【Doyouthinkgettingcoldcangiveyouacold？Isitbadtodrinkmilkwhenyouhaveacold？Canchickensoupcureacold？RanitMishoriisafamilymedicinedoctoratGeorgetownUniversityMedicalCenterinWashington．Shesayscoldsaremoreco】
Doyouthinkgettingcoldcangiveyouacold？Isitbadtodrinkmilkwhenyouhaveacold？Canchickensoupcureacold？
RanitMishoriisafamilymedicinedoctoratGeorgetownUniversityMedicalCenterinWashington．Shesayscoldsaremorecommoninwinter，butnotbecauseoflowtemperatures．Thecoldweatherjustmeanspeoplestayinsidemore．
RanitMishori："Peopletendtocongregateandbetogetherandthewaythecommoncoldvirusistransmittedfromonepersontoanotheristhroughhandshakes，throughsneezing，orcoughingononeanother．"
Adultsgenerallygettwotothreecoldsayear．Childrenarelikelytocatchfourorfive．Dr．Mishorisayssomepeoplemistakenlybelievetheycanbecomeresistanttocolds．
RanitMishori："Thereareabouttwohundreddifferentvirusesthatcausethecommoncold．Peoplethinkthatonceyougetinfectedonetimeyoudevelopimmunityfortherestofyourlife．Thisiswrong．"
Thereisstillnocureforthecommoncold．ButDr．Mishorisaystherearewaystofeelbettersooner．
RanitMishori："SoifyougetacoldandondayoneandyoustarttakingabouttwogramsofvitaminCaday，thereisevidencethatitmightshortenthenumberofdaysthatyouwillbesufferingwiththesesymptoms．"
Shesayshoneycanalsohelp．"Thereisincreasedevidencethatithelpsshortenthedurationofthecommoncoldsometimesevenbytwotothreedays．"
Dr．Mishorisayshoneyseemstobeespeciallyeffectiveinchildrenwithcolds．ButtheAgricultureDepartmentsaysnevertofeedhoneytobabieslessthanoneyearold．Itsaysevenhoneyinpreparedfoodsmaycontainsubstancesthatcanmakebabiesverysick．
Somepeoplebelieveintreatingacoldwithchickensoup．Doesitwork？
RanitMishori："Chickensouphasanti-inflammatoryproperties，soithelpsreducethedurationofthecoldbutalsoithelpsclearthemucus．"Mucusisthestickysubstancethatcanmakeyoucoughandhavetroublebreathingduringacold．
RanitMishori："Butyouhavetodrinkalotandyoucandrinkwateroryoucandrinktea--anythingthatgetsfluidsintoyourbody．That'sveryimportant．"
Butwhataboutdrinkingmilkduringacold？Somepeoplethinkitonlyca