There is no FDA approved cure or vaccine for the common cold, though there are some antiviral drugs currently in development. There are, however, a number of other popular treatments.
Airborne and a variety of similar products are essentially megadoses of vitamin C (ascorbate). Airborne is sold as a dietary supplement and contains many times the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Airborne’s claim to reduce symptoms and/or prevent colds has been debunked a number of times, and they have settled several lawsuits accusing them of false advertising.
Another common “cure” is Zicam, or zinc gluconate. Zinc gluconate is the salt of zinc and gluconic acid. The story is much the same with as with the vitamin C supplements. Hordes of studies with varying methodologies have shown that zinc is or is not effective in preventing, reducing, or eliminating cold symptoms. Essentially, it is unclear.
Vitamin C in particular has an interesting history however. It has been credited with curing or reducing symptoms of a variety of conditions other than the common cold, namely polio, cancer, and heart disease. No one disputes its utility in preventing scurvy, nor that in normal doses it probably is generally salubrious. Its use as a direct therapy for acute conditions has been the subject of a great deal of debate, however. One of the leading advocates for vitamin C megadosage was Linus Pauling, the great physical chemist. He has written a number of books and articles on the subject, including the rather grandly titled, "A unified theory of human cardiovascular disease leading the way to the abolition of this disease as a cause for human mortality.”
In general, though, the fact remains that the common cold remains an annoying, unpreventable, incurable fact of life.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/520031
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0020168&ct=1&SESSID=aaecb344abe4afc32f4ab12e30f1f1c9
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p005.pdf
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I've heard a great deal of the Airborne products on the news, and it has not been on the positive end of the spectrum. Looking at the website for Airborne, they claim that the ingredients "have been shown to help support your immune system as shown in scientific studies and medical journals." When looking at the FAQs, one question asks, “Is there scientific evidence to support that Airborne really works?” The answer is a link to what is in the dietary supplement. Hmm…
The Federal Trade Commission’s website has an article about Airborne Health, but it’s about a lawsuit on false advertising. The privately owned company will have to pay $30 million for a settlement because they do not have scientific evidence to support their advertising claims.
http://airbornehealth.com/index.php
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/08/airborne.shtm
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