i have used it for 25+ yrs now and swear by it. it is pricey but i don't get paid sick days so it's well worth the cost over a days pay. i think i saw it on sale at walgreens this wk...~ liz

As far as cold symptoms go, when I feel scratchy , I get some Cold-Eze lesenges with zinc. They have ended many a cold for me.

Interesting, this does not appear to 'rev-up' the immune system which is how some of the homeopathics (Airborne, Cold-Eze) work, so this may work for folks like me. I'm going to have to do some more reading. Thanks! I was not aware of this before.

Another Cold-Eeze believer here.

I think Oscillo is more for flu. The box says "Flu-like Symptoms."

I'll have to get myself some Cold-Eeze. I recently read of a study that shoots down Airborne. But I'm certain it's worked for me (for colds) in the past.

I think you may have read about the $30 million lawsuit settlement against Airborne for making false advertising claims:

"Airborne Health, Inc., the Bonita Springs, Florida maker of the popular Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, an effervescent tablet marketed as a cold prevention and treatment remedy, has agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it did not have adequate evidence to support its advertising claims. The FTCâÂÂs lawsuit also names Victoria Knight-McDowell, the former schoolteacher who invented Airborne, and her husband Thomas John McDowell. If the settlement is approved by the court, it will prohibit the defendants from making false and unsubstantiated cold prevention, germ-fighting, and efficacy claims. The monetary judgment will be satisfied by the defendantsâ adding $6.5 million to the funds they have already agreed to pay to settle a related private class-action lawsuit, bringing the total settlement fund to $30 million

According to the FTCâÂÂs complaint, there is no competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the claims made by the defendants that Airborne tablets can prevent or reduce the risk of colds, sickness, or infection; protect against or help fight germs; reduce the severity or duration of a cold; and protect against colds, sickness, or infection in crowded places such as airplanes, offices, or schools. The FTC complaint also states that the individual defendants in the case, company founders Victoria Knight-McDowell and Thomas John McDowell, made false claims that Airborne products are clinically proven to treat colds."

You can google "Airborne false advertsing" for more info.

Never heard of it or Cold-Eeze. Will have to look into it.

I take echinacea this time of year, my doc told me to start doing that several years ago and it has worked really well for us. I also use zinc lozenges at the first sign of a sore throat. Never tried the oscillo though.

there have been several studies recently debunking zinc as working too. i have in the past used cold-ezzz and zinc lozenges and while i thought they did help, most medical studies (not sponsored by zinc people) say otherwise. i completely stopped using thou after all those people lost their sense of smell from zinc nasal swabs and lozenges.

i just spent a few days vacation w/ my BIL who is a head researcher for Roche Pharm. and we actually discussed these remedies lol. my sis has an MS in Microbio & is a CMLT & CMT and i have a BS in Bio and used to teach Microbio so all of us are well versed on this stuff. my dh & i always get sick from their 5 yr old twins so we were talking about these remedies and decided we could become billionaires by selling Placebo pills ;-))) never underestimate the placebo effect! echinacea has been completely shot down time after time but people 'think' it works and they do get better...and the sellers are happy too so it works all around.

some things help some people and if you think it helps then you got your $$ worth, i think. i don't know if oscillo works or not, in my mind it works for me lol ~ liz

Here is a link that might be useful: mayo on zinc

I don't care about the lawsuit, I read about it last year when it was filed, it helped me and my husband still swears by it. If I were not on meds to suppress my immune system I would still take it. I would take it at the first hint of a sniffle and it worked. Friends of ours own a small pharmacy and they cannot keep it on the shelves so I am guessing it works for many.

Placebos work for many. (No messing with people's *beliefs*! LOL)

I don't go for placebo-type things. I know a lot of people swear by them though. :)

Yes, the mind-body connection is very powerful, so the placebo effect cannot be discounted. It is probably, in fact, a major factor in the vast over-prescribing of antibiotics. Even when they absolutely were needed, people believe they made them well.

Actually, that wasn't a good example of the placebo effect, because in most cases those people got well from "tincture of time," not their belief in the pill. Nevertheless, they keep coming back for more.

I was going to say google "placebo effect studies" but people beat me to it.

I'm not saying any of these things don't work, just saying the mind is a powerful tool.

My grandmother swore by "a little blue pill" that her doctor touted as a cure all. This was back in the late 1960's. Turns out it was a sugar pill and of course she had no idea. She called it a miracle drug.

Yes, the mind is a powerful tool...I think some people are more easily influenced by suggestions/comments from others. Salesmen, for example - explains the success of infomercials. It's also the driver behind the placebo effect.

I have to add, though, that in the case of Oscillo, I had no faith that it would work. Although I've had some amazing results from homeopathic remedies (prescribed by a skilled homeopath), I've also experienced some that were duds--at least as far as my treatment was concerned. So I bought the Oscillo thinking it was an interesting concept, but definitely not expecting the results I got.

I still can't say with certainty that all of my improvement was due to Oscillo, but I think it's a possibility.

Here is a link to the origin of Oscillo:

http://www.homeowatch.org/history/oscillo.html

Here is a link that might be useful: The Oscillo story

About the link, Kay......the mission of Homeowatch.org is to disprove the validity of homeopathy, homeopaths, and all homeopathic preparations. Its articles are written with a strong and obvious bias. The site is run by a physician who evidently feels threatened by homeopathy.

And you will find that a lot in these times, Alisande. I mean physicians threatened by competition and voicing themselves vigorously. In this day of health care competition and increased scope of practice for advanced practice nurses, physicians are coming out swinging. Not meaning to hi-jack your thread, but it's just an example of taking in personal biases in what ANYONE writes.

Liz, I enjoyed your response.

I don't have a Masters in Microbiology, but I have a good head on my shoulders and I'm not afraid to use it! LOL.