The Common Cold - Royal Pharmaceutical Society

The Common Cold
Doctors can perhaps afford to ignore colds, but chemists certainly cannot.
Very few people consult a doctor for a common cold, but practically
everyone consults a chemist, either at the onset of a cold or when it has
been established.
The Lancet, 1921
The common cold is probably the most famous disease without a cure.
Scientists know a great deal about colds from decades of research, but not how
to cure them.
Unfortunately for both sufferers and medical experts, there are more than 200
types of cold virus. Each one affects each person differently.
Colds are the most frequent illness in modern society. The average British adult
has 4 colds a year, and the average child has up to 12. Sick leave due to colds
costs United Kingdom businesses £1,300 million every year. In 2005, people in
Britain bought £368.5 million of “Over The Counter” cold remedies.
What exactly is a cold?
Colds are caused by one of a family of five viruses. You would have to place 2400
rhinoviruses (the smallest cold viruses) side by side to equal the width of a human hair. There
are around 200 cold viruses, including over 100 rhinoviruses. Once it has entered a living cell,
a virus produces more viruses which destroy the living cell and go on to attack adjacent cells.
Our immune system is very good at getting rid of viruses, and many that enter the body do not
result in illness.
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What happens when you catch a cold?
When someone with a cold sneezes or shakes your hand,
the virus may transfer to you. If it is a type you have had
before, you will have developed and retained the
antibodies to kill it off. If a virus gets through and lands, for
example, on the mucous membrane of your nose, it will be
moved along by the cilia (hairs) and attach itself to a cell.
The cell will absorb it and the virus will multiply and begin
to kill off surrounding cells. You will feel fine for about two
days. However, during the second day, a scientist would
be able to find virus particles in your nose.
A Cure for a Cold, published 1833
Typically on the third day you will begin to feel ill. The cells invaded by viruses will release
‘chemical messengers’. These messengers make the blood vessels dilate and attract white
blood cells. They also make the nerve endings in your nose and throat feel sore, make your
nose run and cause you to sneeze. Meanwhile, antibodies leak from the blood into the
membrane of your nose.
Normally most symptoms will be gone or improved after five days. If they worsen, bacteria
might have multiplied on the damaged membrane and you have an infection.
‘Prevention is better than cure’
The best solution for the common cold would be to avoid catching it all together. Over time
people have tried to find ways to prevent colds developing. Some have had a scientific basis,
but others could be termed “old wives’ tales”!
The similarities between historical and modern ideas are striking.
For example, garlic and oranges are both preventative treatments that have a long history.
However, modern scientists are still unable to demonstrate that they have an effect that can be
proved.
Garlic
In the 1500s, one treatment for a cold was to apply a warm poultice of onion and garlic to the
sufferer’s throat. Today, many people still believe that taking garlic supplements can help to
build up defences against catching a cold. There seems to be no scientific basis for this.
Hofels Garlic Pearles, late 20th century
Allisatin Tablets, Sandoz Products Ltd, mid 20th century
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Smoke ball
The carbolic smoke ball was patented by Frederick
Augustus Roe in England in 1889. It contained liquorice,
white hellebore and a tarry substance which gave it an
odour of carbolic acid when it was lit. It was designed to be
inhaled by the patient, In 1891, Roe advertised that
anyone who got ill after using the ball would get a £100
reward. When Louisa Carhill got the ‘flu, her husband
unsuccessfully applied for the reward. He sued the
company and won. The case became a classic, illustrating the legal responsibilities that come
from the use of a one-sided contract.
Vitamin C
The claim that Vitamin C or ascorbic acid stops a
cold developing is well known. It was famously
proposed by Linus Pauling, a Nobel Prize winner,
who suggested that large doses should be supplied
on the National Health Service.
However, studies from the 1940s onwards at the
Common Cold Unit and elsewhere have been
inconclusive. Researchers looking at data from 29
studies conducted over the past 65 years found that
Vitamin C did not alter the incidence of colds in 23
of the studies.
Vitamin C may reduce the length of a cold. Adults who developed a cold and who were taking
Vitamin C experienced, on average, an 8% reduction in the number of days with cold
symptoms compared with those who were given a placebo. For children the effect was more
marked, with a 14% reduction in days with symptoms.
Bolstering your immune system
Many people believe that they will reduce their chances of catching a cold if they take vitamins
to maintain general good health. Tonics and strengthening medicines were promoted for the
same reason in the past. Iodine lockets were popular in the early decades of the twentieth
century. People wore them around their neck on a ribbon to protect them from catching a cold.
Photograph shows:
Simpson’s Iodolok Locket, 1940s
Scott’s Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil, late 20th century
Seven Seas High Strength Pure Cod Liver Oil One-a-Day Capsules, Seven
Seas Health Care Ltd, late 20th century
Vitamin A & D B.P.C. Capsules, Evans Medical Limited, mid 20th century
Neverill ‘Old Salts’ claimed that “A Spoonful A Day Keeps the Doctor
Away”, early 20th century
Rosol Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil “For Children who are thin and easily take
colds, ROSOL EMULSION is an Ideal Tonic Food”, early 20th century
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Vaccination
At the beginning of the 20th century, many scientists believed that colds were caused by
bacteria. By the mid-20th century, the fact that colds were caused by viruses was established.
Bacterial cold vaccines were first used around 1900, and continued to be used for a number of
decades.
These tablets claim to prevent colds, by making the patient’s body produce antibodies that will
fight off subsequent diseases. However, their ingredients are actually bacteria and viruses that
cause ‘flu and pneumonia, rather than colds.
Buccaline Berna ‘Anti-Cold and Influenza tablets’, Swiss Serum & Vaccine Institute, 1970s
Ginseng
Research carried out in 2005 suggests that taking North American ginseng reduces the
average number of colds experienced per person over four months, and reduces the severity
and duration of symptoms. These capsules also include Indian Pennywort, long pepper,
pomegranate, ginger and cinnamon.
Ginseng capsules, Wockhardt Ltd
Modern “old wives’ tales”
During over 40 years of operation, the Common Cold
Research Unit hosted more than 20,000 volunteers. Some
of the volunteers’ suggestions to prevent colds were
recorded and included:
- Gargle with malt vinegar, swallowing about 2
teaspoons night and morning
- Drink Horlicks before going to bed
- Eat plenty of Marmite
- Place a nutmeg in each sock
- Drink TCP mixed with water
In fact, research carried out in 2005 suggests that simply
gargling with water effectively reduces the risk of
developing an upper respiratory tract infection. For this
effect, individuals gargled with water for one minute three times daily for 60 days.
A new line of attack
In 2005, Procter and Gamble brought out two products under the ‘Vick’s First Defence’ brand.
One is a nasal spray which is designed to be used at the first signs of a cold. The other is a
hand wash which is promoted to prevent the spread of cold viruses. The hand wash claims to
inactivate 99% of cold and other germs already on the hands and provide up to 3 hours
protection against picking up new ones.
Vicks First Defence Hand Wash, Procter and Gamble, 2006
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Natural remedies
From the Ancient Egyptians to the present day, certain natural substances have gained a
reputation for being effective treatments for colds. People have continued to use some of
these such as honey and lemon into the 21st century
Honey
The Ancient Egyptians had one hieroglyphic symbol to mean ‘cough’ and another for ‘cold’.
One Egyptian remedy was to drive out catarrh from the nose by painting it for four days with
galena (lead ore), dry incense and honey. Of course, honey is still used in domestic and
mass-produced cold remedies today.
Beechams Hot Lemon and Honey, 1990s
John Gerard’s The Herbal or general history of plants, 1597
Gerard suggested a number of remedies for cold or “the rheume”:
Photograph shows:
a. Juniper tree: “The fume and smoke of the gum doth stay
flegmatic humours that distill out of the head, and stoppeth
the rheume.”
This Olbas inhaler from the twentieth century also contains
juniper oil.
b. Wild poppy: “the knobs or heads, which doe specially
prevail to move sleepe, and to stay and repress distillations
or rheums.”
c. Mountain coltsfoot: “A decoction made of the greene leaves and roots, or else a syrup
thereof, is good for the cough that precedeth of a thin rheume.”
John Wesley’s Primitive Physick, 1747
Wesley, better known as the founder of Methodism, also wrote a book entitled Primitive
Physick, or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. In it he suggests a number
of traditional remedies for colds including drinking a pint of water or a mixture of butter,
oatmeal, honey and boiling water lying down in bed, or drinking one spoonful of treacle in half
a pint of water.
For a cold in the head he recommended paring the rind of an orange very thin, rolling it up
inside out and thrusting a roll into each nostril.
Marshmallow and Maiden hair
Elizabeth Dixon began to keep a domestic recipe book in 1772. Her suggestion to treat a cold
was: “Syrup of Mayden Hair, Syrup of Marshmallows, Oyle of Sweet Almonds of each one
Ounce, or equall Quantities.”
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Syrup of marshmallow (Althea officinalis) is a soothing demulcent and emollient.
S. DE ALTHAEA
This delftware drug jar dates from 1684 and was made to hold
Syrup of Marshmallow. In Quincy’s English Dispensatory
published in 1718 the ingredients included marshmallow root,
asparagus, liquorice root, and raisins. However, Quincy wrote
that “ ‘tis by many thought a very indifferent Medicine”
Potter’s Catarrh Pastilles still included marshmallow syrup in the
mid-twentieth century.
Balsam of horehound
In 1832, G.B.Reinhardt, a pharmacist in Wakefield, West
Yorkshire, advertised balsam of Horehound “for curing Coughs,
Colds, Asthmas, Hooping Coughs [sic], Declines and
Consumptions.”
Alcohol
Celsus, a Roman physician, wrote in De medicina in the first century A.D. that high quality
Italian wine would be an effective treatment for colds. Over 1700 years later, John Buchan
wrote in Domestic Medicine (1772) “Go to bed, hang your hat on the foot of the bed and
continue to drink until you can see two hats.”
Herbal remedies
Of course, herbal remedies have continued to be very popular.
Box’s elder and peppermint life drops contain peppermint oil, tincture of elder, with chloroform
and capsicum. It claimed to be “a powerful stimulant for…colds” and many other conditions.
Cold Eeze contains garlic and echinacea. Although echinacea preparations are very popular,
research carried out in 2005 suggests that extracts from Echinacea angustifolia roots have no
clinically significant effects on common cold infection or illness. The researchers found that the
echinacea preparations, either alone or in combination, had no effect on infection rate,
symptoms or the course of the illness.
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General relief
The common cold produces a wide range of symptoms. In the first century A.D., Celsus, a
Roman doctor, wrote that a cold:
“closes up the nostrils, renders the voice hoarse, excites a dry cough; in it the saliva is salt,
there is ringing in the ears, the blood vessels of the head throb, the urine is turbid. These
affections are commonly of short duration, but if neglected may last for a long while.”
Although no one drug could treat the full range of symptoms, there is a history of cold remedies
claiming to do just that. In 1912 the British Medical Journal pointed out that some cold
remedies were promoted to treat catarrh, asthma, adenoids, polyps, nose-breathing, chest,
lung, voice, hearing, throat and bronchial trouble all at once.
There was a wide-spread belief, particularly in the 1800s, that the
bowel was the seat of many illnesses, including colds, because it
contained so many bacteria. One obvious solution was therefore
colonic irrigation.
Dover’s Powders are a mixture of ipecachuana and opium, an
expectorant and a painkiller. An article in The Lancet in 1921
advised that ‘if the chemist can get his customer, who is at the
shivery stage, to go to bed and take ten grains of Dover’s powder
it will mean apparent bad business, as he will not require any more
remedies for that “cold”, but the chemist will certainly win the
patient’s confidence for further occasions.’
Photograph shows:
Enema, French, late 1800s
Box’s Elder and Peppermint Life Drops
Cold Eze
Kompo was advertised as ‘The best-known remedy for Colds,
Influenza, Sore Throats etc.’ also made claims to treat a wider
range of complaints from diarrhoea to cold feet and bad circulation.
An analysis in 1912 stated that it was “a brown, somewhat turbid
liquid, smelling of cloves and cinnamon.” It contained over 6%
alcohol, with small quantities of cloves, cinnamon, caustic soda,
eucalyptus gum and salicylic acid.
Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne was first developed by Dr John Collis Browne in the 1840s. It
originally contained chloroform and morphine along with treacle, liquorice and peppermint oil.
Chloroform is an anaesthetic and morphine is a painkiller. Collis Browne’s Mixture is still on
sale today with a modified formula of anhydrous morphine, peppermint oil, capsicum and
chloroform water.
An undated flier for the original product included a testimonial from Archbishop Magee:
“I had to return of a bad cold yesterday morning – preached with two pocket-handkerchiefs to a
great congregation at St Mary’s ate a ‘cold collation’ at three o’clock, saw clergy on business
until five o’clock, went to a ‘parochial tea’ at six o’clock; sat out no end of teas, glees, and
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speeches until half-past nine; finished off with a speech until ten o’clock, came here back with
cold, took Chlorodyne and went to bed very miserable; woke next morning quite well.”
Following the huge success of Thomas Beecham’s pills, Beechams Powders were first
launched in 1926. Their main ingredients are aspirin and caffeine. The earliest box shown
here states “Specially made for treating colds and flu.”
Examples shown (see photo above) date from the 1960s, 1970s and around 2000.
External treatments
Another option was to treat colds externally, the classic example being goose grease!
Thermogene wadding was impregnated with capsicum and methylsalicylate. Capsicum
minimum or chilli irritates the skin to promote warmth. Methylsalicylate or artificial oil of
wintergreen is a painkiller.
Day and night
Products were developed from the mid-twentieth century
onwards to relieve sufferers’ symptoms so they could sleep.
These medicines all contain paracetamol, and a sedating
antihistamine such as promethazine hydrochloride and/or a
decongestant like phenylpropanolamine.
Photograph shows:
Thermogene wadding, early 20th century
Night Nurse, Beechams, 1970s
Benylin Day & Night Tablets, Warner Lambert Healthcare, 1990s
Medised for Children, Seton Healthcare Ltd, 1998
Sinutab Night Time, Warner Wellcome, 1990s
Homoeopathic remedies
The main homoeopathic remedies for colds are Arsenicum album for “running colds”,
Gelsemium for ‘flu-like colds and aconite for feverish colds and chills. For example, the active
ingredient in the current preparation, Coldenza, produced by Nelsons, is gelsemium.
General treatments
Most twentieth century treatments have concentrated on
making the patient feel as comfortable as possible. Typical
ingredients include phenylephrine hydrochloride which dries
nasal passages and helps clear sinuses, a painkiller such as
aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol, and caffeine as a
stimulant.
Photograph shows:
Capriton, Allen and Hanbury, mid 20th century
4 Way Cold Tablets, Bristol Myers, mid 20th century
Anadin, International Chemical Company, mid 20th century
10 Hour Capsules, Cupal, mid 20th century
Vicks Action (cold and flu), Procter and Gamble, 1990s
Coldrex, Sterling Health, 1990s
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Lemsip
Lemsip was launched in 1969. It was the UK’s first medicated hot drink specifically formulated
to relieve the symptoms of colds and ‘flu. The brand was launched to compete with Beechams
Powders, which had been on the market since the 1920s.
Lemsip Cold Relief Capsules were launched in the 1990s. Today, Lemsip is the UK’s number
one cold & ‘flu brand. In 2005, Lemsip branded products had a 35% share of the cold market.
‘Super’ treatments
In more recent years, the trend has been for companies to launch ‘plus’ and ‘max strength’
varieties of established products. Their advertising highlights effectiveness and fast relief.
Another development is the extension of successful brands into different dosage forms or even
into liquid packs marketed to be portable as individual dosages to be taken anywhere without
water. The Daisy Powders pack shows that this is not entirely a 21st century phenomenon.
Photograph shows:
Daisy Powders ‘plus’ formula, J.E.Ellis Ltd, mid
20th century
Lemsip Powercaps, Reckitt and Colman, 1990
Strepsils Extra, Crookes Healthcare, 1990
Cold and Flu Nurofen, Crookes Healthcare,
around 2000
Beechams Powders Capsules, 1990s
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Sore throat
On the third day of an average cold, cells damaged by the cold virus will release messengers
that affect the nerve endings at the back of your nose and throat and make them feel sore.
These messengers also trigger reflexes that make your nose run and cause you to sneeze.
This clears your nose, but also means that the virus may be passed onto other people.
Many remedies for sore throats in the past contained soothing ingredients. Current medicated
throat medicines often also contain an antiseptic to treat any bacterial infections, and an
anaesthetic to numb the pain. In the past, cocaine was sometimes included as an anaesthetic.
Photograph shows:
“Allenbury’s Throat Pastilles” came in a
range of flavours including Eucalyptus and
Cocaine.The 1910 edition of Martindale: The
Extra Pharmacopoeia gave one of cocaine’s
uses as soothing inflamed mucous membranes.
Zubes were launched in the 1930s
Meggezones contained menthol, peppermint
oil, chloroform, benzoin and liquorice extract.
Benzoin is a resin that gives off aromatic fumes.
Strepsils were launched in 1958 and were the
first licensed throat remedy. They contain the anti-bacterials amylmetacresol and
dichlorobenzyl alcohol. The ‘Honey & Lemon’ flavour appeared 1974, Vitamin C in 1984, and
‘Menthol & Eucalyptus’ in 1990.
Today Strepsils are sold in more than 120 countries. They are the number one medicated
confectionery brand in the UK. Consumers buy more than three million packs of the Honey &
Lemon variant each year
TCP
TCP was developed by Count Callimachi, an émigré member of the Romanian royal family,
who was in London after the First World War. He was looking for a cure for venereal disease.
Trichlorophynylmethyliodosalicyl (TCP) didn’t cure VD, but it was an antiseptic. The Count
launched TCP through his own company, British Alkaloids. It was advertised during the
Second World War with the message that it would keep the workforce healthy. The brand was
bought by Pfizer in 1963.
Recently, sore throat medicines have moved on from the purely soothing properties of earlier
products to include antiseptics to fight bacterial infections and anaesthetics to numb pain.
Cough
Cold viruses can get down into your lower airways to irritate the bronchi, or air passages in the
lungs, which make you cough. The bronchi may also secrete too much fluid and produce a
moist cough. You might also get a cough because mucus is running down the back of your
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throat from your nose.
Today cough remedies make up just over 25% of the cold medicines market. People in Britain
spent £96.7 million on cough medicine in 2005.
A traditional remedy for relieving a cough was coughing into the mouth of a frog! Other more
scientifically-based medicines have focussed on killing pain and on promoting a productive
cough that clears phlegm.
Photograph shows:
Heroin
Heroin was first synthesised from morphine in 1874. Its
pharmaceutical name is diamorphine. The 1901 edition
of Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia states that it
“relieves coughs and eases breathing.” This product is
compound menthol and turpene linctus with heroin.
early 20th century, J.Robert Walker
Meltus was launched by Cupal in the 1950s. Its name
came from the Latin for honey (‘mel’) and for cough
(‘tussis’). It was one of the first formulations to include
guaiphenesin, an expectorant, as it still does. Its early
formulation also included cetylpyridinium chloride, a very
new antibacterial ingredient at the time. The brand was
acquired by Seton in 1992.
Meltus Expectorant, Seton Healthcare Group plc, 1990s
Benylin was introduced as a Prescription Only Medicine
in 1949 when it was dispensed by pharmacists from bulk
supplies stored in large ‘Winchester’ bottles. It was re-launched as an Over The Counter
medicine in 1973.
Benylin Children’s Coughs and Colds, Warner Lambert, 1990s
Runny or blocked nose
The common cold was described in Hippocratic writings in the 5th century B.C.:
“Then we have a running out the nose and there is a discharge from the nostrils the mucus is
more acrid than when we are well. It makes the nose swell and renders it hot and inflamed.
The fever does not fall when the nose is running, but when the discharge is thicker, less acrid,
milder and more of its ordinary consistency.”
Modern medicines usually include a decongestant such as phenylephrine hydrochloride which
clears and dries up a runny or blocked nose.
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People have treated blocked or runny noses with many substances and dosage forms.
Nose washing
One way of clearing your nose would be to wash it out. Nasal douches and baths were widely
available. The washing solution could just be salt water, or something more complicated. An
article in The Lancet in 1921 suggested a douche solution of sodium bicarbonate, sodium
biborate, sodium chloride, sugar and water to be used three times a day. You could also buy a
ready-made solution, such as Huxley’s Sal-Antisepticus which included sodium chloride, boric
acid, menthol, thymol and eucalyptus oil.
Obstructed perspiration
In the 1500s, Sanctorius, an Italian scientist, wrote that
colds were caused by “insensible perspiration”. People
with colds passed fluid through their nose rather than
sweating.
Making patients sweat continued as a theory in following
centuries. Richard Lower in a publication of 1672 advised
cold sufferers to wrap up, take hot drinks to raise a sweat,
or put their feet in hot mustard bath, to divert circulation
back to the skin. John Wesley in his book Primitive
Physick of 1747 suggested cold bathing as “it promotes
perspiration.”
Sanctorius’s theory of obstructed perspiration also had
twentieth century descendants.
a. Dr Flemming’s Quinine and Camphor Pills, “a tonic
aperient”, according to the leaflet wrapped around the
bottle “excite insensible perspiration when it has been
checked by cold”, around 1900
b. Sweet spirit of nitre was requested by pharmacy
customers who wanted to sweat out a cold, and so would
take the sweet nitre in a hot drink.
Clearing your nose
All of these products contain ingredients that medically clear the nose, or produce vapours that
give that feeling.
Vick Vapour rub was invented in 1890 by Lunsford Richardson, a pharmacist from North
Carolina. It was and still is a vaseline base with camphor, nutmeg, eucalyptus oil and menthol.
Richardson originally called it ‘Richardson’s Croup and Pneumonia Salve’, but changed the
name to ‘Vick’ after his brother-in-law, Dr Joshua Vick. The name Vick Vapour Rub was first
used in 1908. The brand’s first slogan was ‘Rub it on, sniff it in, it’s good for you. It’s made by
Presbyterians.’ Proctor and Gamble bought Richardson-Vicks in 1985.
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Karvol was originally introduced as capsules in 1958. It was re- launched for children in 1981.
The Karsodrine inhaler claimed that it “affords immediate and prolonged contraction of
congested nasal mucosa.” Its active ingredient is amphetamine which would act as a vasoconstrictor and reduce swollen blood vessels in the nose. Made by E.Griffiths Hughes Ltd.,
1960s
Photograph also shows:
Nasal douche, early 20th century
‘Nazene’ Nasal bath, early 20th century
Huxley’s Sal-Antisepticus, Anglo-American Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, early 20th
Mentholatum Vapour Rub, The Mentholatum Company Ltd, 2001
Contac, Menley & James Laboratories Ltd, 1990s
Nez Drops, Rybar Laboratories Ltd, mid 20th century
Besorbon Medical Snuff, Kemsales Ltd, 1960s
Corisol, “to be smeared inside the nostrils and sniffed up”, Squire & Sons Ltd, early 20th century
Catarrh remedies
Photograph shows:
- Dr Agnew’s Catarrhal Powder was made by the AngloAmerican Medical Company for German as well as English
markets. The powder contains 2% cocaine. The 1910 edition
of Martindale: the Extra Pharmacopoeia states that one of its
uses is to sooth inflamed mucous membranes.
- Ferrier’s Anti-catarrh Snuff, contains morphia hydrochloride,
early 20th century R13
- Catarrh Ex, Sussex Pharmaceutical Ltd, 1990s
Cure
A cure for the common cold has so far eluded scientists. The Common Cold Unit ran for over
forty years and made significant progress in the understanding of the cold. However, even this
specialist organisation could not develop a successful cure for the disease.
In the past, the lack of scientific evidence did not stop manufacturers claiming that their
medicines could cure colds. Legislation in the early twentieth century made it illegal to falsely
claim that a medicine could cure a disease. However, these products all give the impression
that they will be able to cure a cold.
What causes a cold?
Before the 1800s, few people grasped the idea of diseases spreading from person to person.
Leuwenhoek had observed “microbes” through his primitive microscope in the 1700s. The
theory of germs and disease was developed most famously through the work of Louis Pasteur
and Robert Koch in the 1800s. However, these ideas were not applied to colds.
In the late 1800s, colds were considered to be a form of bacterial attack and researchers
looked for bacteria in cold sufferers’ noses. However several types of bacteria were found,
and some of them in healthy people as well. As colds often occur in autumn and winter, the
external conditions were blamed.
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In 1914, Professor Walter Kruse of the Institute of Hygiene in Leipzig experimented on his
colleagues with colds, and came to the conclusion that they were caused by invisible or
filterable germs, not bacteria. American experiments, particularly by Dr Alphonse Dochez,
confirmed these results.
These products from the early twentieth century claimed to prevent colds by killing germs:
Photograph shows:
The Little Victor Inhaler, around 1900,
‘destroys harmful germs’, ‘gives immediate relief,
and promptly cures Cold in the Head, Nasal
Catarrh, Throat Irritations &c.” The
accompanying booklet states ‘Read this little
book carefully. It tells you now to keep free from
that scourge of humanity the common cold.’
Made by Cockburn and Co Ltd, 130-140 Howard
Street, Glasgow.
Nasmint germ-killing snuff ”cures and prevents colds.” Note that it claimed incorrectly to kill the
bacteria that cause colds, early 20th century. Genatosan Ltd.
Velocium, mid 20th century “The Germ Killing Treatment” “Just what the Doctor Ordered”
“For Colds, Catarrh, Asthma and Hay Fever”
A number of other products have claimed to cure the common cold. Here are some examples:
Quincasca Cold Cure Tablets, early 20th century. The name comes from the two main
ingredients, Quinine Sulphate and Cascara. Made by Perox Ltd, 2 Chenies Street, London
WC1. Cascara sagrada is a laxative. Quinine sulphate was used to treat fevers and as a tonic.
“Babza “ Cough and Cold Cure. Specially prepared for Infants and
Children, early 20th century, Bennett and Morris Ltd.
Catarrh jelly “Cures Nasal Catarrh, Cold in the Head etc.” D.Davies
and Co, 44 Caledonian Road, London N1. Contained camphor,
menthol, eucalyptus oil and benzamine hydrochloride in a Vaseline
base, early 20th century. Benzamine is an anaesthetic.
Dr Bow’s Liniment included the painkillers, belladonna and morphine. It claimed to be “a
certain cure for coughs, colds, croup…” and a number of other diseases. For a cold it should
be applied freely to the chest and neck morning and night. Made by Dr Bow’s Liniment Ltd,
around 1900.
Fennings Lung Healers
Alfred Fenning began making medicines in the 1850s. Fennings Little Healers were originally
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called Lung Healers. The pills’ main active ingredient is ipecachuana, which is an expectorant.
However, they were promoted as a cure for all colds. This advert from the early twentieth
century stated “It’s hard to believe that three small pills like these will cure your cough or cold”
By 1984, 15 million Little Healers were sold annually. They are still on sale.
Searching for a cure
Research into the common cold began in the 1930s when
scientists successfully began to grow viruses in laboratories.
The National Institute of Medical Research in London
established a short-lived colds research programme in the
1931 and 1932. But it wasn’t until after the Second World
War that focussed research began in Britain.
The Common Cold Research Unit (CCU) was established
on a field hospital site near Salisbury in Wiltshire in 1946. It
was a joint enterprise by the Medical Research Council and
the Ministry of Health. Its primary aims were to develop
laboratory methods for the cultivation and identification of
possible viruses and to test the experimentally-produced
materials for their capacity to give rise to colds. This was
done by instilling small quantities into the noses of healthy
volunteers.
Until its closure in July 1989, the CCU was the leading centre for research into viruses of the
respiratory tract. In the late 1950s, cold viruses were detected in the noses of up to a third of
people tested. These were called rhinoviruses (or nose viruses). In the 1960s, new laboratory
methods were used to find out more about viruses and the diseases they caused. Volunteers
were inoculated with viruses that caused colds. Coronaviruses were discovered as a group of
viruses that were found in up to 50% of people with colds. In the 1970s and 1980s, new
molecular techniques were used to test for virus proteins. Very small amounts of virus nucleic
acid could be detected. Viral infections could therefore be detected in many more patients.
The Centre is most famous for the programme of volunteer trials that were carried out over this
period. New volunteers arrived at the Centre every two weeks for trials that lasted 10 days.
After a 3-day isolation period in case they had brought a cold with them, each volunteer had an
unknown fluid dropped into their nose. They were then kept in isolation for 5 days and
observed to see if they developed a cold.
Additional experiments on the volunteers included the effect of UV light on colds, the distance
between people required to transfer a cold, the effect of draughts and air-flow, humidity,
seasonal variations in colds, the impact of stress, and the effect of taking zinc.
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1940s - a cure?
In October 1943, The Sunday Express reported that a British scientist had found a cure for
colds. The story was based on a paper published in The Lancet by Professor H. Raistrick of
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. However the substance, Patulin, which
was obtained from a mould, was shown in clinical trials to be an antibiotic of limited value.
Penicillium moulds produce many
substances, including patulin
1970s – a cure?
Interferon is a natural protein that is produced by the cells of the immune system when it is
being attacked by a virus. Interferon stops the virus reproducing. In the late 1970s, interferonalpha was first cloned, sequenced and produced in Switzerland in a group led by Charles
Weissmann. The pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough subsequently set up clinical trials.
In the 1980s, researchers at the Common Cold Unit
demonstrated that interferon protected against cold viruses.
However, it only worked at the early stages of the incubation
period. This meant it was impossible for patients to use it
effectively, as they cannot predict when they are going to
catch a cold. It was therefore abandoned for colds in the UK,
but is now used to treat cancer and hepatitis C.
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