"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
This is a personal theory. Everyone knows, that colds are spread by
airborne droplets. If the object is to rid the body of virus instead
of retaining it, than it only makes sense.

Sneezing, coughing, etc. is not the body's attempt to "rid itself of the
virus". They are a reaction to the irritation caused by the body killing
virus and virus-infected cells. Live virus does get expelled, of course,
but it's not through that process that the body actually defeats the virus.

Furthermore, viruses are specialized in the cells that they infect. A
respiratory virus isn't going to get anywhere in the GI tract, except out
the other end (and probably dead by then, though it's hard to say...some
viruses are pretty resilient).

As for your other points, mostly valid except that I'd suggest that aspirin
is a fine pain reliever too. It's not just for fevers (though, we don't use
aspirin in our household at all...acetaminophen and ibuprofen are our pain
relievers of choice, using the former when fever is also involved). There's
not much evidence that salt water gargles or huge doses of vitamins actually
help, but they won't hurt either (and the salt water may well soothe your
symptoms).

Rest, lots of fluids, and proper nutrition are still the gold standard for
basic cold virus recovery.

Pete