“Drink plenty of fluids”
Editor—The article by Guppy et al as a systematic review of evidence for the effects of fluid intake1 on the course of acute respiratory infections has been interpreted in the press as a warning against fluid intake while suffering from infections of the acute upper respiratory tract, such as common cold or flu.
Headlines in newspapers and the internet warn that the “age old advice on fluids for colds” is now disputed by research out of Australia. The authors have mischievously taken old folklore on fluids and colds and presented evidence on severe infections of the lower respiratory tract in infants to make a case that intake of fluids may be harmful. The press and public have got the wrong message because of the confusion in the article. The saying “Drink plenty of fluids” is generally accepted to refer to common colds and is not usually associated with acutely ill and hospitalised infants. By linking these two together the authors have created a scare story, but they have not addressed the main issue of the folklore.
There are no controlled clinical trials in the literature to support any beneficial effect of maintaining fluid intake for an acute infection of the upper respiratory tract, but neither is there any evidence that indicates that this remedy is harmful in any way when applied as intended to colds and flu.
Notes
Competing interests: RE and MJ conduct sponsored clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry on common cold medicines at the Common Cold Centre.