Medical Matters: Chicken soup for a cold: why fowl solution can be better than antibiotics

It being a bank holiday weekend, the tradition is for this column to weigh in on the lighter side. Whether you are reading this online or thumbing your way through Health+Family, today's offering should not overtax you.

In a previous column, about food and health, I referred to Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman's book on debunking health myths, Don't Cross Your Eyes . . . They'll Get Stuck That Way!, published by St Martin's Press. So let's see what they have to say about coughs and colds as we enter the winter viral season.

The authors swiftly dismiss any belief that antibiotics kill the viruses that cause colds and flu. Their message is clear and trenchant: “If you have a cold or flu, an antibiotic will not help you feel any better. It will not make you better faster. It will not prevent you from spreading the cold or flu to anyone else. It will not kill your germs.”

Chicken soup

They have a more benign view of the possible benefits of eating chicken soup to relieve cold symptoms.

While no rigorous clinical studies have been carried out to test this hypothesis, some experts have proposed that chicken soup may make us feel better by lessening the body’s inflammatory response to a viral infection.

One group of researchers has looked at the effect of consuming chicken soup on cells in the immune system that migrate to the infection site.

Neutrophils release chemicals that increase the level of inflammation in the body. While some of this inflammatory response helps fight infection, it is also partly to blame for the additional mucus and phlegm that make us miserable when we are hit by a virus.

The research found that homemade chicken soup and some brands of tinned soup actually inhibited the movement of neutrophil cells to the site of infection, which may indirectly explain the restorative powers of the soup when we are under the weather.

It may also, of course, be part of a placebo response. Carroll and Vreeman do not comment on any effect chicken soup may have on the soul.

Humified mist

I was surprised to see the authors debunk the belief that humidified mist will help a child with the frightening, barking cough of croup, which is a viral infection of the upper airways that affects younger children.

It is well-established medical advice to sit with your child in the bathroom with the shower running in order to give some relief for the cough, and the breathing difficulties children experience in the acute phase of the illness.

To the best of my knowledge, babies admitted to hospital with croup are still placed in plastic tents containing humidified air and drugs in aerosol form.

Although relatively few studies have looked at the effects of humidified air on croup, none has shown a benefit.

In one Australian trial, children with croup were randomly assigned to either a normal environment or to an enclosed cot surrounded by humid mist.

Followed up for 12 hours, researchers found no differences between the groups in terms of their clinical condition, vital signs or the amount of oxygen in their blood.

But I wonder whether anyone has studied the calming effect of steaming a child with croup.

Garlic

Does garlic help to treat or prevent colds? It seems the jury is out on this one.

There is just one high-quality study of some 146 volunteers who were randomly assigned to take either a daily garlic supplement or a placebo pill for 12 weeks. The garlic group had fewer colds than those taking a dummy pill and fewer days of illness overall. Larger studies are needed to see if garlic really is worth the terrible smell.

Finally, for anyone who has ever doubted the veracity of man flu, recent research suggests men’s lack of oestrogen weakens their immune system. More sympathy, please, for men this winter.

mhouston@irishtimes.com muirishouston.com