I heard about this stuff about a month ago and thought it would be good to try for the family, but especially for my 4 year old son who has CF. Children (starting at age 4 I think) can take the children's version of Airborne or just half a tablet of the adult version. I just bought the adult version because it cost the same and I could make it go farther with my son (1 tablet equals 2 doses). Everything that I have read about it says that it is best to use at the FIRST SIGN of a cold. However, when my son got a cold a few weeks ago the pharmacy was closed and I couldn't start it until the second day of his cold. Nonetheless, I really think it helped his cold. He seemed to recover from his cold more quickly than usual. After 2 days, I saw no signs of a cold and no excessive coughing. I will be eager to see how it works when I administer it at the FIRST SIGN as directed. I did some research before giving it to him: Airborne is loaded up with Vitamin C, but also contains other Vitamins, Minerals, Herbal Extracts, and Amino Acids. It is given in effervescent formula, which I think is the main key. From what I've read, effervescent medicines are much more easily absorbed and used by the body than standard pills. That is probably why other users are seeing such success with Alka Seltzer. I never really thought about that before, but it makes sense. I know I took Alka Seltzer a long time ago on a ski trip when I had a horrible flu, and I couldn't believe how much better I felt just a few hours later. ANYWAY, I tasted it (back on the AIRBORNE topic) and thought it tasted like orange soda which was fine for me, but my son can't stand the taste (he does not like any kind of soda much less orange flavor). I ended up mixing it with A LOT of juice and was successful in getting him to drink it. I have 3 boxes of AIRBORNE for future use and am very excited about it. I mean, colds are so much harder on people w/cf and if there is a way to reduce it's effects then GREAT. It is NOT a cough suppressant. I will be curious to see how others feel about it. By the way, I plan to speak to my son's CF doctor about this product when we see him in a couple of weeks. I don't see the harm in giving it to my son, but the doctor may know something that I don't.
Jena
mom to 4 year old son with cf