For how we live.
A cough that outlasts the cold is normal: studies put the average at more than two weeks. Little in the pharmacy reliably shortens it, and antibiotics do not — but some symptoms are a reason to see a doctor.
With influenza, virus shedding starts within a day of infection, peaks on day two and lasts about five days on average — often before you feel your worst. Nearly a quarter of infections cause one symptom or none at all.
On ten monitored flights, passengers away from a sick traveller faced low transmission risk, and every air sample tested negative for common viruses. Measles is the exception that proves the rule.
Most acute sinus infections clear without antibiotics — about 46% of people are better within a week regardless. Drugs speed cure in only 5 to 11 per 100, and cause side effects in more.
Most sore throats clear on their own within a week. Painkillers and honey ease the pain; antibiotics shorten symptoms by only about 16 hours and are rarely worth it.
The honest answer is that neither wins outright. Alcohol gel is faster and is the default in hospitals — but it misses a handful of important germs that only soap and water remove.
The uncomfortable answer from the studies is that symptoms overlap too much to be sure without a test — and that most of what genuinely helps is prevention, not a cure.
Two randomised trials in more than 1,800 children found no benefit in acute gastroenteritis. A Cochrane review of 23 trials found fewer upper respiratory infections, on low-certainty evidence.