They are tablets that dissolve in water. Not unpleasant. Don't know if it helps, but we take it first sign of a cold. I get the store brand.

It's dissolvable, like Alka Seltzer. I've used it and not really sure if it works, but I would certainly give it a try again.

There used to be a Hot Apple Cider flavor and it was great. Unlike the other flavors, this one would be dissolved in warm water and it was so comforting. I don't know why they stopped making that one, as it did make me feel better simply by being hot, fizzy, and tasting good.

There's a chewable variety now too. Tastes rather acidic; I don't know what it does to teeth.

If I'd had my glasses in the store and read the ingredients, I wouldn't have bought it. It contains sucralose (Splenda).

This post was edited by alisande on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 9:23

Thanks for the info. Good to know you can get different flavors.

This is one of those things that I may only think I know. It's a placebo. I don't think there IS any known remedy for the common cold itself -- symptoms, yes.

I get the orange flavor tablets that dissolve in water. It tastes like strong orange juice. It is packed with vitamins and was developed by a teacher who got tired of getting sick from being around her sick students. It does help if you take it at the very "first" sign of not feeling well.

There's no proven benefit of this product (which was formulated by a school teacher). Nor of anything else as concerns viral colds, other than preparations that make you more comfortable by treating symptoms (decongestants, cough remedies, etc.)

The company has lost a number of lawsuits concerning false claims. It's another ineffective "supplement" that nonetheless garners buyer loyalty.

I'm a believer in Airborne!

Started using when I read to my grandson's 3rd grade class. He's now a freshman in college. Took it for prevention measures.

When I feel I MIGHT have the sniffles with a cold coming on, I take for prevention measures.

If you are already sick, doesn't work, from what I have heard.

No cold in years.

Take it before traveling and returning, especially when flying.

Use now WalMart's generic. Always the the tablets.

I like it too. I don't know how it works but it does. If I take it as soon as I feel a cold, I take it and the symptoms disappear. There's nothing harmful in it, so i think even if it's a placebo effect, there's benefit if the user feels better.

I seem to remember that Airborne won a lawsuit or two against CVS (and possibly others) who marketed private brands of a similar (but not identical) formulation.

A friend of mine swears by Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic product made in France by Boiron. She and her family take it whenever they feel something like the flu coming on, and their symptoms always subside. It's kind of expensive, so I can't comment on it myself.

This post was edited by alisande on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 12:35

Airborne lost a lawsuit and I received a small refund for my purchase. I use ColdEeze which contains zinc. If I feel like I am getting a cold, I start with the ColdEeze lozenges and I have a runny nose for one day. No more symptoms after that.

While the Airborne formulation does contain various vitamins and minerals which at least in theory could have some minor "boosting" effect on the immune system, I think that their claims are unsupported by any scientific evidence.

However when "homeopathic" remedies are brought up I actually become angry. The explanation behind homeopathic remedies has far more in common with sympathetic magic than any sort of science. The entire idea behind these "remedies" is to take some substance and mix it into water (or alcohol) to create a tincture, and then to take that and dilute it with distilled water by a factor of 100 to 1, and dilute that result with distilled water by a factor of 100 to 1, and dilute that result by a factor of 100 to 1, and dilute that result by a factor of 100 to 1, and dilute that result by a factor of 100 to 1, and dilute that result by a factor of 100 to 1.

They will usually even note on the label the overall factor to which the original substance has been diluted. If you understand what the label means and know even a little bit of chemistry you can easily determine that it doesn't matter what the substance was that they started with, because the end result likely doesn't contain even a single molecule of the substance

For the one alisande mentioned: "A popular homeopathic treatment for the flu is a 200C dilution of duck liver, marketed under the name Oscillococcinum. As there are only about 1080 atoms in the entire observable universe, a dilution of one molecule in the observable universe would be about 40C. Oscillococcinum would thus require 10320 more universes to simply have one molecule in the final substance"

Or more simply, even if there was some therapeutic benefit for the flu to ingest duck liver (which is unlikely), it is irrelevant, since the "remedy" doesn't contain even a single molecule of it.

Most of the so-called remedies in the the entire homeopathic remedy section are completely and entirely interchangeable, since despite what they say on their labels, they don't contain any amount whatsoever of their supposed active ingredient.

I'm angry that the manufacturers are allowed to make any claims about these substances and are allowed to continue to sell them, and I'm befuddled that anyone would waste their money buying them and waste their time touting them to others.

Still a believer in Airborne!!

Been using it, for at least 9 years, so it works for me.

This post was edited by glenda_al on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 18:21

They only had the Citrus fizzy thingies so that's what I bought. Glenda, I will keep in mind to get the tablets next time as I didn't care for the fizzy stuff, lol. :)

I'm with you, Glenda. I've not had a cold in many years.

aqr32583

That's what I use, the citrus fizzies. Plop them in water and let them fiizzle until they dissolve.

I fill a juice glass 1/2 to 3/4th full.

Thanks for the reply Glenda.

I went with the fizzie thingies because for some reason I think liquid form is quicker. haa..,that's just me!

We were through B'ham last Thursday... off Valleydale Road. Beautiful fall colors that I miss living here in the Fl panhandle.

I'm just a stones throw above Valleydale.

Let me know when you are coming back thru.

If there were ever proof that placebos 'work', regardless of the facts, here it is! (Nice try, Bob, but you see how it is. LOL)

Lunchtime here. Time for my 'additive': Liversausage for some iron.

BTW, I haven't had a cold or the flu in ages. I'm retired, with less contact with viruses. I wash my hands often. I get an annual flu shot. I'm so old that I have decades of acquired immunities.

chisue, I've consistently read a newspaper every morning during my lifetime. I haven't had either a cold or the flu in the last dozen years or more. I recommend reading the newspaper for those who want to stay healthy. No "facts" will change my mind, I know it works.

It's not a placebo effect. Instead, some of the views stated above are an attempt to draw a connection when there isn't one. There are many who have views and take actions because of unfounded beliefs, that's nothing new and won't change anytime soon. I just find it perplexing (and somewhat annoying) when people unrelentingly deny or refute something factual that is so obvious to so many others.

I agree with Bob's first and last paragraphs completely.

Quite obvious to me, that Airborne works for me.

Believer and sticking to it.

Annoying as it may be to the above poster :o)

I think it's annoying when people are condescending towards others when they have a differing opinion.

The accepted view that the doctors you and I rely upon follow, is that until a medical benefit of a substance or treatment can be demonstrated, it has none. Does belief or opinion enter into it?

I have no problem with people taking that approach and refraining from taking anything without scientific proof of effectiveness. I don't look down upon people who choose that path. It just bothers me when some people who believe that way treat others like uneducated idiots.

Personally, I prefer to use my own experience and common sense when it comes to a non-harmful substance like Airborne. If we were talking about a substance that could be dangerous, then I would be more cautious. But I have lived a while in my body, and to my knowledge, no one else ever has, and that has given me insight into what I believe works for me and what I believe doesn't work for me.

I re-read my post above and realized the last paragraph could be read as being directed towards both Airborne and Homeopathic Remedies. That wasn't my intent. The last paragraph was intended only to impugn and indict Homeopathic Remedies.

At least Airborne, if the label is truthful, it contains vitamins, including a large dose of vitamin C. Some studies have showed the body tolerates more vitamin C when you are ill, so perhaps it is playing a role in the immune system that causes more to be metabolized. So it is at least conceivable that some beneficial effect may be realized.

However Homeopathic Remedies, if the labels are to be believed, claim that they started some with substance, and then plainly state that they diluted that substance until well past the point when none is left. So irrespective of the (often dubious and specious) claims they make about the benefits or actions of the original substance, the fact that the end result doesn't contain any of it, makes those claims entirely spurious.

the doctors you and I rely upon ???

Speak for yourself, Snidely. You and I rely on our doctors in entirely different ways.

Bob, I'm sorry discussion of homeopathic medicine makes you angry, but I have to add that my family and I have had dramatic results from homeopathy. For example, one of my daughters suffered from severe migraines, beginning at age four. When she was ten I took her to three high-skilled homeopathic physicians. They were also, by the way, board-certified in cardiology, psychiatry, and anesthesiology. Together, they interviewed her for a long time before coming up with a constitutional remedy that was prepared by their pharmacist.

The result was that my daughter's migraines stopped for seven years. Considering how often she had been getting them, this was huge.

So much depends upon the skill of the homeopath. Back then we were most fortunate to have several of the best living in our area.

Uh-oh. We are veering into the forbidden topic of "beliefs". There's no accounting for many of them, and no point in 'messing' with what a person believes.

Even the science we turn to for 'proofs' relies on some accepted beliefs -- at least until disproven.

We're not talking about "beliefs".

We're sharing experiences with different approaches to health problems.

I've had excellent results with house brands of "Airborne", taking it at the first sign of not-feeling-up-to-snuff.

I dissolve it in hot water, since it gags me if I try to drink it in cold water.

It seems to me that homeopathy is similar to vaccination;
who'd think that "pox" (cowpox, a generally non-lethal relative of smallpox) would prevent smallpox?

but it does.

& it has saved countless lives.

Many years ago, I was struggling with some kind of lethargy/depression thing.

A while later, I read about PMS in the newspaper & realized that that had been my problem (this was soooo long ago that PMS was just beginning to be thought of as a possibility.)

I had been having trouble getting through the day, sluggish, melancholy, had to promise myself a "reward" just to go to work & then another "reward" to go on to a class at night.

The doctor I "relied on" gave me some sort of pep talk, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, don't let things get you down, don't take things personally, blah blah blah.
absolutely no attempt to take my situation seriously, absolutely no patience with my struggles to describe the problem.

It made me feel quite a bit worse.

I was so miserable that when a friend gave me the phone # for her homeopathist, I called it.

Like Alisande's homeopathic practitioners, this guy was an MD physician.

I must say that, when he gave me my "remedy", I thought, "Oh, no. I've been conned."

It was a little bit of a granular substance in a paper spill.

On the drive home, I felt as though a weight was rolling off me.

By the time I got home, I felt like my old self.

Not knowing how it works doesn't mean that it doesn't work.

On Airborne, don't go by individual statements of belief, read what the manufacturer says on the front page of its website:

"these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. "

Why do they say that? Because the product cannot prove effectiveness. Compare that to product descriptions on even over the counter medicines.

********

Homeopathy isn't similar to vaccination, because homeopathic preparations are so diluted as to contain NONE of the touted ingredients. Zero. Homeopaths don't deny that.

I've linked below the Wikipedia article on Homeopathy. Here are some excerpts:

"The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy and its use of remedies without active ingredients have led to characterizations as pseudoscience and quackery, or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, "placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst."

"Homeopathy lacks biological plausibility and the axioms of homeopathy are contradicted by scientific facts."

Also-
"patients who choose to use homeopathy in preference to normal medicine risk missing timely diagnosis and effective treatment, thereby worsening the outcomes of serious conditions"

The Center for Alternative Medicine of the NIH, which collects and encourages non-mainstream approaches to healthcare, has said "it is not possible to explain in scientific terms how a remedy containing little or no active ingredient can have any effect".

Beliefs don't trump facts. Beliefs are subjective and can be subject to manipulation by hucksters. Facts are facts. The horse is dead, there will be no more beating from me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia article on Homeopathy

That granular substance in the paper spill made me feel better.

That's a fact.

Sylvia, I had the exact same experience! It was decades ago, when the above-mentioned homeopaths were practicing not far away. I was experiencing some anxiety, and paid them a visit. I had such a long conversation with these gentlemen. Homeopaths want to know about every aspect of your life, including your feelings about where you're living. It's so very different from most doctor appointments today.

You said:

On the drive home, I felt as though a weight was rolling off me.

Yes, that's just what it was like. I took the little globules on my tongue, not expecting much, and headed for home. About five miles into the drive I said aloud, "Oh!" I felt as though my natural self had been restored.

maybe it's just the mental thought it's going to help, but a pal took it on plane trip and was the only one who didn't get the snuffles...

we pop them in a huge bottle of water (which doesn't hurt either) and are consistent it does seem to help.