Kootenai | Kootenai Health | Issue 1, 2019

“There’s nothing in the scientific community that shows herbal supplements like vitamins C, D or E helps prevent illness,” Matthew Bean, M.D., physician at Kootenai Clinic Family Medicine Residency, said. “It’s important to get these vitamins through a healthy diet and possibly some supplementation to stay well, but adding extra isn’t going to prevent you from getting sick.” What does work? Dr. Bean said the best way to prevent catching a cold is to wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face, and get a yearly flu vaccine. “Most of these bugs are passed from our hands to our body via the mouth or eyes. If we wash our hands regularly, we’re killing those germs before they can get to our body. Likewise, do your best to not touch your face unless your hands are clean.” Dr. Bean also suggests taking oral zinc supplements at the onset of symptoms. While zinc isn’t proven to lessen symptoms, Dr. Bean said studies show zinc does decrease the duration of a cold. Dr. Bean suggests avoiding intranasal zinc as it may damage your sense of smell. And of course, get your flu shot. While vaccine effectiveness can vary year to year, Dr. Bean said flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by about 40 to 60 percent during seasons when the flu vaccine is well-matched to most circulating flu viruses. In addition to reducing the likelihood of illness, the vaccine can help minimize symptoms if you do happen to catch the flu. It also decreases hospitalizations by about 30 percent, and decreases the likelihood of death from the flu by 50 percent. MOM’S Busting Why some of the ways mom told you to prevent illness may not work—and some methods that do By Andrea Nagel We’ve all grown up hearing advice like, going outside with a wet head will make you catch a cold, or taking extra vitamin C will help you feel better when you’re sick. As it turns out, very few of these prevention methods are actually true. MYTHS Myth1: TakevitaminC toprevent or curea cold. 16