Don’t go to bed with wet hair. Don’t forget to wear a jacket outdoors. Many of us have been given this kind of well-meaning but wrong advice so we wouldn’t catch a cold. But what other advice is true and which is simply fiction?

Cold weather causes colds.

Although colds are more prevalent in the cooler winter months, they are not triggered by cold weather. Colds are caused by viruses which spread more rapidly during the chillier months because people tend to be indoors more and have closer contact with one another. This is an ideal environment for a virus to spread.

Chicken soup will not help your cold.

It turns out Mom knew best after all. In recent years, a few scientific studies have shown that chicken soup could have some medicinal value. It may help with the congestion associated with a cold and keep the body hydrated enough to flush out the virus.

There’s nothing you can do to treat a cold.

Some people believe that the only way to get through a cold is to suffer through the symptoms. However, this does not have to be the case. Homeopathic medicines like Boiron’s Coldcalm work best when taken at the first sign of symptoms. Coldcalm addresses multiple phases of a cold without any known drug interactions. It helps relieve the sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion and sore throat associated with a cold.*  The quick-dissolving tablets for adults or sweet-tasting pellets for kids temporarily relieve cold symptoms without the drowsy side effects. Unlike typical cold medicines, Coldcalm will not mask symptoms that could indicate a more serious condition.

To help you find the right homeopathic medicines for a variety of cold symptoms, download our Boiron Medicine Finder app.

* Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated.