Survey on Common Cold Finds Little Common Ground

It’s called the common cold, but a nationwide survey released today shows that there is little common ground when it comes to attitudes and treatments for the ailment.

Men favor whiskey as a home remedy, and women like juice; spouses believe that they’re nice to their mates when the other is down with the sniffles and sneezes but don’t believe that they get an equal return in the pamper department when it’s their turn, according to the survey.

Pharmaceuticals maker SmithKline Beecham commissioned the study of 150 men and 150 women. An equal number of people were surveyed in the Northeast, North Central, Southeast, South Central and Western United States.

The survey found 73% of men and 76% of women reported having a cold during the last 12 months, with the average being 2.2 colds.

Females said they were bothered more by nasal congestion but males said overall aches and pains added to their misery. Nine out of 10 respondents named a specific symptom rather than the fact that they are forced to function while being sick. Men and women are likely to go to work when sick and feel miserable about it, but men are more likely than women to say they feel “virtuous” about it, the survey found.

Although both men and women believed that they are nice to their sick spouse, they said they do not receive the same attention in return when they are ill.

Chicken soup may have been the remedy of the past for the common cold, but the SmithKline survey found tea the choice elixir of 21% of both groups. A good belt of whiskey--a hot toddy in more passive terms--was favored by 27% of the males, and 13% of the females mentioned juice. Chicken soup, though, was the choice of many moms for treating a child’s cold.

The survey found that men and women agreed that when they get colds, “men turn into grizzly bears and women become crabs.”

Those living in the Northeast believe that they get more colds than people in any other region, but so do those living in the North Central states. Those living in the Southeast, South Central and West agreed they experience fewer colds. But folks in the Southeast and South Central say their colds are more miserable than those in other regions.