Research Article
Self-Care for Common Colds by Primary Care Patients: A European Multicenter Survey on the Prevalence and Patterns of Practices—The COCO Study
Table 2
Frequently used (≥5%) self-care practices on item level (
= 2,724), weighted by age
.
| | | % |
| Foodstuffs (95.2% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 5.2) |
| Tea | | | Fruit | | | Lemon + honey | 495 | 18.0 | Cranberry | 181 | 6.6 | Herbal | | | Peppermint/mint | 474 | 17.9 | Chamomile | 477 | 17.3 | Sage | 442 | 16.8 | Lime blossom | 371 | 14.0 | Ginger | 349 | 13.4 | Thyme | 208 | 7.9 | Cinnamon | 202 | 7.9 | Mixed | 468 | 17.7 | Black/green | 299 | 11.0 | Other | 161 | 6.3 |
| Fruits | | | Oranges/orange juice | 1,029 | 38.1 | Lemons/lemon juice | 837 | 31.1 | Mandarins | 684 | 25.2 | Grapefruits/grapefruit juice | 185 | 6.7 | Other fruits incl. “more fruit” | 798 | 29.4 |
| Vegetables | | | Garlic | 423 | 15.2 | Other vegetables incl. “more vegetables” | 396 | 14.0 |
| Honey | | | Honey | 1,138 | 41.9 | Hot milk + honey | 531 | 19.3 |
| Alcohol | | | Tea with rum | 137 | 5.0 |
| Water | 1,168 | 42.8 | Chicken soup | 811 | 29.8 |
| Intestinal absorption (80.8% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 1.9) |
| Pain medication | | | Paracetamol | 1,019 | 38.2 | Ibuprofen | 417 | 15.7 | ASA/aspirin | 384 | 13.7 | “Pain medication” (unspecific) | 319 | 12.0 |
| Cough medicine | | | Syrup for cough | 516 | 18.5 | Pastilles for cough | 419 | 15.4 | Drops for cough | 228 | 8.2 |
| Vitamin C | 758 | 28.2 | “Pills for cold” (unspecific) | 528 | 19.9 | “Homeopathics” (unspecific) | 183 | 6.9 |
| Extras at home (80.5% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 2.1) |
| Staying in bed | 1,020 | 38.1 | Bath/shower | 930 | 35.3 | Rest at home | 909 | 33.7 | Warm clothes | 735 | 27.2 | Open windows | 585 | 22.0 | Warm covers | 495 | 18.6 | Take a day/days off | 370 | 14.4 | Hot water bottle | 303 | 11.3 | Pray for recovery | 224 | 8.5 |
| Intranasal application (53.1% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 0.7) |
| Decongestants | 703 | 26.5 | Saline for nose | 479 | 18.1 | Nose drops/spray (unspecific) | 287 | 10.8 | Nasal washings | 216 | 8.2 |
| Inhalation (36% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 0.6) |
| Peppermint/menthol | 399 | 14.6 | Saline | 182 | 7.0 | Chamomile | 142 | 5.1 | Pot with steaming water (unspecific) | 390 | 14.3 |
| Local oral effects (35.3% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 0.5) |
| Lozenges | | | Lemon | 296 | 10.7 | Eucalyptus | 269 | 10.0 | Sage | 260 | 9.6 | Peppermint | 241 | 9.1 |
| Topical use in throat (33.2% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 0.4) |
| Gargle | | | Saline | 283 | 10.2 | Sage | 187 | 6.8 |
| Throat spray | 401 | 15.2 |
| External use (13.6% ≥ 1 item; mean use: 0.2) |
| Rub with essential oils | 172 | 6.5 |
|
|
European Standard Population 2013.
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