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Combating the common cold

Probably the most widespread thing you can catch, the common cold is an annoying illness that affects us all. Learn how you can battle the symptoms of a cold and cut its lifespan in half.

Also known as acute viral nasopharyngitis, the common cold is a viral infectious disease of the nose and throat. It is also the most frequent human disease to affect adults. Well-known symptoms include sneezing, sniffling, a runny nose, nasal congestion, a scratchy, sore or phlegmy throat, coughing, headaches and tiredness. A cold usually lasts five to seven days, but a lingering cough can last for up to two weeks.

Frequent

The average person gets two to four infections a year, and school-aged children are susceptible to as many as 12 colds a year. Children and their parents or caretakers are at a higher risk than most. This is because of the high population density in schools and the easy transmission between family members.

The common cold is different from influenza or ‘the flu,’ which is a more severe viral infection of the respiratory tract. The flu has additional symptoms, like a swiftly rising fever, chills and body and muscle aches.

While the common cold is rarely life- threatening, its complications, which include pneumonia, can be.

 

Fast mover

The common cold is capable of infecting the next person before it is defeated by your body's immune system. Sneezes push out a considerably larger concentration of virus ‘cloud’ than coughing. The ‘cloud’ is somewhat invisible and falls at a rate slow enough to last for hours.

The time in which an infected person can transmit a cold to other people begins about one day before symptoms begin and continues for the first five days of the illness. Symptoms usually appear within two to three days after infection. The first sign of a cold is often a sore, scratchy or ‘tickly’ throat. Symptoms usually disappear after about one week, but can last up to 14 days. Between one-third and one-half of all people exposed to a cold virus become infected. Seventy-five percent of infected people show symptoms. After recovering the common cold, a sufferer develops immunity to that particular virus. This immunity only offers limited protection, however, as there are many different cold viruses in existence. Since the common cold is caused by a large variety of viruses, which change quite frequently during reproduction, successful immunisation is highly unlikely.

Avoid the infected

The best way to avoid catching a cold is to avoid close contact with someone who is suffering from one. Wash your hands carefully and frequently, and avoid touching your mouth and face. Surprisingly, anti-bacterial soaps seem to have no effect on the cold virus. Rather, it is the mechanical action of washing your hands that removes the virus. As there is no cure for the common cold, all you can do is treat the symptoms and make yourself as comfortable as possible. The good news is that your immune system will kick in within a few days. It begins producing specific antibodies that can prevent the virus from infecting further cells.

Steam away

Some people find that inhaling warm air or steam for five to 15 minutes can help or significantly reduce the symptoms of a cold. Large doses of vitamin C also prevent and reduce the effects of the common cold. Studies have shown that vitamin C reduces the incidence of colds by 50% and has also been known to shorten their duration in children by 14% and in adults by 8%. There has also been scientific studies done on Echinacea, but its effectiveness has not been verified.

Relief

Over-the-counter remedies can also help decrease the lifespan of the common cold. Analgesics such as aspirin or paracetamol target the throat and often come in lozenge form. Nasal decongestants reduce the inflammation in the nasal passages by constricting local blood vessels. Cough suppressants work to suppress the cough reflex of the brain and dilute the mucus in the lungs. Getting plenty of rest, drinking fluids, gargling with warm salt water and using cough drops also relieve symptoms.

You can reduce your chances of getting a cold by taking moderate daily exercise. A recent study inThe American Journal of Medicine has shown that women who walked for a half-hour every day for a year, reported half the number of colds as women of a similar age who didn’t exercise. Research has found that people who have more positive emotions such as happiness and calmness, also have fewer colds than gloomy people.

Cold symptoms

  • Sneezing
  • Runny nose
  • Nasal congestion
  • Scratchy throat
  • Cough
  • Headache
  • Tiredness
  • Cold prevention tips

Cold Prevention Tips

  • Avoid close contact with someone who has a cold
  • Wash your hands carefully and frequently
  • Avoid touching your mouth and face
  • Vitamin C.

This information has been reproduced with kind permission of Zahra Publishing, publishers of Easy Health www.easyhealth.ie.