Colds, and the more serious "brother" flu, have the status of acceptance in society.
Well, until recently, that was a reasonable position to adopt.
So, most of us load up with multivatamins (or specifically vitamin C for some unknown reason).
When that fails to prevent infection, we hit the patent wonder medicines which work apparent miracles on those in the advertisements, but do little for us in the real world.
You know what I mean, the usual cocktail of antipyretic/analgesic (paracetamol) coupled with an antihistamine or decongestant with a pleasant lemon or blackcurrant flavour, and, of course, the usual vitamin C.
Then there are the herbal remedies.
It would be interesting to know if anyone has found one that actually works.
In terms of substances that attack, mollify or inhibit viruses, there are Tamiflu, Interferon and another I believe.
In the UK, these are not easily available, and certainly not without a doctor's prescription.
I don't know the position in the US.
Furthermore, there have been criticisms of the British Government's stockpiling of interferon as a precaution against a crisis impending when the avian flu virus "merges" with one of the human strains, on the grounds that many believe that Interferon will be largely ineffective, and that the stocks will be sufficient to treat only a small percentage of the population: key workers.
Don't forget: many experts believe it is a case of "when", not "if" the mutation occurs.
So, it occurred to me to mention to all those interested, that Renua Partners, after the usual extensive trials and probably prohibitive research and development costs have released a product with a two-fold agenda.
One, it is a broad spectrum anti-viral agent and the other is a potency to optimise the immune system.
The significance of this, of course, is that not only is an inefficient immune system stimulated, but an over-sensitive one is mollified.
That has to be good news for the unfortunate people whose lives are blighted by asthma and those whose bodies react violently to allergies.
It's no surprise that the two philosophies have been presented together.
Antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections, rely on the immune system of the host for their effectiveness.
It seems reasonable to expect the same when it comes to treating viral infections.
It's hardly forgettable that there are much more serious illnesses than colds and flu.
AIDS is the most obvious and I wouldn't mention it ifthere hadn't been success in this field.