• Head and chest congestion, perhaps with a runny nose and difficulty breathing.

• Sore throat.

• Sneezing.

• Dry cough that may occur only at night.

• Chills.

• Burning, watery eyes.

• All over, vague achiness.

• Headache.

• our newborn (two months or younger) has cold symptoms.  For infants, the common cold can be a serious illness.

• Congestion makes it hard to breathe, or your chest makes a whistling sound (a wheeze) when you breathe. You may have asthma.

• Your throat hurts and your temperature is 101˚F or higher; or your cold symptoms worsen after the third day.  You may have a bacterial infection (such as Strep throat), sinusitis, or bronchitis.

• Your temperature is 103˚F or higher.  You may have pneumonia.  Seek medical care immediately.

• Your cold symptoms occur suddenly with exposure to certain triggers- such as pollen, cats, or perfume- and/or the symptoms continue for weeks.  You probably have an allergy.

The aptly named common cold is the most frequent infection in all age groups in the United States.  Cold symptoms are triggered when a virus attaches itself to the lining of your nasal passages or throat.  Your immune system responds by attacking the germ with white blood cells called neutrophils.  If your immune system cannot recognize the virus, the response is “non specific”, meaning your body produces as many neutrophils as possible (usually more than needed) and circulates them to the infected sites.  This all-out attack kills many viruses, but it doesn’t affect the 200 or so viruses that cause colds.  Extra neutrophils clumping together at infection sites is what causes the achiness and inflammation of a cold, complete with vast amounts of mucus in the nose and throat.

Cold symptoms settle in between one and four days after you are infected by a cold virus and typically last for about three days.  At that point the worst is over, but you may feel congested for a week or more.  During the first three days that you have symptoms, you are contagious (meaning you can pass the cold to others), so take preventive measures.

Although everyone catches colds, children have them more often than adults.  Cold infections are most common during “cold season”, which in the United States begins in late fall and runs through spring.  During this time of the year people are more likely to congregate indoors, usually with some form of centralized heating on.  Closer contact with others, which increases your chances of being exposed of being exposed to contagious viruses and hot, dry air, which dries the nose and throat tissues, help create a perfect environment for a viral infection.

Except in newborns, colds themselves are not dangerous.  They usually go away in a week or so without any special medicine.  Unfortunately, colds do wear down your body’s resistance, making you more susceptible to bacterial infections.

CAUSES

More than 200 viruses can infect your nose and throat and cause the common cold.  Unfortunately, there is no absolute cure for any of them, so determining which one is causing your cold won’t help you recover any quicker.  You “catch” a cold virus by breathing minute, airborne droplets from a cold sufferer’s cough or sneeze, or by touching a virus-infected surface- such as a doorknob or telephone- and then transferring the germs to your nose or mouth.

DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES

If your cold is nasty enough to send you to the doctor, your physician will likely examine your throat and ears and may take a throat culture (by brushing your throat with a long cotton-tipped swab) to determine if you have a bacterial infection, which requires treatment with antibiotics.

TREATMENT

Conventional and alternative medicine seek the same ends: to make it as easy as possible for your body to fight the cold virus while alleviating the aches and congestion as much as possible.  Adequate rest is key to cold recovery; you may find you need 12 hours or more of sleep per night while you’re fighting the cold.  Dinking water is also important.  Mucus flows freely in a well-hydrated body, helping you avoid or recover from infection; and healthy, moist tissues are harder for a virus to infect than dry tissues.  If you have a fever, your body is using heat to help kill the cold virus.  Giving medication to lower a fever can actually undermine your body’s defense efforts.  A temperature of 103˚F or higher warrants a call to your physician, however.
Pregnant or nursing mothers should check with their doctor before using any type of cold therapy whatsoever, including over-the-counter drugs and herbal remedies.

CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE

No specific treatment exists for the virus that is causing your cold, but in treating your symptoms you can find relief.  Ibuprofen can relieve achiness, but acetaminophen and aspirin may make congestion worse.  Never give aspirin to a child with a fever; give acetaminophen instead (see Caution below).  If your throat is sore, gargle as often as you like with salt water (2 teaspoons of salt in 1 cup of water).
It’s tempting to acquiesce to an advertiser’s claims and try one of the many over –the-counter “cold and flu” preparations, but think twice.  These multisymptom drugs likely contain medications for symptoms you don’t have, and therefore may result in needless over treatment.  Avoid them entirely for children under 13; even those cold preparations marketed especially for children don’t seem to work for this age group, and the drugs commonly induce drowsiness, making everything worse.  Over-the-counter decongestants (such as those containing pseudoephedrine) can help break up nasal congestion, but only temporarily: if these drugs are taken regularly for more than five days, your body may “rebound” from them and produce even more mucus – and worse congestion.  Pseudoephedrine increases blood pressure and heart rate; do not take it without first checking with your doctor if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, prostate problems, diabetes, or thyroid problems.
Over-the-counter cough suppressants, such as those containing dextromethorphan, can be helpful if your cough is so severe that it interferes with sleeping or talking.  Otherwise, allow yourself to cough as you need to (always covering your mouth as you do), because coughing removes mucus and germs from your throat and lungs.  Over-the-counter antihistamines can temporarily make breathing easier, but at a cost: they clear the nose by drying it up, making nasal mucus thicker and harder to drain.

ALTERNATIVE CHOICES

Time is of the essence: begin to treat your cold as soon as you feel the first symptom.  Especially with herbal remedies, an early response often results in a faster and more comfortable recovery.

AROMATHERAPY

Herbal steam can reduce congestion, and if the vapor temperature is 110˚F or higher, it will also kill cold germs on contact.  Choose eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), or peppermint (Mentha Piperital). Place either fresh leaves or a few drops of the herb’s oil in a bowl and pour in boiling water.  Place a towel over your head, lean over the bowl to create a steam tent, and breathe the vapors.

HERBAL THERAPIES

Taken at the first sign of symptoms, Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) can reduce a cold’s intensity and duration, often even preventing it from becoming a full-fledged infection.  Echinacea apparently stimulates the immune response, enhancing resistance to all infection.  It’s available in capsules or tea”  Add 2 tsp Echinacea root to 1 cup of water; simmer for 15 minutes and drink three cups daily.  Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis)helps clear mucus from the throat.  It also contains the natural antibiotic berberine, which can help prevent bacterial infections that often follow colds.  Steep _ to 1 tsp goldenseal in 1 cup boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes; drink tree cups daily.
For a good “cold tea”, combine equal parts of elder (Sambucus nigra), peppermint (Mentha piperita) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and steep 1 to 2 tsp of the mixture in 1 cup hot water.  This blend can help the body handle fever and reduce achiness, congestion, and inflammation.
Garlic (Allium sativum) appears to shorten a cold’s duration and severity.  Any form seems to work: capsules or tablets, oil rubbed on the skin, or whole garlic roasted or cooked in other foods.  If you elect capsules, take 3, three times daily, until the cold is over.

HOMEOPATHY

Cold symptoms often respond well to homeopathic remedies.  The dosage is 12c, taken every two hours for a maximum of four doses.  Gelsemium may help if you have chills, aching arms and legs, and fatigue, or if your throat hurts.  When your runny nose feels as though it burns, your eyes water constantly, and you sneeze often, try Allium cepa.  If you feel irritable and have a runny nose that becomes congested at night, take Nux vomica. For a barking cough, a burning sore throat, and a bitter taste that lingers in your mouth, try Aconite.

LIFESTYLE

Refrain from smoking, especially when you have a cold.  Smoking assaults the mucous membranes and lungs, increasing your susceptibility to all sorts of respiratory infections, including colds.  Once you have a cold, smoke irritates that already inflamed tissues, making healing and recovery more difficult.

NUTRITION AND DIET

Good nutrition is essential for resisting and recovering from a cold.  Eat a balanced diet. Take supplements as needed to ensure you are receiving the recommended dietary allowances for vitamin A, the vitamin B complex (vitamins B1, B2, B5 ,BB, folic acid) and vitamin C, as well as the minerals zinc and copper.  If your diet is deficient in zinc, your body is lo in neutrophils, and you’re an easy mark for all types of infections, including colds.  Zinc is available as a tablet or throat lozenge.
While you have a cold, avoid dairy products, which tend to make mucus thicker.
The last 20 years have witnessed much research into whether or not taking mega doses (1 gram or more each day) of vitamin C will prevent colds. The jury is still out.  Results have varied, but it doesn’t appear that mega doses of vitamin C can prevent colds.  However, this dosage may lessen the duration and the severity of cold symptoms, possibly because vitamin C is essential for health neutrophils.
“Jewish Penicillin”, also known as chicken soup, has been heralded as a cold therapy since the 12th century.  Recent scientific evidence supports the notion that chicken soup reduces cold symptoms, especially congestion.  Something (yet to be determined) in the chicken soup keeps neutrophils from clumping together and causing inflammation.
Any food spicy enough to make your eyes water will have the same effect on your nose, promoting drainage.  If you feel like eating a hot, spicy choice will help your body fight your cold.

AT-HOME REMEDIES

- Eat hard candies or cough drops to soothe your sore throat, but stay away from mint ones, they can be drying.
- Dab petroleum jelly in and around your nostrils to protect against chafing.
- Keep your body hydrated by drinking at least 10 glasses of water each day’ this will replace the fluids lost trough perspiration and your runny nose and minimize nasal and chest congestion.  Keep a glass of water on your beside table to sip during the night.
- Humidify your room (especially during the colder months when central heating dries the air) to keep you nose and throat tissues moist.

PREVENTION

A strong immune system is the best defense against all infections, colds included.  Boost your body’s natural resistance by eating well, not smoking and drinking plenty of water every day.  Minimize contact with people who have colds, or at the very least don’t share towels, silverware, or beverages with them.  Cold viruses often survive for hours in the open, on doorknobs, money, and other surfaces, so wash your hands frequently.
When you have a cold, do your best to keep it to yourself.  A hearty sneeze can carry your cold virus up to 12 feet away, so always cover your mouth when you sneeze (or cough).
Regular, moderate exercise (such as walking for 45 minutes, five times a week) appears to strengthen the immune system and make you less likely to get colds and other infections.  Saunas may also help: Swedish researches have evidence that taking at least two saunas each week can keep you fro succumbing to a cold.  The reason is unclear, although the sauna’s heat may prevent cold germs from reproducing.


COLD MYTHS

There may be as many myths about cods as there are viruses that cause them.  To se the record straight, it’s not prudent to starve – or feed – a cold.  Let common sense and your appetite be your guide: if you are hungry, eat.  If you aren’t, don’t.  low temperatures and dampness or moisture do not cause colds.  For example you will not catch cold from getting soaking wet and chilled in a rainstorm, going out in winter with wet hair, or sleeping near an open window.  Antibiotics cannot cure colds, because they are only effective against bacteria, and cols are cause by viruses.