HEALTH: COMMON COLD

HEALTH: COMMON COLD (VIRAL INFECTION) SYMPTOMS - TREATMENT Influenza/Flu>>

What is the Common Cold?

The common cold is a viral infection of your upper respiratory tract — your nose and throat. A common cold is usually harmless, although it may not feel that way. If it's not a runny nose, sore throat and cough, it's the watery eyes, sneezing and congestion — or maybe all of the above.

The common cold, known as a viral upper respiratory tract infection, is a self-limited contagious illness that can be caused by a number of different types of viruses. More than 200 different types of viruses are known to cause the common cold. Because so many different viruses can cause a cold and because new cold viruses constantly develop, the body never builds up resistance against all of them, and symptoms tend to vary greatly.

For this reason, colds are a frequent and recurring health problem. In fact, children in preschool and elementary school can have three to 12 colds per year while adolescents and adults typically have two to four colds per year. The common cold is the most frequently occurring illness in the world, and it is a leading cause of doctor visits and missed days from school and work.

Colds usually last 1 to 2 weeks. You can catch a cold at any time of year, but they are more common in late winter and early spring. There is no cure for a cold. Antibiotics will not cure a cold. If you catch a cold, treat the symptoms. The common cold generally involves a runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing. You may also have a sore throat, cough, headache, or other symptoms.

Health: Causes of the Common Cold (Colds)

We call it the “common cold” for good reason. There are over one billion colds in the United States each year. You and your children will probably have more colds than any other type of illness. Children average three to eight colds per year. They continue getting them throughout childhood. Parents often get them from the kids. Colds are the most common health reason that children miss school and parents miss work.

Children usually get colds from other children. When a new strain is introduced into a school or day care, it quickly travels through the class.

Colds can occur year-round, but they occur mostly in the winter (even in areas with mild winters). In areas where there is no winter, colds are most common during the rainy season.

The common cold is usually spread by direct hand-to-hand contact with infected secretions or from contaminated surfaces. For example, if a person with a cold blows or touches their nose and then touches someone else, that person can subsequently become infected with the virus. Additionally, a cold virus can live on objects such as pens, books, telephones, computer keyboards, and coffee cups for several hours and can thus be acquired from contact with these objects.

When someone has a cold, their runny nose is teeming with cold viruses. Sneezing, nose-blowing, and nose-wiping spread the virus. You can catch a cold by inhaling the virus if you are sitting close to someone who sneezes, or by touching your nose, eyes, or mouth after you have touched something contaminated by the virus.

Although more than 200 viruses can cause a common cold, the rhinovirus is the most common culprit, and it's highly contagious. A cold virus enters your body mainly through your mouth or nose. The virus can spread through droplets in the air when someone who is sick cough, sneezes or talks.

People are most contagious for the first 2 to 3 days of a cold, and usually not contagious at all by day 7 to 10.

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Also see: Emphysema Lung Cancer Bronchitis Asthma Allergies Pneumonia Sinuses Influenza/Flu Swine Flu

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Health: Risk Factors of the Common Cold (Colds)

Cold viruses are almost always present in the environment. But the following factors can increase your chances of getting a cold:

Age. Infants and preschool children are especially susceptible to common colds because they haven't yet developed resistance to most of the viruses that cause them. But an immature immune system isn't the only thing that makes kids vulnerable. They also tend to spend lots of time with other children and frequently aren't careful about washing their hands and covering their cough and sneezes. Colds in newborns can be problematic if they interfere with nursing or breathing through the nose.

Immunity. As you age, you develop immunity to many of the viruses that cause common colds. You'll have colds less frequently than you did as a child. However, you can still come down with a cold when you are exposed to cold viruses, have an allergic reaction that affects your nasal passages or have a weakened immune system. All of these factors increase your health risk of a cold.

Time of year. Both children and adults are more susceptible to colds in fall and winter. That's because children are in school, and most people are spending a lot of time indoors. In places where there is no winter season, colds are more frequent in the rainy season.

Health: Symptoms of the Common Cold (Colds)

Lots of different viruses cause colds, but the symptoms are usually the same. You will probably feel a cold come on over the course of a couple of days. As the cold gets worse, your nose may get stuffy with thicker mucus.

A cold is not the same as the Flu. Flu symptoms are worse and come on faster. If you have the flu, you may feel very tired. You may also have a fever and shaking chills, lots of aches and pains, a headache, and a cough.

If you feel like you have a cold all the time, or if cold symptoms last more than 2 weeks, you may have allergies or sinusitis. Call your doctor.

The three most frequent symptoms of a cold are:

Nasal congestion
Runny nose
Sneezing

Adults and older children with colds generally have a low fever or no fever. Young children, however, often run a fever around 100-102°F.

Once you have "caught" a cold, the symptoms usually begin in 2 or 3 days, though it may take a week. Typically, an irritated nose or scratchy throat is the first sign, followed within hours by sneezing and a watery nasal discharge. If it is indeed a cold, the main symptoms will be in the nose.

Within 1 to 3 days, the nasal secretions usually become thicker and perhaps yellow or green. This is a normal part of the common cold and not a reason for antibiotics.

For children with asthma, colds are the most common trigger of asthma symptoms.

Colds are commonly seen before ear infections. However, a child's eardrums are usually congested during a cold, and it's possible to have fluid buildup without a bacterial infection.

The entire cold is usually over all by itself in about 7 days, with perhaps a few lingering symptoms (such as cough) for another week. If it lasts longer, see your doctor to rule out another problem such as a sinus infection or allergies.

Symptoms of a common cold usually appear about one to three days after exposure to a cold virus. Symptoms of a common cold may include:

Runny or stuffy nose
Itchy or sore throat
Cough
Congestion
Slight body aches or a mild headache
Sneezing
Watery eyes
Low-grade fever (up to 102 F, or 39 C)
Mild fatigue

The discharge from your nose may become thicker and yellow or green in color as a common cold runs its course. What makes a cold different from other viral infections is that you generally won't have a high fever. You're also unlikely to experience significant fatigue from a common cold.

When to see a health care provider
For adults — Seek medical attention if you have:

Fever of 102 F (39 C) or higher
High fever accompanied by achiness and fatigue
Fever accompanied by sweating, chills and a cough with colored phlegm
Significantly swollen glands
Severe sinus pain

For children — In general, children are sicker with a common cold than adults are and often develop complications, such as ear infections. Your child doesn't need to see the doctor for a routine common cold. But seek medical attention right away if your child has any of the following signs or symptoms:

Fever of 103 F (39.5 C) or higher, chills or sweating
Fever that lasts more than three days
Vomiting or abdominal pain
Unusual sleepiness
Severe headache
Difficulty breathing
Persistent crying
Ear pain
Persistent cough

Possible complications of the common cold are:

Acute ear infection (otitis media). Ear infection occurs when bacteria or viruses infiltrate the space behind the eardrum. It's a frequent complication of common colds in children. Typical symptoms include earaches and, in some cases, a green or yellow discharge from the nose or the return of a fever following a common cold. Children who are too young to verbalize their distress may simply cry or sleep restlessly. Ear pulling is not a reliable sign.
Wheezing. A cold can trigger wheezing in children with asthma.

Sinusitis. In adults or children, a common cold that doesn't resolve may lead to sinusitis — inflammation and infection of the sinuses.

Other secondary infections. These include strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis), pneumonia, bronchitis in adults and croup in children. These infections need to be treated by a doctor.

Health: Conventional Treatment of the Common Cold (Colds)

There is no cure for the common cold. Home treatment is directed at alleviating the symptoms associated with the common cold and allowing this self-limiting illness to run its course.

Supportive measures for the common cold include rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Over-the-counter medications such as throat lozenges, throat sprays, cough drops, and cough syrups may also help bring relief.

Good home treatment of a cold can help you feel better. Don't take cold medicine that uses several drugs to treat different symptoms. For example, don't take medicine that contains both a decongestant for a stuffy nose and a cough medicine. Treat each symptom on its own.

A nasal decongestant spray can help your stuffy nose, but make sure you don't use it for more than 3 days in a row. You could get a "rebound" effect, which makes the mucous membranes in your nose swell up even more.

Do not give cough and cold medicines to a child younger than 2 unless your child’s doctor has told you to. Medical experts have recommended against using cough and cold drugs in children under age 6. And the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that over-the-counter cough and cold medications not be used in children younger than 2 years of age because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur.

Talk to your doctor before your child takes any type of over-the-counter cough medicine, even if it is labeled for children. These medicines likely will not work for children, and they may have serious side effects. Saline drops or a cool-mist humidifier may help thick or dried mucus to drain. To remove mucus from your baby’s nose, use a suction bulb to gently suction the mucus out. This is a safer way to treat your baby's nasal congestion.

Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. Over-the-counter cold remedies may help ease your symptoms. These won't actually shorten the length of a cold, but can help you feel better health wise.

Antibiotics should not be used to treat a common cold. They will not help and may make the situation worse. Thick yellow or green nasal discharge is not a reason for antibiotics, unless it doesn't get better within 10 to 14 days. (In this case, it may be a sinus infection called sinusitis.)

New antiviral drugs can make runny noses completely clear up a day sooner than usual (and begin to ease the symptoms within a day). It is unclear whether the health benefits of these drugs outweigh the health risks.

Chicken soup has been used for treating common colds at least since the 12th century. It may really help. The heat, fluid, and salt may help you fight the infection.

Antibiotics play no role in the treatment of the common cold. Antibiotics are effective only against illnesses caused by bacteria, and colds are caused by viruses. Not only do antibiotics not help, but they can also cause allergic reactions that can be fatal.

Furthermore, using antibiotics when they are not necessary has led to the growth of several strains of common bacteria that have become resistant to certain antibiotics (including one that commonly causes ear infections in children). For these and other health reasons, it is important to limit the use of antibiotics to situations in which they are medically indicated.

Though occasionally a bacterial infection, such as sinusitis or a middle ear infection, can develop following a cold, treatment with antibiotics should be left at the discretion of your physician or health-care practitioner.

There's no cure for the common cold. Antibiotics are of no use against cold viruses. Over-the-counter cold preparations won't cure a common cold or make it go away any sooner, and most have side effects. Here's a look at the pros and cons of some common cold remedies.

Pain relievers. For fever, sore throat and headache, many people turn to acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or other mild pain relievers. Keep in mind that acetaminophen can cause liver damage, especially if taken frequently or in larger than recommended doses. Be especially careful when giving acetaminophen to children because the dosing guidelines can be confusing. For instance, the infant-drop formulation is much more concentrated than the syrup commonly used in older children. Never give aspirin to children. It has been associated with Reye's syndrome — a rare but potentially fatal illness.

Decongestant nasal sprays. Adults shouldn't use decongestant drops or sprays for more than a few days because prolonged use can cause chronic inflammation of mucous membranes. And children shouldn't use decongestant drops or sprays at all. There's little evidence that they work in young children, and they may cause side effects.

Cough syrups. In winter, nonprescription cough syrups practically fly off the drugstore shelves. But the American College of Chest Physicians strongly discourages the use of these medications because they're not effective at treating the underlying cause of cough due to colds. Some contain ingredients that may alleviate coughing, but the amounts are too small to do much good and may actually be harmful for children. In fact, the college recommends against using OTC cough syrups or cold medicines for anyone younger than age 14. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly recommends against giving OTC cough and cold medicines to children younger than age 2. Meantime, under an agreement announced by manufacturers in late 2008, several brands of OTC cold and cough medications began carrying a warning that these products should not be used in children under 4. For young children, an accidental overdose could be fatal. Cough associated with a cold usually last less than two to three weeks. If a cough lingers longer than that, see your doctor.

Alternative treatment probably won't cure your cold, but they may help make you more comfortable by easing your symptoms.

Echinacea. Whether taking preparations of the herb echinacea protects you from getting a cold or relieves cold symptoms continues to be debated. While no studies have shown that taking echinacea can prevent you from getting a cold, there is some evidence that it can modestly relieve cold symptoms or shorten the duration of a cold. Echinacea seems most effective when taken soon after cold symptoms are first experienced.

Vitamin C. There's no evidence that taking large doses of vitamin C reduces your risk of catching cold. However, there is some evidence that high doses of vitamin C — up to 6 grams a day — may have a small effect in reducing the duration of cold symptoms.

Zinc. There's evidence that zinc nasal sprays or lozenges taken at the beginning of a cold may help reduce symptoms. While some studies also suggest zinc nasal sprays can be helpful, many users experienced permanent loss of smell and therefore the use of these sprays is discouraged.

Home Remedies:

You may not be able to cure your common cold, but you can make yourself as comfortable as possible. These tips may help:

Drink lots of fluids. Water, juice, tea and warm soup are all good choices. They help replace fluids lost during mucus production or fever. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can cause dehydration, and cigarette smoke, which can aggravate your symptoms.
Try chicken soup. Generations of parents have spooned chicken soup into their sick children. Now scientists have put chicken soup to the test, discovering that it does seem to help relieve cold and flu symptoms in two ways. First, it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils — immune system cells that help the body's response to inflammation. Second, it temporarily speeds up the movement of mucus through the nose, helping relieve congestion and limiting the time viruses are in contact with the nasal lining.
Get some rest. If possible, stay home from work if you have a fever or a bad cough, or are drowsy from medications. This will give you a chance to rest as well as reduce the chances that you'll infect others. Wear a mask when you have a cold if you live or work with someone with a chronic disease or compromised immune system.
Adjust your room's temperature and humidity. Keep your room warm, but not overheated. If the air is dry, a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer can moisten the air and help ease congestion and coughing. Be sure to keep the humidifier clean to prevent the growth of bacteria and molds.
Soothe your throat. Gargling with warm salt water several times a day or drinking warm lemon water with honey may help soothe a sore throat and relieve a cough.
Use saline nasal drops. To help relieve nasal congestion, try saline nasal drops. You can buy these drops over-the-counter, and they're effective, safe and nonirritating, even for children. To use in babies, put several drops into one nostril, then immediately bulb suction that nostril. Repeat the process in the opposite nostril. Doing this before feeding your baby can improve your child's ability to nurse or take a bottle, and before bedtime it may improve sleep.

Health: Prevention of the Common Cold (Colds)

No vaccine has been developed for the common cold, which can be caused by many different viruses. But you can take some common-sense precautions to slow the spread of cold viruses:

Wash your hands often. Clean your hands thoroughly and often, and teach your children the importance of hand washing. After nose-wiping, after diapering or toileting, before eating, and before preparing food. Carry a bottle of alcohol-based hand rub containing at least 60 percent alcohol for times when soap and water aren't available. These gels kill most germs, and are safe for older children to use themselves.
Sanitize and disinfect things. Clean commonly touched surfaces (sink handles, door knobs, remotes, sleeping mats) with an EPA-approved disinfectant. Keep kitchen and bathroom counter tops clean, especially when someone in your family has a common cold. Wash the children toys after play. Use hand sanitizers - a little dab will kill 99.99% of germs without any water or towels. The products use alcohol to destroy germs. They are an antiseptic, not an antibiotic, so resistance can't develop.
Use tissues. Always sneeze and cough into tissues. Discard used tissues right away, and then wash your hands carefully. Teach children to sneeze or cough into the bend of their elbow when they don't have a tissue. That way they cover their mouth without using their hands.
Don't share things. Don't share drinking glasses or utensils with other family members. Use your own glass or disposable cups when you or someone else is sick. Label the cup or glass with the name of the person with the cold.
Stay clear of colds. Avoid close, prolonged contact with anyone who has a cold.
Choose your child care center wisely. Look for a child care setting with good hygiene and health practices and clear policies about keeping sick children at home. The number of children in the center directly relates to the number of colds to which your child will be exposed.
Do not smoke. Smoking makes it easier to get a cold and harder to get rid of one.
Use paper towels instead of shared cloth towels.

Here are seven ways to support the immune system for sound health:

Avoid secondhand smoke: Keep as far away from secondhand smoke as possible It is responsible for many health problems, including millions of colds.
Avoid unnecessary antibiotics: The more people use antibiotics, the more likely they are to get sick with longer, more stubborn infections caused by more resistant organisms in the future.
Breastfeed: Breast milk is known to protect against respiratory tract infections, even years after breastfeeding is done. Kids who don't breastfeed average five times more ear infections.
Drink water: Your body needs fluids for the immune system to function properly.
Eat yogurt: The beneficial bacteria in some active yogurt cultures help prevent colds.
Get enough sleep: Late bedtimes and poor sleep leave people vulnerable.
Eat, sleep, and exercise: Eat fruits and vegetables, and get plenty of sleep and exercise. This keeps your body strong so it can fight colds.

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Disclaimer: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner. Therefore any content of this site is strictly intended for educational and informational purpose only. Any access to this site is strictly on a voluntary basis and at the sole discretion of the user. No content of this site is intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor constitute the practice of any medical profession or health care provider. The information provided on this site is here to educate visitors on health issues that may affect their lives. Otherwise, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. And never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

Sources: NIH News In Health/National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine/Dept of Health and Human Services

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HEALTH: COMMON COLD (VIRAL INFECTION) SYMPTOMS & TREATMENT