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.