What can cure or knock down the common cold? I was so skeptical about Airborne working as advertised, but when my husband and I tried it, we got results. Routinely one of us would catch something if we traveled on an airplane. Now, if we have to travel by airplane, we just use it, no matter what, and we aren't sick any more. Surprising to me was that if you take it at the first sign of congestion and continue to take it as directed, it will significantly reduce symptoms quickly, and at times I have had all symptoms disappear within a day. For me it really depends upon how quickly I start taking it after developing congestion. It is a particularly good buy when Amazon runs this three packet at $9.99 or $10.99.

make my cold symptoms go away faster. I work in a school and swear by this.

This was recommended by a school teacher friend to our family. She swears by it. It doesn'taste bad, my kids love it, and it is a good healthy product...kind of a super-vitamin. It helps you not get as sick if you take it right away when you've been exposed to an ill person.

I was initially skeptical of this product. When I was studying long hours for a series of professional exams and not getting much sleep, I knew that catching a cold (it was winter) would seriously mess up my rhythm and possibly impact my score. Since I ride the subway every day, and work in a crowded office, I took Airborne every time I felt a cold coming on (more than once), and then every day for the 2-weeks preceeding the exam. This was probably overkill, but I wasn't taking any chances. The end result was that I didn't get sick-- even when I felt a cold coming on, it soon passed. I now keep a few tubes of airborne in the kitchen cabinet and my desk drawer. I highly recommend this product. Some people say that it works on the placebo effect, but my experiences would say otherwise.

This is for everyone saying that the naysayers can't be credible because they haven't tried it. I took it as prescribed, and it didn't work. I do know a few things that do work:

1. Do not rub your eyes
2. Do not pick your nose
3. Wash your hands

For the record, I rub my eyes.

Most cold viruses enter the body through the eyes or nose. The nasal mucosa has up to 100 times more viruses than the throat. The saliva has very few viruses if any at all. If 100 people have a cold, 40 will have the virus on their hands compared to 8 who will expell it in coughs of sneezes. So you will most likely not get a cold from someone who is coughing or sneezing. However, they will pick their nose then touch a doorknob or a pen. The dried virus will survive there for over three hours. So then you'll touch it then pick your nose (people are so disgusting). Then 2-4 days later you'll get symptoms. You are more likely to catch a cold by holding your sweetheart's hand than by kissing her.

As for acheck, kcrandall and tsanders; these people sound arrogant so I understand those who write to defy them. In fact, I know acheck personally, and honestly, he's a real jerk. But on 18 January 2007 he made a convincing argument.

Lastly, someone said Airborne is cheaper than paying a physician or buying cold medicine. Medical education and training is expensive, and sound research is really expensive. If you want people who know what they're doing and products that work you have to pay for it. This stuff doesn't fall from the sky (or fizz from the bottom of a glass of water).

Been around sick coworkers and still did not get sick, while taking Airborne. Excellent product!!!

Our family has taken one Airborne every day of the winter months for two years. We love it! Other than little sniffles, we have avoided all illnesses. We think this product is wonderful!

Airborne has become a household name. The efficacy of this product is contingent on the type of the cold and the timing in which it is ingested. Don't take it more than 4 times a day, especially for children (half of a tablet). Airborne has become another tool to fight the common cold. Homeopathic remedies are still much safer than the OTC and prescription drugs.

this stuff is the money maker gimmic of the century!!!! does not do anything for you but fizzz

Airborne original is truly the only medicine that ever worked right away for me. Just in about 1 hour I felt significantly better, and the 2nd tablet discarded all of the symptoms (cough, throat ache, sneezing). Of course Airborne did not cure my cold on its own, but it boosted my immune system, and I was able to recover much faster than with Dayquil, honey & tea altogether.

My wife and I have been using this product since Fall '06 and I can say without a doubt that it has helped us ward off several colds! The product doesn't taste as bad as you might think. Highly recommended.

I'm not sure if this helped with my cold or not. Started taking it as soon as I felt a scratchy throat. That progressed to viral bronchitis and a full blown cold. (I have been sick all winter - newly around school age kids, go figure.) On top of that, I noticed about three days after I started taking it, I developed angular cheilitis, or cracked corners of my mouth. In the past, this indicated a vitamin deficiency for me. I did some research and realized that this is related to too much vitamin A. I was taking four or five tablets a day (one every three hours, as the label says), along with my normal multi. Whoa! Too risky. Please watch out for other signs of vitamin A toxicity. Tolerance seems to vary between individuals.

I was introduced to this 5 days ago, when I have been exposed to various bugs as I was traveling. Normally I get so sick I cannot move. Though the first day, I slept a lot -- the symptoms were much abated and the next day I was almost normal.

There are 2 concerns that people raise here -- and apparently on the Today show (I do not have a TV.) One is the quantity of Vitamin A and the other is that it uses the artificial sweetener, sucralose -- which is the main ingredient found in Splenda.

1. The Vitamin A in Airborne is 100% of Daily Value based on 2000 calorie diet. This is not the same as the Recommended Daily Allowance. But what is of meaningful concern is the number of IU's. 10,000IU's of vitamin A is considered quite safe. Going over 25,000IU's is considered potentially toxic and in extreme cases can cause death.

One tablet of Airborne contains 5,000 IU, half of what is considered perfectly safe to consume.

Almost all cold medicines etc. put Vitamin A in their formula because it is so effective in battling colds. I don't believe I can provide a link in Amazon's post but if you google toxic Vitamin A, one of the first websites coming up is from the University of Maryland Medical Center -- which is one of the top in the country -- and they explain in plenty of detail the pro's and risks of Vitamin A.

So though one would probably be safe taking the Airborne as prescribed at 3 times a day at 15,000 IU's, I personally just used it 2 x a day -- giving 10,000 IU's of Vitamin A. I found it perfectly effective that way.

2. Artificial sweetener: Sucralose is not the same thing as Aspartame, as an earlier poster said. Aspartame is what is found in Equal, Sucralose is what is found in Splenda. Aspartame is an artificial ingredient. Sucralose is made from actual sugar in which the sugar molecule nucleus has chlorine atoms replacing hydrogen-oxygen atoms. Doing so makes the sugar insoluble in the body passes through without being absorbed. (Note that Splenda is a combination of dextrose, maltodextrin and sucralose -- so the dextrose, which is part of sugar causes Splenda to have actual calories.)

There is no evidence that sucralose in small quantities is risky for human beings. It has been approved and used in Canada for many years before the US.

Of course, as with everything, there is some form of risk. Drinking coffee, beer, a mixture of prescribed medicines can cause under certain circumstances, death.

The question one needs to ask -- and one does this everyday whether you are conscious or not -- do the potential benefits outweigh the risk of harm. One of the important factors is the probability and circumstances that create the risk of harm. The studies on Splenda indicate one would have to consume 5000 packages or more in a day before there would be harmful effects.

I refer you to the column in the last Scientific American entitled "Airborne Baloney" - need I say more??? Save your money.

I have been using Airborne for sometime now whenever I feel a cold coming on and I know it can stop my cold or at least make it very mild. But then this morning I visited Amazon to read reviews after seeing Airborne on the Today show - they were reviewing cold products. And just a single dose of Airborne has 100% (5,000 IU) of the daily requirements for vitamin A (25,000 IU is toxic levels). And then I read a review here that says it has Splenda. So I looked up "sucralose" and it is the same as Splenda - meaning it is the same as "aspartame", which if you investigate that you will soon learn that it is extremely toxic to the body. So now I will just keep vitamin C on hand for colds.

saved my heine on a recent voyage where passengers where sick, lots of coughing and sneezing. Took a dose twice a day. No colds or flu. Maybe this stuff works. Use little water and wait for it to quit fizzing. Tastes good.

Ever since I started taking these when I feel a cold coming on, my cold symptoms subside and I don't get the cold like usual, or if I do get the cold, the symptoms are much less severe.

And, with their new flavors coming on the market, they taste that much better.

Reading some of the other reviews, I note that the most negative reviews have not actually used the product. How can you review something you haven't used? (Also - where is Splenda in the ingredients?)

Airborne WORKS, pure and simple.

Airborne.... Miracle worker???
Here's what I think...

I have listed the ingredients and explain each one with regards to benefits and drawbacks.

5 calories.... Save if for a piece of gum

100% vitamin A- deficiencies lead to night blindness due to the prescence of this in rhodopsin, a retinal pigment. This is very common in most vegetables and especially in beta carotene rich plants (carrots...). Beta carotene is the most common form in vitamins because it is a precursor and is harmless in excess amount. Airborne has it in the form of retinyl acetate, the active form of which being a fat soluble vitamin, can be toxic in excess. Symptoms of overdose include hair loss, headaches, and nausea. Regarding taking supplements for immediate usage, your liver stores about 2 years worth of vitamin A, rendering this dose moot.

1670% vitamin C- possibly shown to reduce the longevity of the common cold (questionable) , high levels of this are available in many fruits. In high amounts, this increases your risk of kidney stones. In oranges, there is enough citrate to counter this negative effect, but citrate is available in only small quantities in this "drug." At a dose every 3 hours, kidney stones can become more and more of a risk. Often used in oxidation/reduction reactions.

Vitamin E is also a fat soluble vitamin, with toxicity in high amounts. Acts as an antioxidant and is readily available in nuts, grains, and vegetable oils.

Magnesium(essential to nucleic acid structure), Zinc (often prosthetic group as in zinc fingers of DNA synth), Selenium (cofactor for reduction of antioxidant enzymes), and Manganese are all heavy metals and micronutrients. All heavy metals are highly toxic in high amounts and have detrimental effects on the central nervous system. Of considerable interest, there is 3 mg of manganese per tablet. As the recommended daily intake is around 2 mg, and the upper tolerable limit is about 9-11 mg, if taken as directed (take one and may repeat every 3 hours), one can easily get into dangerous levels of this metal with no benefit in the higher dose.

Potassium is an essential nutrient that Airborne contains a negligible amount of (2%) thus having no use.

"A medical study (Taylor et al. 2003[1].) demonstrated that when echinacea products made from the entire plant (not just the root) were taken after the second cold symptom appeared they provided no measurable beneficial effect for children in treating the severity or duration of symptoms caused by the common cold virus. Studies by the University of Virginia School of Medicine (Turner, 2005 [2]) confirmed these results, and added that Echinacea had no clinically significant effects on the common cold even if taken immediately upon infection, or as a prophylaxis starting a week prior to symptoms of infection."

Lonicera is the genus of the honeysuckle, a shrub or vine that some species produce poisonous berries. No beneficial effects have been noted.

Forsythia- "In the absence of serious clinical trials, efficacy should be regarded at best debatable"
Schizonepeta, Ginger, Chinese Vitex, Isatis Root are under the same heat as ineffective plants with no evidence of beneficence.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is present which is common in green leafy vegetables.

The amino acids contained are glutamine and lysine. I find it hilarious that glutamine is included as this is an unessential amino acid that is readily made by the body. Furthermore, it is an amino acid with an extra amine group making it doubly costly in ridding of nitrogenous wastes and stressing the kidneys when in excess. Lysine is an essential amino acid with is commonly found in legumes, green leafy vegetables, and meat product (especially fish).

So... think what you want, and take what you want, but in terms of "boosting" your immune system, this product will not do any of the sort; if anything, a deficiency in any of these vitamins or micronutrients will reduce the effectiveness of your immune system. So whether you would consider not lowering immune effectiveness as "boosting" is your choice, but I think otherwise. The mind is a powerful thing, and the placebo effect has been shown time and again to be a powerful "drug." If swallowing something you think will help helps, go for it. On a purely chemical standpoint, you might as well save money and stick to your flintstone chewables or good ole centrum.

Airborne helped me stay health at work while other around the office were out sick. The flu ran through the office and my house without stop, but I never felt any effects.

When taken consistently at the first sign of a cold, this product is amazing!

This product is deceiving. It is NOT a natural product. It contains Splenda... a product that is essentially chlorine.

I, personally, cannot imagine trying to heal myself with chlorine. I hope consumers are smart enough to agree.

I spend a good bit of money on these at the grocery store. I teach and find these come in handy when I'm starting to fight off a cold. I am so happy to find them at a better price!

My family's favorite flavor, orange. Really helps reduce or eliminate colds and viruses.

The flavor of this product is good. While taking this product in a family of four,only two of us became sick with a cold and cough. I feel it can't hurt to protect yourself naturally.

I always got sick from the people I work with because they bring colds and flu to work and spread it like a plague. Now with Airborne everyone else is sick but ME!! Just use the product when you are exposed to viruses and stay healthy!

Tastes almost like a Sunkist drink. I enjoy this flavor more than the original.

I got 5 packs of airborne totalling 150 tablets. These are great tasting drinks. The only catch is the expiration date shows 04/07. Lesson learned today is not to order so much next time.

This product is a Godsend. It works so well that I haven't been truly "knock down" sick since I began taking it 2 years ago. I have recommended it to all my friends and family. My Dad, who is 72, takes it because he refuses to have the flu shot. He has been healthy throughout the cold winters in New Jersey.

If you haven't tried Airborne, you should order some right now! It really works. The moment you have that feeling of "I might be catching a cold", take Airborne and most likely you will avoid a cold. It is great to take everytime you fly. Pop an Airborne before boarding a flight and it will help you ward off those germs which fill the cabin.

This contains splenda. Do a quick search on splenda and learn about the harmful effects of this so called "made from sugar" sweetner. Start with google and try "splenda dangers". Try extra vitamin C and avoid the Standard American Diet(SAD) like the plague. If you eat more fruits and veggies you'll have less colds to be concerned about.

I always heard growing up that if someone could come up with a cure for the common cold they could get rich. Unfortunately, the reason no one has come up with that cure is because there is none. The human body stops colds by building up a gradual immunity from childhood and repeated exposure to variants of the flu and cold. A flu shot would be a better preventative than this product along with the usual... one a day type vitamins, adequate sleep, excersize, etc.

I give this school teacher extra credit here however. She has tapped into a common fear and with some very good PR and advertising she has taken a one a day type of vitamin formula and convinced us that she came up with the miracle cure.

I would have thought that if and when the cure came it would be from a recognized pharmacutical company after rigorous testing and trial.

If it gives you some peace of mind, it probably was money well spent, but if you think you will never catch another cold as long as you are taking this "magic bullet" at some time you will be dissappointed.

You will catch another cold at some time and as a result you will build up added immunity from future colds and if you are like the rest of the herd of sheep that cling onto any promise of a "magical cure" you will continue to make the teacher rich. I wonder if she is still a teacher... doubt it.

Baaa

Airborn works! I was skeptical until my neice told me about it. I have to be very careful what I put in my body as I take medicine for very bad skipped heart beats, but I can take this without any problems, but always be careful and ask your Doctor too if you can take this.
I take this whenever I feel something coming on, or when I think I have been exposed to anything.
I also give this to my 10 year old and it has saved him from three times this year from a sinus infection and countless other times for other ailments. Ask me I know because last year he was on antibiotics four times because of sinus infections and this saved him this year from all of them!
This works very well for keeping colds away and other stuff away, but the only thing it didn't work for us for is strep throat. But we take it when we think we may be getting it, as it seemed to lessen the symtoms, they weren't as severe.
I will always take airborn and keep a nice stock in the medicine cabinet.

I used to use Airborne to combat colds after they started--which cut down on the length and intensity of the cold.

However, now I'm a nanny for 3 kids, all of whom were in the local Nutcracker performance. Days on end of intense/extended rehearsals and performances left all the kids tired. By the end of it all, there wasn't one kid who hadn't run a fever at some point. Now, a week later, all of the adults who spent time with them are ALL sick. I took Airborne a couple times a day, everyday during all of this. I never once had the slightest hint of a cold. I'm completely convinced!!

If you're going to be in a situation that's destined to be germ infested, this is your best bet to keeping healthy!

My son and I have been using Airborne for about 3 years. We prefer the new grapefruit flavor to the original orange being offered on Amazon but you absolutely can't beat this price. This is the best deal I've seen. This week Walgreens is selling Airborne for $4.99 and you can use the newspaper $1.00 off coupon to bring it to $3.99. It's rare to see it that low. Advice-don't waste your money on Walborne it doesn't work.

When the pill effervesses the herbs look pretty gross but don't let that put you off. It tastes good (the grapefruit tastes better) and if you take it at the first sign of a cold(which for us is a slight sore throat) you can either bypass the cold or cut the symptoms and time in 1/2 conservatively.

Airborne has come out with an overnight formula we can't wait to try. They have gummy bear type folmulas as well.

This is also great as a preventative. A check out person I know who works at a store recently joined the ranks of people who love Airborne.

And finally, when you save the bar code and your store receipts on 6 Airbornes, you can send them into the headquarters and in about 6 weeks you'll get a coupon for a free airborne. We usually buy 6 at a time just so that we have them on hand and can get the free coupon procedure done before we misplace the records! I give Airborne away to family members and now have 4 family groups using this product because (drum roll) IT WORKS!