Alternative Therapies for Upper Respiratory Infections

Therapy	Best Evidence *	Probably Useful †	Least Evidence ‡
Herbals	Echinacea 3–5 ml tincture or juice t.i.d., 300–600 mg caps t.i.d., dried root or as tea 0.5–1.0 g t.i.d.	Garlic 300 mg (4000–5000 µg allicin) t.i.d., 1–4 cloves/day; goldenseal 4–6 g t.i.d.	Immune support: Asian ginseng, astragalus, eleuthero, schisandra. Antiviral/antibiotic: elderberry, horseradish, myrrh, usnea. Symptomatic relief: slippery elm, marshmallow, red raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, sage, yarrow, eucalyptus oil, meadowsweet.
Diet and Nutrition/Lifestyle	Avoid exhausting exercise; bedrest; drink large amounts of fluids.	Vitamin C 1–3 g/day; avoid dietary allergens; Gargle: salt water and vinegar; hot water with lemon juice and honey.	Zinc gluconate or gluconate-glycine lozenges 10/day until better; l-lysine 4–5 g/day initially, then 500 mg t.i.d. for cold sores, l-lysine cream; vitamin A 15,000–25,000 IU/day (unless pregnant); beta carotene 50,000–100,000 IU/day.
Mind-Body Interventions	Social support; stress management and awareness.
Pharmacological and Biological Treatments	Control respiratory allergies with antihistamines, nasal steroids, avoidance of allergens.	Hyperthermia.
Bioelectromagnetic Therapies			Energy medicine; hydrotherapy; magnet therapy.
Alternative Systems of Care		Ayurveda; traditional Chinese medicine; acupuncture; cupping.	Homeopathy: aconite 30C q 2 hrs for 3 doses only; kali bichromicum 6C t.i.d.–q.i.d. for 2–3 days; Rhus toxicodendron 6C q 2 hrs up to 6 doses; euphrasia 6C q.i.d.
Hands-On Healing Techniques		Percussion.

^*Therapies with the highest degree of scientific support for efficacy and safety.
^†Therapies that are often helpful but that do not have the highest degree of supporting evidence for efficacy and safety.
^‡Therapies that may be useful but that have limited scientific evidence for efficacy and safety.
NOTE: C denotes the number of times that a substance is diluted at a ratio of 1:100.
SOURCE: Sierpina, VS: Integrative Health Care: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for the Whole Person, F.A. Davis, Philadelphia, 2000.