Catching a cold is almost a certainty for most of us, especially when you have children. It just seems like once the weather turns cooler, runny noses and sneezes kick in as the common cold becomes a fact of life. In fact, it is estimated that children come down with as many as 10 colds every year, with adults catching 2 to 4.

Despite the prevalence of colds and the amount of attention they've received, modern science has not yet come up with a cure or vaccine. There is not much we can do to avoid or treat our colds, mainly because the virus that causes colds is so widespread and is easily transmitted from person to person through sneezes and coughs.

However, the virus can also be contracted by touching an infected surface, such as a doorknob or table, and then transferring the virus to your eyes or mouth, with the latter occurring mainly through the foods we eat. This is the main impetus for washing our hands. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the cold virus can survive outside of the body for hours.

Now researchers believe that taking zinc may be an effective way to help lessen the effects of the common cold and speed up recovery. Zinc is most effective when it is taken within 24 hours of the first onset of symptoms, and can be administered as a syrup, tablets, or lozenges.

Zinc may also help to prevent colds from happening in the first place by coating the virus and compromising its ability to enter our bodies through the mucous membranes. Laboratory tests indicate that zinc can also stop the virus from replicating, and appears to boost our immune system while tempering some of the negative physiological consequences of a viral infection.

Scientists arrived at their findings by reviewing 15 medical trials that involved over 1,300 people. According to the data, people who took zinc within a day of the symptoms reduced both the severity and duration of the infection. After seven days, the patients who took zinc regularly cleared their symptoms more effectively than patients who took placebos. With children, 15 mg of zinc in syrup or lozenge form reduced the number of colds caught and resulted in fewer missed days of school.

It is important to note that all of the trials employed different time scales and dosage amounts, so a general consensus is difficult to achieve. Furthermore, with long term usage comes toxicity concerns due to the fact that large quantities of zinc can lead to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. For this reason, more work needs to be done in order to standardize treatment and find the optimum dose and duration of treatment.

If you have questions or concerns, speak with your doctor. For more information about colds, visit the website for the National Library of Medicine. To learn more about zinc, visit the website for the Office of Dietary Supplements, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).