Echinacea - I’m unsure about it

October 9th, 2006

October is bringing in autumn to the UK and it hasn’t taken me long to go down with my first cold.

I’ve spent the last week with a moderate cold, which has been more annoying than debilitating. The trouble is, though, that I seem to be susceptible to colds and I can suffer from quite a few during autumn and winter.

One of my colleagues mentioned that she takes a big dose of Echinacea every day from September onwards until about Easter, and she hardly ever goes down with a cold now, even though she works in an air conditioned office and is susceptible to colds also.

When I worked at the hospital, I remember some of my colleagues swearing by Echinacea saying that this miraculous herb protected them from colds, even when working with ill people every day. I started taking it and thought that it was amazing. I don’t think I went down with a cold once that year.

I continued to take a low strength Echinacea tablet during the last two winters, but stopped last year after I went down with a really bad cold and it seemed to be made worse by the “wonder tablets”. I chucked the remaining Echinacea tablets away, thinking they were a waste of time and money.

The big dosage of Echinacea that my colleague takes has got me thinking again though.

She gave me the web address of a firm supplying large dose tablets so I ordered some. They arrived today.

Maybe the high dosage will be more beneficial. I’m going to try them this autumn and winter. If I don’t get any major colds, I’ll be delighted and they’ll be part of my flu and cold protection from now on.

If I do continue to get colds then that’s it. No more Echinacea for me.

Entry Filed under: Health Issues