With the change in season and temperatures dipping, there has been a rise in cases of cough and cold. While some of these might be a regular cold, some people might have symptoms that will get severe. However, it is important that you take the necessary steps that can help prevent the condition from getting worse.

It is important that you speak to your doctor before taking any medicine. This is because they will be the best ones who can understand your condition and prescribe the required medicine. However, Dr Shireen, a GP, shared the one thing that she recommends people do as soon as they notice cold symptoms. This helps to reduce the duration and severity of the illness and it is not expensive, either.

In a post, Dr Shireen said, “I’m an NHS GP, and I'm going to give you guys one small tip that's going to reduce the duration and severity of any cold you have this winter.”

She added, “The second you notice an itchy throat, a runny nose, itchy burning eyes, anything that might suggest you've got a cough or a cold coming what I want you to do is take two things: Vitamin C and Zinc.

“You can actually get these Barocca-style tablets that you can pop into water. Just start it. You can't prevent coughs or colds, but research is out there to show that taking Zinc and Vitamin C reduces the duration and the severity. I've personally been doing this for the last couple of years, and I can tell you it really works.”

Dr Shireen also recommends adults take a Vitamin D supplement during the winter, according to a report in Mirror.co.uk. In another of her video, she explained, “People don't come to the doctor and say, ‘I’ve got Vitamin D deficiency.’ They come to the doctor and say, ‘I’m feeling really tired. I’ve got joint pain, bone pain.

“I’m feeling depressed. I’m feeling anxious. I’m really prone to getting infections. My immune system seems down in my boots,’ and what do we do as GPs? We do a blood test, and the blood tests are all coming back with low Vitamin D.

“Now, lots of people don’t know this but from October to March everybody needs to be taking a Vitamin D supplement, and that can be 800 units or 1000 units, but all adults should be taking a Vitamin D supplement.”

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