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A cold is a contagious viral disease in which the virus attacks the lining of the nose and throat causing inflammation.

It is most common during the cold winter months and affects children and adults of all ages. Most people will catch a cold two to four times a year. Sneezing is caused by the irritation of the soft lining of the nose, which is characteristic of the common cold. A single sneeze will generate millions of droplets laden with viruses that can travel through the air and contaminate any surface on which they land making the surface infective for about 24 hours.

If possible, stay away from people with colds. Do not touch your nose or eyes after being in physical contact with somebody that has a cold. 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. This is possibly the most common way of catching a cold. Usually a common cold causes no serious trouble and symptoms will clear up in one to two weeks. There has been considerable controversy about whether or not there is an effective way of treating an ordinary cold to make it go away quicker.

Even more controversy has been generated about whether or not Vitamin C has any effect on the course of common cold. A group of practitioners, including this author, believe that the ubiquitous antioxidant through its enhancement of the immune status does have an effect on getting a cold in the first place and possibly how long it lasts for as well. Some recent studies concluded that dietary vitamin C intake was inversely related to heart disease risk, but not supplemental vitamin C. This may also be true for the common cold.

Since a cold is caused by a virus , antibiotics are not appropriate. Children with a cold should be allowed to get plenty of rest. Coughs and colds in children will usually go away on their own in a few days.

As 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. Many people with a cold feel tired and achy. 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.

Does it have anything to do with exposure to cold weather? A new theory to explain the seasonality of colds and flu has put forward the idea that our noses are colder in winter than summer and that cooling of the nose lowers resistance to infection.  However, although 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.

A cold is very different from the flu although many people fail to distinguish the two. They are caused by different groups of viruses. Cold symptoms tend to appear over the course of two days whereas flu symptoms are more abrupt and appear within hours. A cold usually causes the nasal passages to become blocked, which does not necessarily happen with flu.

Corona viruses are believed to cause a large percentage of all adult colds. They induce colds primarily in the winter and early spring. The same viruses that produce colds in adults appear to cause colds in children. The relative importance of various viruses in pediatric colds, however, is unclear because of the difficulty in isolating the precise cause of symptoms in studies of children with colds.

Although many people are convinced that a cold results from exposure to cold weather, or from getting chilled or overheated, researchers have found that these conditions have little or no effect on the development or severity of a cold. On the other hand, research suggests that psychological stress, allergic disorders affecting the nasal passages, and menstrual cycles may have an impact on a person’s susceptibility to colds. Seasonal changes in relative humidity may also affect the prevalence of colds. Cold weather may make the nasal passages’ lining drier and more vulnerable to viral infection.

To reduce the symptoms and discomfort from common cold saline drops or nasal decongestants, such as ephedrine sprays or drops, may help with a bunged up nose. Glycerin, honey and lemon can be used in children under two. There are lozenges, mouthwashes or sprays which can be used to numb a sore throat. There is no way of identifying the nature of the virus infection from the symptoms as these are very similar across the whole range of viruses. Now research shows that we can actually have more than one cold at a time!

Researchers call it human rhinovirus, or HRV. During the cold season there are almost 100 different viral strains circulating, so it is possible to pick up more than one strain at a time and current research shows that two strains can recombine to create a new strain! Have a “Happy Cold Season!”

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