the common cold

 

Do you know that what the common cold really is? Well the common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system which affects primarily the nose. Symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever which usually resolve in seven to ten days, with some symptoms lasting up to three weeks.

            The common cold is caused by a virus. More than 200 different viruses are known to cause the common cold. Some, such as the rhinovirus, seldom produce serious illnesses. Others, such as parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus, produce only mild infections in adults, but can cause severe lower respiratory infections in young children.

     Well over 200 viruses are implicated in the cause of the common cold; the rhinoviruses are the most common.  Upper respiratory tract infections are loosely divided by the areas they affect, with the common cold primarily affecting the nose, the throat, and the sinuses. Symptoms are mostly due to the body's immune response to the infection rather than to tissue destruction by the viruses themselves.              

 The primary method of prevention is by hand washing with some evidence to support the effectiveness of wearing face masks.  No cure for the common cold exists, but the symptoms can be treated. It is the most frequent infectious disease in humans with the average adult contracting two to three colds a year and the average child contracting between six and twelve. These infections have been with humanity since antiquity.                

The typical symptoms of a cold include cough, runny nose, nasal congestion and a sore throat, sometimes accompanied by muscle ache, fatigue, headache, and loss of appetite. A sore throat is present in about 40% of the cases and a cough in about 50%, while muscle ache occurs in about half. In adults, a fever is generally not present but it is common in infants and young children.

In all I hope that you have learned what the common cold really is. When you touch a door knob or a public phone you could have just contracted the common cold. If you don’t want the common cold here are some tricks that you could use, wash your hands often use hand sanitizer and always cover your moth when you sneeze to help others and they might return the favor.\