A Health Section of the Washington Post reviews the composition of "Airborne" - a commercially available product getting lots a buzz . . but, as in most OTC "cures" or "preventives" - no science to support its claim to prevent or treat colds, flus or respiratory illnesses.
Its a concoction of vitamin C (nope, not effective and in high doses causes stomach upset), echinacea (nope, not effective as reported in prestigious New England Journal of Medicine recently), vitamin A (megadoses of this have been shown to produce birth defects), chinese herbs (small dose or who knows what dose of this and products like it are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration), zinc, manganese, ginger etc - none shown to be effective.
Save your money.
Wash your hands frequently. Don't sneeze into them. Exercise (walk outside even - warm your breath if you have to - cold doesn't cause "colds"). Eat right with 5 fruits and vegetables a day. With a well balanced diet (see our Web site) you don't need multivitamins (food is better) - unless you're pregnant of course.
All of these will "boost your immune system", reduce your risk of infection and make the symptoms bearable - and are PROVEN effective. Unlike the 5-6 tablets of Airborne at 75 cents each per day!
Have a great day.
Dr Mike.