What is the consensus on the effectiveness of Echinacea for improving resistance to colds or stopping them once they are underway?

I use Echinacea at the onset of cold symptoms and truly believe it works. I have not had a serious cold/flu episode since taking it ten years ago. Good luck!

It works really well for most people. There are a few that it doesn't agree with, but if you aren't sure if it's working quickly enough you may want to increase the dosage. I've given it in all manner of incidence and find most people don't use enough. Try doing it every 4 hours for the first day and you should feel better more quick. I've used it for allergic reactions to bee stings but had to administer it every 15 minutes until swelling began to go down. Then I gave them a tea with a pinch of cayenne pepper, ginger, yarrow, cloves, goldenseal, in it. Hope this helps. Email me if you need anything else. Gina

My wife and I tried it as we were coming down with colds. No effect whatsoever.

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Originally Posted by Pitter

What is the consensus on the effectiveness of Echinacea for improving resistence to colds or stopping them once they are underway?

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Echinacea is better as a preventative measure, rather than once the cold has taken hold, so if you know of any patterns to your symptoms, then start taking echinacea a week in advance.

I have chronic bronchitis so the littlest cold causes me big problems. I take echinacea as soon as cold and flu seasons starts. Not to say I never get a cold but when I do it's not as severe nor is the bronchitis.

I have had success with zinc, and grapefruit-seed extract. The latter in pill form is preferable.

Echinacea works good for colds. It won't knock out the cold overnight, but will help your body fight it. It works good as a preventative measure. I always take some prior to being around a lot of people (ballgames, concerts, the mall). Seems to work for me. It's a good idea to give your body a break once in a while. My doc said to stop taking most supplements after two weeks and wait a week before starting up again. Make sure echinacea is OK for you to take first. Hope this helps!

I tried it and it did nothing for me but my mother swears by it
I found out later, that to get its full effect you need to take
Vitamin C, goldenseal and zinc with it.
Also, Echinacea and zinc should never be taken for more than
Two weeks at a time.