Apparently vitamin C does nothing to reduce the symptoms of a cold (according to wikipedia, anyway).
A 2010 Cochrane Review concluded:[7]
The failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the general population indicates that routine prophylaxis is not justified. Vitamin C could be useful for people exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise. While the prophylaxis trials have consistently shown that vitamin C reduces the duration and alleviates the symptoms of colds, this was not replicated in the few therapeutic trials that have been carried out.
A 2010 Cochrane Review concluded:[7]
The failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the general population indicates that routine prophylaxis is not justified. Vitamin C could be useful for people exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise. While the prophylaxis trials have consistently shown that vitamin C reduces the duration and alleviates the symptoms of colds, this was not replicated in the few therapeutic trials that have been carried out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_megadosage#Common_cold