SFist: Get In On The Airborne Settlement!

Belgand

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:37:28 -0800

The problem is that Airborne is, as has been mentioned, basically little more than a mix of vitamins and various herbal compounds reputed to help with cold symptoms (Vitamin C mega-dosing and Echninacea, both elements of Airborne, have both failed to be proven effective in proper, independent, unaffiliated scientific trials). This is part of the reason behind the whole "created by a schoolteacher" nonsense because it's just a blend of various homeopathic junk that some teacher threw together and eventually started selling. While not always effective there are a few zinc-based remedies available that do apparently reduce the length of colds. Rather than some magical method of action this one actually makes quite a lot of sense. The zinc compounds fill the binding sites on your cells where Rhinovirus would attempt to bind in order to infect that cell. Thus since you aren't binding as many those cells can't be infected and converted over to produce more virus. As a result this tends to shorten the duration of the infection by reducing your viral load. It doesn't always work because it only works with Rhinovirus-caused colds. I haven't had a chance to test it myself, but the science seems to be there to actually back it up. I'd suggest doing more research into these sorts of things if you think you might be getting a cold. Do the same thing before purchasing any medicine to deal with symptoms as the majority contain the same three or four active ingredients in about the same quantities. If in doubt rest and plenty of fluids helps to get you better faster. As does sneezing (it expels infected cells from the body) and keeping good hygiene.

suckafree

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:40:48 -0800

what it did for me was shorten a cold or stop it early. you had to take it as soon as you stared feeling shitty. that same night. if you waited till the next day, it was pretty much worthless. i guess they faked it since they didn't believe it worked either. there's a 6 box limit with no proof of purchase on the refund btw. go get it fakers!

manys

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:06:37 -0800

A placebo will work up to 40% of the time, but that doesn't mean you can make a health claim for one.

Deborah

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:32:58 -0800

Anyone who has ever avoided getting a cold is a total moron for sure.

AlamedaAnnie

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:38:08 -0800

It worked for me as far as putting off a cold, but it never really got rid of one.

aj

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:04:56 -0800

emergen-c is for drunkenness, not hangovers. desert margarita = 1 packet emergen-c + tequila to fill the packet. yum.

rajbot

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:25:08 -0800

emergen-c is for hangovers, not colds. you people are doing it wrong.

sagitta100

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:24:51 -0800

Be careful with those chewable Vitamin C tablets. They will eat away your tooth enamel. Just ask a dentist.

icbalaam

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:21:44 -0800

I always figured Airborne was just a rip off of Emergen-C (though compressed into a tablet). I love Emergen-C and have taken it off and on for 20+ years. The tangerine flavor is the best.

carney

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:06:58 -0800

i eat cloves of garlic when i feel a cold coming on. that doesn't work either...

rageahol

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:34:25 -0800

jnice: that's exactly what i and others insist. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17636648 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16118650 "mega-doses" a la emergen-c were touted for quite a while by linus pauling back in the day. he won a nobel prize in physics once. physics. not biology. not medicine. physics. the idea has been studied quite a bit in the last 60 years or so. no study of the subject has ever been conclusive, and no meta-reviews of previously published data support the idea that it can reliably reduce the incidence, severity, or duration of colds. "common sense" my black ass. if it can't be verified to have a consistent effect over and above that of placebo, you may as well be taking sugar pills. which, it seems, if you take emergen-c or airborne, is pretty much exactly what you're doing. keep believing, and theyll keep selling it to you, but i dont have enough money to bother with that hippie bullshit, even if i wanted to.

aj

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:21:03 -0800

lots of people believe in magical sky fairies. that doesn't mean they don't exist.

jnice

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:47:11 -0800

Are you really all insisting that vitamin C does not help boost immune response to the cold virus? I mean, I know there has been debate on this over the centuries, but it's not exactly UFOs and Yetis. Some might call it traditional medicine . . . or, you know, common sense. Airborne is supposed to prevent the onset of colds, not cure them - otherwise, it would be called "bedriddden", not "airborne". @fizzandpop - your name suggests you enjoy things that are fizzy. Airborne is fizzy. I'm not saying you have to drink it or tolerate people who get colds and whine about it, but you might show a little loyalty to a delicious and mineral-filled beverage which comes in a handy sleeve.

sagitta100

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:03:11 -0800

Try a saline nasal wash instead. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121164118.htm

wsanders

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:52:40 -0800

If I really have a cold or flu, nothing but the best for me - Vicodin! Unfortunately my latest bout with flu wiped out my supply. Guess I'll have to have another knee operation to replenish my supply.

rageahol

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:38:09 -0800

lots of people believe in magical sky fairies. that doesnt mean they exist.

fizzandpop

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:32:28 -0800

My clinically proven method for deciding whether someone is a pussy or not is to wait for cold season, and if they get a cold and complain about it for weeks, then that person is definately a pussy. Colds are what whinney complainalots get. Drink whisky, get over it and shut the fuck up, because allergy season is right around the corner and I'm sure you've got a whole lot of whining to do about that too. Maybe if you actually ate some meat for once you wouldn't pick up every bug flying around and have to take time off from work when you really need to be at your desk doing your fucking job. Get the fuck over your pathetic "cold" and start pulling your fucking weight around here!. There, I'm done.

Leanne

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:29:52 -0800

From what I've read, a lot of times people's cold-like symptoms are actually due to dehydration, and Airborne and Emergen-C simply hydrate you more. Like everything else, this stuff might help relieve cold symptoms momentarily, but nothing will "cure" them.

OrangeDrink

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:25:48 -0800

Emergen-C, bitches.

Bri

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:25:07 -0800

I second that KatyG. However, I have a friend that swears it works miracles.

rageahol

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:24:49 -0800

they didnt play by the rules and hire a real firm because IT WAS A SCAM. idiots.

rageahol

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:24:13 -0800

they didnt play by the rules and hire a real firm because IT WAS A SCAM. and you are both idiots.

KatyG

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:16:47 -0800

Never worked for me, fwiw.

suckafree

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:02:50 -0800

this is really sad. i think it works too. why didn't these fuckers just play by the rules and hire a real firm to do the study? how hard would that have been? now they have destroyed an entire company and lined the pockets with trial attorneys once again. way to go criminals!

jnice

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:52:18 -0800

I will go double-blind on anyone who says Airbone doesn't work, because it totally does. Fizz away, my little yellow friend, fizz away!