Prevent Colds with Airborne
Written: Feb 23 '04 (Updated Nov 02 '09)
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Pros: Can help fight off colds or minimize their severity. Made in USA!
Cons: Orange flavor isn't great (but it also comes in lemon lime and gummi lozenges)
The Bottom Line: If taken at the FIRST sign of a cold, Airborne can help prevent you from getting sick.
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| jmatsu's Full Review: Airborne Effervescent Health Formula Dietary Suppl... |
I went almost 3-1/2 YEARS without getting sick--thanks to Airborne. If YOU feel a cold coming on, then you might want to give it a try....
Airborne is a mixture of herbs (like ginger and echinacea), vitamins (like A, C and E) and elements (such as zinc and magnesium) that was developed by a California elementary school teacher who was tired of catching colds. It comes in the form of an effervescent tablet that you dissolve in water and drink.
If you take it at the VERY FIRST sign of a cold (or before you are exposed to cold germs, as in an airplane or a room full of small children), it's supposed to boost your immuno system and prevent you from getting sick.
A few days before Christmas 2003, my husband started to feel iffy. The next day I went to the store for cold meds and decided to pick up some Airborne (my mom had been recommending it). By then, his throat had gone from a slight tickle to really scratchy with lots of sneezing--he was definitely coming down with something. It might have been too late to try dodging the cold, but with Christmas coming we gave Airborne a try.
I gave him 2 or 3 doses, spaced about 3 hours apart (as recommended by the label). He said it might have helped. He wasn't sure. He can be such a guy. The next day was Christmas eve and he seemed to definitely have a cold, so we stopped giving him Airborne. We just assumed we'd missed nipping the cold in the bud and would have to deal with him being sick. He was still sick on Christmas morning (but determined to open his presents). However, by late afternoon, he was feeling pretty chipper. He was through the worst of it and was on the mend. He had the next week off from work and was able to spend it having fun instead of being sick and miserable.
My husband often bounces back from a cold fairly quick. This was much quicker than normal and the cold seemed exceptionally mild, but we didn't think much of it. Hey, maybe it was the extra doses of Vitamin C!
A month later, I started to sneeze. I thought it was allergies, so I ignored it for a few days, but then my throat started to feel scratchy and I felt a little congested. And I had my mother-in-law coming for a visit in one week!
I took my first dose of Airborne on a Tuesday morning. It looks scummy and gritty, and it tastes a bit like fizzy, weak Tang. I didn't like the taste, but my scratchy throat stopped bothering me. About three hours later, my throat started to feel funny again, so I took another dose. The label says to take it every 3 hours and like clockwork my symptoms came back every three hours. I kept taking it for the next day. It was apparent to me that I had started trying to fight too late and this cold was determined to hit, but I was desperate, so I kept taking the Airborne. The cold did hit Wed. night. I was laid up for about a day. Overall I didn't feel too bad--at times I felt almost well. I was definitely on the mend by Thursday night and well enough to go out without risk of making anyone else sick on Friday.
Normally when I get sick, I'm weak and miserable for several days--a week on the average. And then it can take weeks for me to get completely well, sometimes a month or more if I have a sinus infection or a cough. This time I was laid up for about ONE DAY and although I think I got a bit of a sinus infection that caused a lingering cough, I got completely over that in less than 2 weeks. For me, that is incredibly fast.
Now I'll happily take Airborne. I'm not wild about the taste, but I DON'T CARE. When I feel a bit iffy I drink a glass. I don't know if I would have gotten sick if I hadn't, but I know that I DIDN'T get sick for almost 3-1/2 years.
I've also tried the lemon-lime version. It has a milder flavor and tastes vaguely like Sprite. It looks better in the glass--not quite so scummy looking. It PROBABLY works just as well, but I tend to feel that the orange version might be a little more effective. I'm probably biased because the orange one was the first I used. The lemon-lime version has fixed a few sore throats for me, but I prefer to rely on the orange version. My husband prefers the lemon-lime, so I keep both flavors on hand.
(I've found that although we can go weeks without taking any, when we need it, we can go through a container pretty quickly. Sometimes the stores are out of stock, so I always have a few extra containers around.)
Some Things to Keep in Mind
Airborne falls into the category of a DIETARY SUPPLEMENT. Most dietary supplements and herbal remedies are NOT regulated by the FDA. This does not mean that they are automatically safe for all people. Use caution and common sense before taking ANY herbal mixture.
Pregnant women, people on medication or those with special conditions or allergies should consult a physician before taking ANY other medication or herbal remedy.
Check the ingredients and KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TAKING.
Other Comments
I found that Airborne helped me to feel better until I was unmistakably sick. Once the cold had taken a firm hold, drinking more Airborne didn't help my symptoms. It could be because I had already taken so much of it (you can boost your immuno system only so much). I've read comments by other people who said that it helped them even after they got sick. I also suspect that taking extra doses of vitamin C helped me to get well faster--but I don't have any hard evidence of that.
I've found several people who say they've used Airborne and swear by it. One person said that since he started taking it, he no longer has his annual winter bronchitis. A clerk in a drugstore said that all the store's clerks take it, and it's saved them from getting as many colds. In California's Bay Area it seemed like almost half the people I told already knew about Airborne and swore by it. They all agree that there's nothing else like it.
BTW: If you have a sinus infection, the best thing you can do is to drink a LOT of water. Half a gallon. A gallon. Or as much as you can until the infection goes away. It does make a difference in easing the congestion and getting better faster. (I've found that avoiding dairy also helps.)
My friends and I have found that if we can avoid touching our faces--especially our eyes--we're less likely to get sick.
Health experts say that you're often most contagious before you start to show major symptoms. If I think I might be coming down with a cold, I take Airborne AND I give my husband a dose too.
UPDATE 05/29/07:
I used to catch several colds a year. I went from Jan. 2004 to May 2007--almost 3-1/2 years--without a cold, though I had a LOT of scratchy throats. There've been a few times when I was sure I would get sick--but I didn't. And I've been around sick people often.
My husband has avoided 5 colds that we're sure of, but he's gotten a lot of other ones. He often doesn't recognize the early symptoms of a cold, and sometimes he doesn't take enough doses of Airborne. He might take one dose, but then forgets that if his throat is still scratchy, he should follow it up with another dose in a few hours.
I used to always catch my husband's colds--even when I stayed as far away from him as I could. Since Airborne (even though we sleep in the same bed and he coughs and sneezes around me), I've managed to avoid catching almost all of his colds.
The cold that broke my streak was from my husband. I should have been able to avoid it, but I thought he just had a bad case of hay fever...and...well, since it had been so long since I was sick, I think I got careless.
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ONE DOSE of Airborne is usually enough to get rid of an early scratchy throat or sneezing. If my throat is still sore or if I'm still sneezing, I'll keep taking Airborne until the symptoms go away. Sometimes it can take a few days to a week before I feel in the clear. If my husband has a cold, I'll usually take at least one a day. If I'm really worried, I'll take some extra vitamin C between doses (it seems to help).
Directions for Use (for Adults)
Drop one Airborne tablet into a "small amount of water." (I use about 3/4ths to a full cup--too little water and the tablet can take a long time to dissolve, too much and you have a LOT to drink). I use water at room temperature. It takes longer to dissolve in cold water (and forever if the water has a lot of ice), but my husband says it tastes best cold in very little water.
Wait for it to dissolve completely. (Swirling it around makes it dissolve faster)
Drink. (I tend to start sipping the solution while the tablet is still dissolving--being careful not to swallow the tablet). The fizziness goes away if you let it sit and I think the fizziness makes it more effective. If I have a sore or scratchy throat, then I've found that slowly sipping it (or swishing it around in my mouth--even gargling a little before swallowing) gives the zinc a better chance to really coat my throat.
Ingredients/Supplement Facts:
(according to the web site)
Serving size: 1 tablet.
Amount per serving: Calories 4, Total Fat 0g, Sodium 230mg (10% DV*), Total Carb 0g, Sugars 0g, Protein 0g. Vitamin A (100% Acetate) 5,000 I.U. (100% DV*), Vitamin C 1,000mg (1,633% DV*), Vitamin E 30 I.U. (100% DV*), Magnesium (Sulfate) 40mg (10% DV*), Zinc (Sulfate) 8mg (55% DV*), Selenium (Sodium Selinite) 15mcg (21% DV*), Manganese (Gluconate) 3mg (86% DV*), Potassium (Bicarbonate) 75mg (2.5% DV*), Organic Herbal Extracts (Lonicera, Forsythia, Schizonepeta, Ginger, Chinese Vitex, Isatis Root, Echinacea) 350mg (DV**), Amino Acids (Glutamine, Lysine) 50mg (DV**).
Other Ingredients: Citric Acid, Sorbitol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural Orange Flavor, Polyethylene Glycol, Aspartame, Mineral & Canola Oil, Riboflavin.
*Daily Value. "To ensure quality and safety, Knight-McDowell Labs imports the whole herb plant to their facility in California where it is tested, milled, and then put through a patented extracting process. Most American companies use imported powdered herbs of questionable origin, where purity and effectiveness can be an issue."
Airborne comes in a small tube, slightly larger than a roll of quarters. It fits easily in a pocket or purse.
There are 10 tablets in each tube. Also available in lemon-lime.
Other Airborne products: Airborne Sore-Throat Gummies and Airborne Jr. for kids.
Airborne is carried by most major drugstores, such as Longs, Walgreen, Duane Read, Rite-Aid, Sav-on Drugs, etc., several online outlets and even places like Albertsons and Safeway. I've found that Trader Joes, Fred Meyer, Bed Bath and Beyond--and especially Amazon--sell it for the lowest price, but that could change.
For more information, you could visit the web site at: http://www.airbornehealth.com/
OR
check out Google Answers, which has information on studies (with URLS) that have been done on the various ingredients in Airborne:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=449654
Special thanks to Bops_Mom for helping to get this product listed on Epinions.
Another Health Product
Another product I strongly recommend is Alcon Naphcon A eye drops for Eye Allergy Relief. For more information on how they've helped me avoid eye infections, go to:
Naphcon A
If you have a problem with sinus allergies, you might want to read my review on the
Sinus Survival Program.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jmatsu
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Member: Joy M
Location: outside of Seattle
Reviews written: 78
Trusted by: 25 members
About Me:
If you can--pls consider buying things Made in the U.S.A.
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