|
COLDS
Cold and influenza, also known as the flu, are
among the most common infections of the respiratory tract. People often mix them up,
calling bad cold the flu, or vice versa. There are some important differences between
these two unwelcome visitors, although they are both caused by viruses, and they are both
more likely to occur during the winter months. However, you can come down with a cold or
flu any time of the year.
COLDS
What Is
A Cold?
A cold is a minor infection of the nose and
throat: most colds last for a week or so and are not severe enough to send you to bed. Some colds last longer,
especially in children, elderly people and those who are in poor health, but most of us
can shake off a cold while continuing our normal activities. Although colds are a minor
health problem, they account for more visits to the doctor than any other condition.
What
Causes Colds?
Many different viruses cause colds, and until recently it was thought that a single
vaccine could not be developed for all or most of them. However, new research approaches
may make such a vaccine possible. The “Rhinovirus” family causes about one-third
of all colds. So far, scientists have identified more than 100 different kinds of
Rhinoviruses, and there may be more.
How Do We
Catch A Cold?
Colds are highly contagious. They spread when droplets of fluid that contain a cold virus
are released into the air and someone breathes them in, or when these droplets are
transferred by touch.
Myths
and Facts About Preventing Colds |
Myth: Large doses of
Vitamin C can keep you from catching a cold, or cure it quickly. |
Fact: These claims have
not been proven. Still, it is important to overall health to consume the minimum daily
requirement of Vitamin C. |
Myth: If you don't
bundle up when outdoors in cold weather, you'll catch a cold. |
Fact: Being exposed to
extremely cold weather is more likely to cause pneumonia than a cold or flu. |
Symptoms
Between one and three days after a cold virus enters the body, cold symptoms start
developing. Your nose runs; you sneeze a lot; your throat feels scratchy; and you cough.
Nothing you eat has much taste; you can't smell anything; you may feel hoarse and sound
nasal. Some people get a slight fever and infants & young children are more likely to
develop higher temperature. Smokers usually have more severe symptoms than people
who don't smoke.
Preventing
Colds
Avoid
close contact with people who have a cold, especially during the first few days when they
are most likely to spread the infection.
Wash
your hands after touching someone who has a cold, and after touching an object they have
touched.
Keep
your fingers away from your nose and your eyes, to avoid infecting yourself with cold
virus particles that you may have picked up.
Don't
inflict your cold on others.
Cover
your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then throw the tissue away and
wash your hands.
Stay
away from people who are most vulnerable, including anyone who has asthma or another
chronic lung disease, or at least try to limit close contact and touching.
Treatment:
Minimizing Cold Symptoms
you can't prevent all colds, and once you've got one you can't cure it. But you can reduce
discomfort:
Drink lots of liquids including water, juices and non-caffinated herbal
teas. Eight glasses a day are recommended. This will help keep the lining of the nose and
throat from drying out, so that mucus remains moist and flows out of the body.
Don't drink coffee, tea
or cola drinks that contain caffeine. Caffeine leads to dehydration, the opposite of what
you want.
Many products are
available for treating cold symptoms. Check out our chart for a summary of cold remedies
and how to use them most effectively.
Begin treating your cold
as soon as you feel it coming on. Then take medications regularly to keep sneezing and
coughing under control.
If you smoke, stop. And
stay away from other smokers; inhaling their smoke will irritate your throat even more,
and make you cough more.
Acetaminophen
(Paracetamol) is preferred for relieving the discomfort of a cold. It's less likely to
upset your stomach than aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs),
such as ibuprofen. If you have asthma or peptic ulcers, don't take aspirin or any other
NSAID without talking to your doctor first.
You may need a
combination of products to treat symptoms like congestion, cough and a runny nose.
Myths
About Treating Colds |
Starve A Cold And Feed A Fever
|
Definitely
not a good idea in either case. You need more fluids when you have a cold or fever.
Concentrate on water, juices, and other non caffinated drinks, eat enough to satisfy your
appetite, and drink hot fluids to ease a cough. |
Herbal Treatments
|
Echinacea
and other herbs are getting a lot of publicity as cold remedies. Zinc lozenges are also
said to cure colds quickly. To date, none of these claims are supported by solid,
scientific studies. |
Chicken Soup and Hot Toddies
|
A
bowl of chicken soup is a popular home remedy. But while hot liquids can soothe a scratchy
throat or a cough, chicken soup has no special power to cure a cold. As for hot toddies,
another folk remedy, any beverage containing alcohol should be avoided when you have a
cold. |
Complications
Colds get better within a few weeks,
whether or not you take medication. However, a cold virus can pave the way for other
infections to invade the body, including sinus or ear infections, or bronchitis. If you
have asthma, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, your symptoms of those conditions may be
worse for many weeks after your cold has gone away.
Talk to your doctor if you experience any of the following:
Unusually severe cold
symptoms;
High fever;
Ear pain;
A cough gets worse as
other cold symptoms improve.
A flare-up of asthma or
any other chronic lung problem.
|
