Runny noses, coughing and body aches are all signs that you have been hit with a cold or flu.

And some doctors recommend that there is nothing better than a few bowls of chicken soup and some rest to cure you.

Senior medical officer Dr. Brenda Davidson reported that the total number of flu cases reported up until December 14 1996 was 1,700. During the same time period in 1995 there were 1,002.

With hundreds of medications on pharmacy shelves from Formula 44D to Alka Seltzer cold medicine people tend to get a little overwhelmed buying things that "supposedly'' cure symptoms that you might not even have.

A few family practitioners, paediatricians, and a doctor of geriatric medicine talk about the signs you should look for when you are coming down with the cold or flu, what you should take, and the stories behind chicken soup and drinking lots of fluid.

Chief medical officer Dr. John Cann stated that there are several signs of influenza (flu) that one can look out for such as fever, including chills and aches, mild sore throat, a cough which may be severe, headache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea which is rare but reported in school outbreaks.

Family practitioner Dr. Ewart Brown said the common cold is caused by any number of viruses none of which require an antibiotic.

"There are a range of early symptoms such as sneezing, sore scratchy throat, and muscle aches with the flu, in particular, you may feel aches in the back, legs and shoulders.

"To battle it my first recommendation is to acknowledge that the virus has struck and don't fight it, that is a common mistake. People think they can try and sweat it out and some will say they will go to the gym but that is the worst thing because it worsens the dehydration and further weakens the host patients. It is an ear, nose and throat illness.'' Dr. Brown added that in terms of the best medications, in most cases, "the time tested combination of Tylenol, rest and fluids is sufficient but sometimes we use amantidne which has anti-viral activity and that can be effective.'' He also said that antibiotics only have a place in treatment if a bacterial infection is superimposed on the viral infection.

"Chicken soup is a good fluid but there are a lot of myths about the flu that aren't true and often people will try another type of remedy before going to the doctor.'' Paediatrician Dr. Peter Perinchief said all medications "are a waste of money. The more medications there are available for a given condition the less likely they are to work because if one worked all the others would go out of business.

"Most of the current medications are not going to make you get better any faster, they are viral infections. There are 100 different viruses that can cause upper respiratory track symptoms and the symptoms that you suffer are the bodies immune system attacking and responding to a given virus.

"And basically the medicines that one goes and buys don't have any affect on these symptoms. The only things you should use is aspirin or Tylenol, Liquiprin for kids, and the best thing of all in bed rest.'' Dr. Perinchief added that with influenza infection one should never use an aspirin for a child as it could cause reyes syndrome which could be fatal.

"Your immune system is temporarily down loaded and normally it can be treated but really it is a question of waiting for it to get better.'' Paediatrician Dr. Bente Lundh also said cold remedies were not really effective and chicken noodle soup may work better.

"Using a multi-medication increases the possibility of adverse reactions,'' Dr. Lundh said.

She added: "Use things with specific relief, and with children parents may have to suction their nose with a syringe to clear out the mucus. We also use nasal drops when needed.'' Another family doctor, who did not wish to be named, said if you are suffering from a cold or flu the only things recommended for symptomatic symptoms would include aspirin or paracetamol (Tylenol is one brand) but one could also take decongestants if they are congested.

"There are (medication) cocktails that contain everything which you might not need and you end up taking more medication than you need.

"The bottom line is your cold goes away in 14 days if you do nothing and in two weeks if you do something,'' the doctor said.

And on the importance of consuming lots of fluids the doctor added: "Because you are losing secretions you can tend to be dehydrated which is why lots of fluid is recommended but it does not shorten the course of the cold or flu.

Fluids are also good if you are sweating a lot from fever.'' And on the theory of what a good bowl of chicken soup can do the doctor said there have been studies that did show some minor effects of chicken soup in reducing the lengths of cold.

Doctor of Geriatric medicine Burt McPhee said he advises his patients to first get the flu shot against the flu which is annual. "I sometimes suggest reinforcing it around January and February.

"It is important for all patients no matter what age to drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest and take vitamin C as it tends to do some help.

"If things are not getting better in a few days one should see a doctor because you could get complications from the flu and the one you really need to worry about is pneumonia which should be treated.

"If it is a viral pneumonia you can battle it with lots of fluids and antibiotics but if the complications are with bacteria depending on the severity you can deal with it at home taking antibiotics by mouth or if severe you may have to be hospitalised for intervenes antibiotics.''