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Your weekly dose of evidence
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Most of us get around two to three colds per year, usually in winter when we're stuck together indoors and the cool weather allows viruses to stick around for longer.
When it comes to getting sick, there's always an element of bad luck involved, especially for those of us with kids in daycare or who catch public transport. But as Fern Koay explains, looking after ourselves and taking time to eat well, exercise and get enough sleep can pay off.
If you're already sick, do any of the supplements we're sold actually work? Once you have a cold, taking vitamin C won't shorten a cold or make it less severe, writes Clare Collins, but zinc might make a small difference to the duration.
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Fron Jackson-Webb
Senior Health + Medicine Editor/Chief of Staff
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Winter bugs are impossible to escape.
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Hui-Fern Koay, University of Melbourne; Jesseka Chadderton, University of Melbourne
Illness often strikes when you’re stressed at work, not sleeping properly, or you’ve been out partying a little too much. Here's why.
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Once you have a cold, taking vitamin C supplements won’t do anything.
From shutterstock.com
Clare Collins, University of Newcastle
From vitamin C to chicken soup, there are many supposed remedies for treating a cold. Here's what the evidence says.
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Winter health: from the archives
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Nadia Charania, Auckland University of Technology
Most adults get two to three colds per year, while the flu is less common but more severe. Here's how to stop spreading them to others.
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Ken Harvey, Monash University
Complementary medicines are increasingly invoking traditional use when the science does not add up. Horseradish and garlic products provide a good example.
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Kim Murphy, Monash University
We asked an immunologist to assess the evidence for a popular cold and flu herbal remedy. She concluded there isn't enough evidence to support its use.
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Jane E Frawley, University of Technology Sydney; Elizabeth Sullivan, University of Technology Sydney
Pregnant women should get the flu shot to protect themselves, and their child for the first 6 months of life.
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Christopher Blyth, University of Western Australia; Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney
The flu vaccine isn't perfect but it's the best way to protect against these potentially harmful viruses. Most children aged six months to five years are eligible for a free vaccine in 2018.
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Michelle Rodrigues, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne
A "how to" on avoiding and resolving chilblains this winter.
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Families
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Shutterstock
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation
Use our drag-and-drop interactive to find out how incomes, financial wellbeing, and housing stress has changed since 2001 for various 'family types', including singles or couples without children.
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While the gender gap is narrowing, women still do seven hours more housework per week than men (and that doesn’t include the child-caring).
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Leah Ruppanner, University of Melbourne; Brendan Churchill, University of Melbourne
New data show that while the gender gap on housework is narrowing, women still carry the load.
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Featured jobs
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RMIT University — Melbourne, Victoria
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Woodward Conference Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia — University of Melbourne
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Department of Marketing, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, 4222, Australia — Griffith University
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Department of Marketing, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, 4222, Australia — Griffith University
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