伤风感冒季节，大家进入戒备状态，加紧预防，希望可以避过染病。
对抗流感，可以打流感针。流行性感冒是influenza，或简称flu。例如︰I was down with the flu last week.(我上星期流感病倒了。)打预防针是injection，但简单说shot也可以。流感针通常叫flu shot，例如︰Have you gotten you flu shot?(你打了流感针没有？)
伤风是cold，或common cold。 Catch a cold 就是害伤风，例如︰Dress warmly or you will catch a cold.(穿得暖一点，否则就会害伤风。)Common cold或cold和flu不一样，美国Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(疾病控制及预防中心)解释：
Flu and the common cold are both respiratory(呼吸的) illnesses but they are caused by different viruses(病毒). Because these two types of illnesses have similar symptoms(病征), it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone.
In general, flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms are more common and intense(剧烈的). Colds are usually milder(温和的) than flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose(鼻塞、流鼻水). Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations. Flu can have very serious associated complications(并发症).
无论如何，大家都有一套预防和治疗伤风的方法。但这些真的有用吗？ “Cold remedies: Old wives’ tales … or legitimate science?”一文就讨论这个问题︰
There are few experiences as universal(普遍的) as catching a cold. And while there are around 200 viruses that cause it, there seem to be almost as many home remedies to combat it.
Remedy是名词，解治疗药物。 Old wives’ tales是a superstition or traditional belief that is regarded as unscientific or incorrect，无稽之谈、愚蠢的迷信。香炉灰开水可以治病很难相信不是old wives’ tale，但常见的remedies又如何呢？
From orange juice to zinc lozenges(锌锭), chicken soup to garlic capsules(大蒜丸), there are plenty of home remedies for the common cold. But is there any evidence that they work?
文章引述一些研究，指服用Vitamin C预防伤风其实作用不大，饮橙汁作用更小，因为橙汁的维他命C含量其实不高。但有研究就发现，维他命C可以缩短儿童的伤风患病期。有研究发现︰”if started within 24 hours of the first symptoms, 80mg daily zinc acetate lozenges may help treat the common cold”，但也有人担心zinc lozenges会有副作用。
安慰剂也有治疗功用
不论这些remedies是否在科学上证明有效，心理却有很大的影响。有时只要病人相信，就算明知服用的是placebo(安慰剂)，竟也可以发挥治疗的功用。 University of Southampton的医疗心理学教授Felicity Bishop说：”Open-label(标明的) placebos, when a doctor tells the patient something is a placebo but that it’s helped some people, can still make patients better.”
所以难怪患病时饮了妈妈送上的chicken soup，就立即感到好了一点！ 《读者文摘》的1,801 Home Remedies: Doctor-Approved Treatments for Everyday Health Problems，收录千多种医生都赞成的古方remedies。
