Vicks issues handbook on colds
Vicks, a cold and cough medicine brand of Procter & Gamble and Zhong Nanshan, a renowned academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, jointly released a handbook on cold prevention and treatment in Guangzhou.
The handbook aims to provide more useful knowledge on proper treatment for colds among Chinese families.
The first batch of 10,000 copies, donated by Vicks, are available in over 700 drugstores operated by China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd, its business partner, in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Foshan and Huizhou.
Although colds have brought grievous consequences to health and life, people have not developed a scientific understanding of it.” Zhong Nanshan, a renowned academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
Zhong Nanshan, director of the State Laboratory for Respiratory Diseases, said many people in China still regard a cold as a minor illness; but the disease has, in fact, seriously affected the daily life, health and even safety of the public.
Zhong said that two of the five global influenza pandemics broke out in China in the 20th century. In the 21st century, SARS, avian influenza and H1N1 influenza triggered nationwide health crises. Therefore, both the medical community and the public should use professional treatment in all seriousness to reduce harm from colds.
China has become the world’s largest “cold country,” with over 1 billion person-times contracting colds, with an average duration of up to 18.5 days, during the past year, a survey said. However, people still have no correct understanding on how to treat colds, according to the survey by Shenyang-based China Medical University.
Even though cold sufferers are advised by most doctors and pharmacists to stay at home for their recovery and to avoid spreading disease, the survey showed that 75 percent of respondents still insist on going out working with a cold or flu.
“Although colds have brought grievous consequences to health and life, people have not developed a scientific understanding of it,” Zhong said.
Instead, they have adopted long-standing mistaken ideas and concepts. For example, they use antibiotics because they do not understand that these have no effect on the viruses that cause colds. Zhong added that many people do not rest and continue to work out during a cold.