What is common cold?

[Naveed Yaseen]

The common cold, also 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. For this reason, colds are a frequent and recurring 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.

What are the symptoms of the common cold?

Symptoms of the common cold include nasal stuffiness or drainage, sore or scratchy throat, sneezing, hoarseness, cough, and perhaps a fever and headache. Many people with a cold feel tired and achy. These symptoms will typically last anywhere from three to 10 days.

How is the common cold spread?

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.

Does it have anything to do with exposure to cold weather?

Though the common cold usually occurs in the fall and winter months, the cold weather itself does not cause the common cold. Rather, it is thought that during cold-weather months people spend more time indoors in close proximity to each other, thus facilitating the spread of the virus. For this same reason, children in day care and school are particularly prone to acquiring the common cold.

What is the difference between the common cold and influenza (the flu)?

Many people confuse the common cold with influenza (the flu). Influenza is caused by the influenza virus, while the common cold generally is not. While some of the symptoms of the common cold and influenza may be similar, patients with the common cold typically have a milder illness. Patients with influenza are usually sicker and have a more abrupt onset of illness with fever, chills, headache, body aches, dry cough, and extreme weakness.

Though differentiating between the common cold and influenza can be difficult, there is laboratory testing available to confirm the diagnoses of influenza.

What is the treatment for the common cold?

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. Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) or antihistamines may be used for nasal symptoms. Saline sprays and a humidifier may also be beneficial.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) and ibuprofen (Advil and others) can help with fever, sore throat, and body aches.

WARNING: 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.

Do not use aspirin or aspirin containing medications in children or teenagers because it has been associated with a rare potentially fatal condition called Reye’s syndrome.

Are antibiotics a suitable treatment for the common cold?

No. Antibiotics play no role in treating 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 (1:40,000). 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 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.

When should a doctor or other health-care practitioner be consulted?

Generally speaking, the common cold can be treated at home and managed with over-the-counter medications. However, if you develop more severe symptoms such as shaking chills, high fever (greater than 102 F), severe headache or neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing or chest pain, you should consult your physician or health-care practitioner immediately.

If you have a sore throat and a fever with no other cold symptoms, you should also be seen by your physician. This illness may be strep throat, a bacterial infection requiring treatment with antibiotics.

Finally, if you notice facial pain or yellow/green drainage from your nose accompanied by a fever, it is possible that you have a sinus infection (sinusitis) that would benefit from a medical evaluation and a possible course of antibiotics.

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