck so far. Thanks for any ideas or information.
And that's really the point.
Vitamin C is certainly beneficial - at the proper levels. Most people don't get nearly enough of the various vitamins and minerals they need.
1000mg is still more than 15x the USRDA (10x the highest RDA). If you're going to be taking it in excess, limit yourself to 100-200mg. Take too much, and you're going to suffer from diarrhea.
You're also better off just drinking a couple glasses of orange juice a day. That will take care of both the vitamin C and your fluid intake.
As long as you actually consult reliable sources, I don't really care if you overdose on C. It might be unpleasant, but it won't necessarily hurt you. Just keep in mind that diarrhea will cause you to expel even more of the nutrients that you already aren't getting (presumably, if you're taking supplements). It becomes an arms race.
And please, don't trust the \"Vitamin C Foundation\" with your health. One of their primary sources, Dr. Thomas Levy, is a rabid anti-vaccination quack - I find it difficult, if not impossible, to accept any medical studies or 'advice' originating with him.
The \"Vitamin C Foundation\" recommends that pregnant women consume enough Vitamin C (6-9g) to cause serious disease ('rebound' scurvy) in newborns, and they recommend 20-300g/day to 'cure' infectious disease - enough to cause acute conjunctivitis and *EXTREMELY* severe mineral deficiencies in an adult. This extraordinarily large dosage is more likely to cause the disease to spread due to the body's deficiencies without complementary doses of other supplements, which have their own dangers.
They further recommend that every child over the age of three be dosed with 3g+/day of Vitamin C - this is enough vitamin C to cause severe mineral deficiencies in children, which can lead to loss of bone density, among other conditions, over time.
With quacks like these, who needs Avian Flu?
@Claystil:
Your immune system is never static. Saying that it is static \"relative\" to a child is much like saying the molecules in water are static relative to plasma. Sure, one of them is packed with activity, but that doesn't mean the other is a sub-k block of metal.
If you don't encounter germs, your immune system will lose the ability to fight them. Young or old. The only case in which encountering them is NOT beneficial is when your immune system is already overtaxed, or when it is affected by medication or immunodeficiency diseases.
I like the comment about the Vitamin A content of Airborne.
15000IU/day (the Airborne dosage) of Vitamin A will cause hair loss, loss of bone density, damage to the skin, vomiting, and a number of other issues in kids.
Perhaps the people who give Airborne to children should be arrested on charges of child cruelty and attempted murder.
@RvLeshrac: despite your colorful analogies there, you're still not correct.
We have two forms of immunity in our body. The one we're discussing is known as active immunity and typically lasts for the life of an individual. By adulthood, most individuals in developed nations will have a near-complete catalogue of defensive cells. This will not be the case if they go to a completely new environment, which is why many travelers need to update manual immunizations prior to travel and why the American Indians were wiped out by european diseases. There are also immunizations not manually applied that likewise might not occur naturally in some individuals, but this is rare. In other words, yes, the immune system, in the terms defined by the discussion here, is relatively static compared to that of a child's. Ask any physician and I promise they'll tell you the same thing. And read me clearly, I am not saying it's static compared to \"a sub-k block of metal.\"
To your last, separate point: our immune system's memory is quite long. It remembers quite a bit for an entire lifetime. Most of us are pretty well set by the time we complete puberty. Those of us who aren't should be weary. Very, very weary.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-67728-100x100.png\")
It's far better when you travel to wash your hands and NOT turn on the air vent over your airplane seat. I had a doctor recommend that, and I stopped getting sick when I traveled when I stopped spewing the germs of an entire airplane directly into my eyes, nose and mouth.
Could someone please post a link with info. about how to claim the refund? I have spent a fortune on this crap. I am a school teacher too. I kept taking it because I am \"sick of catching colds\" too, like the creator. It sure didn't seem like a miracle but I was desperate.
I've found the best thing for both colds and sinuses. I use it as a preventative and a cure all and it only costs about $2.97. It is made for allergies but it appears to work with colds. I've have several other people try it and now they swear by it. It is the Equate Chloratab sold at Walmart. It's comparble to Chloratin but I have never taken Chloratin so I cannot compare them other than price. I typically take the tablet to help with keeping my sinuses dry when I feel a sniffle coming and for some reason it never develops into a cold (and it is not an alergy problem that I have. It is a very safe medicine can be taken everyday and is supposed to be ok for high blood pressure sufferers. Try it it may work for you. Also if you start taking it during a cold you keep on about a day after you feel better to make sure you are out of the woods. Good luck with your search for a cure.
@Claystil:
The problem is when one is not exposed to disease for a prolonged period of time, as is often the case now with our reliance on antibacterial everything.
That's what I was getting at. Until late-life (50, 60, 70), the immune system is still fully capable of developing to meet new threats. In modern society, adults have frequently been sheltered with antibiotics and antibacterial soaps/lotions to the point where they cannot fight off simple diseases (minor infections, colds) in adult life.
Hence my constant recommendation that people stop showering themselves with these products.
A healthy immune system will become stronger when exposed to new, or even old, germs. A(n) infant/child's immune system is obviously more active, as it encounters far more new material to process. That doesn't mean that an adult's immune system stops or slows processing - it just encounters less to process.
@RvLeshrac: \"Hence my constant recommendation that people stop showering themselves with these products.\"
Well I guess it's good to know that it has the RvLeshrac vote, but before I alter my lifestyle on the advice of a stranger over the internet, I usually like to see studies that empirically confirm his gut sense.
If you don't follow a similar principle, I recommend immersing your head in castor oil seven times a day until you do. In my experience, that has also prevented cancer, since I have never gotten cancer within four hours of immersing my head in castor oil. Think about it: I bet you haven't either.
@RvLeshrac: I understand where you're coming from, and to some extent your logic is sound, but the general picture you paint is simply not true. Unfortunately, your line of thinking is becoming more common.
The next time you're speaking to an M.D., especially if its an immunologist, ask him if using anti-biotics or anti-bacterial soaps will negatively influence your [adult] immune system. I promise you he will tell you the same things I have and then say \"...so, there's nothing wrong using these products.\"
I solved most of my cold problems by moving to California. Works quite well.
See, you can't sue the makers of DXM + Guaifenesin for selling a product that turns out later to not work, assuming that they haven't been hiding negative results or such. Tons of studies into the human toxicity and efficacy of DXM and Guaifensin have been done. Getting each ingredient on the market is the result of bunches and bunches of research.
And it turns out that they're wrong and plain old honey works better. Better than a second grade teacher, a nameless (and probably manufactured) staff of health professionals, and a pair of clearly manufactured researchers to \"prove\" that it works. At least the DXM + Guailfensin folks had good intentions, instead of being out to get your money.
Personally, I think we should return to narcotic cold remedies. Not because I think they work, but because at least you are a little less aware of how crappy you feel at the moment.
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@EBounding: Agreed. I just bought 2 of these because we're about to fly to San Diego and I usually take them a couple of days before the flight. It seems to work.
@RvLeshrac: AMEN. I've been saying this for years. The only thing I really disinfect after is poultry. I don't use antibacterial anything unless it's a toilet or touched a chicken. Geebus. We're making ourselves so vulnerable or building super-bugs that can't be stopped.
Remember the Simpsons episode where children are banned everywhere in the town? Ha Ha! There is no CURE for a cold, never has been. As a work in progress, I hear they are still no where near finding one.
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@ wouldacoulda
That's why it's funny when people swear by stuff they've taken after they've become sick. Like someone taking antibiotics for a common cold. Like anyone taking Zicam. (it's a HOMEOPATHIC \"remedy\") Like Echinacea, mega doses of C, A, Zinc, whatever vitamin you want. Once you're sick, you can only treat the SYMPTOMS.
Antibacterial soaps outright kill bacteria - they aren't made with products that bacteria can adapt to resist (generally speaking, of course. I'm sure there's SOMETHING out there...).
The issue is when you're using them constantly for years.
@Pender:
Doctors will back me up, to a degree. As Claystil said, they *will* say that there's \"nothing wrong\" with using antibacterial soaps, lotions, rinses, etc. They will also, however, point out that these things should be used in moderation - they're an excellent idea when you're on an airplane or other packed, crowded locale.
You're better off simply using soap & water most of the time, though, since your immune system *needs* these bacteria.
It also doesn't help that many of the hand-rinses are alcohol-based - they'll dry out your skin fairly quickly, especially in a dry or windy climate.
I filed for my check; but you have to supply a receipt. If you threw away your receipt(s) or got it for free, you'll be out of luck. I bought mine through Amazon, and they seem to keep receipts/invoices online forever. :)
I sent in information on Airborne I bought and now months later I get this letter that says I had a box that wasn't for sale at the time. Now it says I have to resend the other 2 bottles I bought. This is some kind of joke. I am sure if you send letters like this to people they will say forget it because it's not worth the trouble.I am really distgusted with the way you are running your class action suit. I am sure it won't hely your sales as I would never buy any more and I am sure other people feel the same. I feel better now that I said what I did. nagmuffy@comcast.net Constance Magnusen
I took part in the class action suit and was reimbursed for up to six boxes today. I think it may have helped with some things, but I felt that it was unfair for a company to make claims that aren't true. There are too many people taking advantage of unsuspecting individuals.
I love Mucinex, it's awesome stuff. I had a nasty nasty cold in January and I took it. Helped clear me up, PLUS the kid's stuff is one of the few things my son can take safely at his age that helps.
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My wife bought some of this, I take it occasionally, but I don't think it really makes any difference in the amount of or length of colds I might get.
One thing that always makes me laugh is the proud declaration on the package: \"Made by a school teacher!\". I probably should take something made by actual scientists, but there you go. Hopefully at least she is a science school teacher.
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I've been telling people this stuff is crap, it's just a fancy and expensive multi-vitamin. The only real protection against illness is a hazmat suit.