The 3p sweet that could banish debilitating cold symptom as cases surge

WINTER virus season is well underway – if you haven’t been struck down by illness, the chances are you know someone who has.

With the common cold running rampant, researchers have recommended an unlikely treatment to help beat one of the most infuriating symptoms – a popular sweet.

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Malaise is a common symptom of the common cold – put chewing the sweet could help[/caption]

Having a cold, also known as rhinovirus, can slow down reaction times and make you feel less awake.

But a new study from scientists at Cardiff University found sucking on peppermints could increase alertness.

The researchers monitored 81 studies over 10 weeks, during which time 17 developed a mild illness.

Of the people who fell ill, six were given peppermints, six butterscotch, and five weren’t given any sweets at all.

And amongst the 64 who remained healthy, 21 sucked peppermint, 22 were given placebo sweets, and 21 didn’t eat any.

All the participants were then tested for their mood, performance and reaction times.

Both those with colds and those who were healthy and sucked peppermint showed increased alertness.

The researchers found eating peppermints had this effect because it soothed the signals between the body and brain.

Dr Andy Smith, who led the research, explained: “When people are sick with a mild upper respiratory tract illness, they will likely experience malaise – a general discomfort and a lack of wellbeing.

“This can impact performance and reduce our alertness.

“Vapours are known to have therapeutic benefits – and aromatics, such as mint, have been shown in previous research to have an impact on our wellbeing when ill and in perfect health.

“We thought it was plausible that peppermints might help reduce the malaise associated with the common cold and its symptoms.”

Dr Smith added: “With the right understanding, simple things can be done to improve our wellbeing when unwell- and that includes eating a peppermint to help with a cold.”

And the recommended remedy won’t hurt your bank balance.

A pack of four rolls of Trebor Extra Strong Peppermint costs £1.85.

With 17 mints in a roll, that’s just less than 3p a mint.

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Eating peppermints was found to soothe the signals between the body and brain[/caption]

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has shown rhinovirus has been on the increase in recent weeks.

Covid has also been doing the rounds, driven by two new variants called Stratus and Nimbus.

And there are signs flu is on the rise too, with an increase amongst the 15 to 25 age group over the past week.

Cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause serious illness in young children, also tends to take off this time of year.

Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said alongside the release of the new data: “There is often, although not always a pattern.

“You tend to see rhinovirus take off first and then RSV. Flu tends to come later in December and January.

“But that’s not always the case – and certainly the pandemic disrupted the traditional seasonal trends.

“What we’ve seen in the last year or so is those trends return to something like normal.”

He added the levels of illnesses at the moment aren’t particularly high: “Covid is above baseline and there’s a lot of rhinovirus around.

“The uptick in flu in that younger age group has perhaps come a little bit earlier than we would expect, but it is still at a low level.”