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