What are the symptoms of colds?
Answer:
The symptoms of colds include runny and stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, coughing, and, often, headache. Usually there is no fever, or only a slight fever (less than 101º). Symptoms usually last one to two weeks.
What causes colds?
Answer:
More than 200 different viruses can cause the symptoms of colds. These viruses infect cells in the membranes in the nose. Mucus in the nose traps many of the things people inhale, such as pollen, dust, bacteria, and viruses. People are infected with a cold virus when the virus gets past the mucus and enters a cell in the nose.
Who gets colds?
Answer:
Children get an average of six to ten colds a year. Adults get two to four colds a year. Children get more colds than adults because they have less resistance to infection and because they have contact with many other children in day care centers and schools. Almost everyone who inhales cold viruses is infected, but only about 75 percent of them develop cold symptoms. In the United States, colds are most common during the fall and winter.
What is the treatment for colds?
Answer:
There is no treatment that stops cold viruses. The symptoms of colds are treated to make the patient more comfortable. A person who has a cold should rest, drink plenty of water and juice, gargle with warm salt water, and take acetaminophen (Tylenol) to relieve headaches.
Is there a cure for colds?
Answer:
Colds cannot be cured. Vaccination to prevent all colds is impossible because there are so many different cold viruses. Each virus would need its own vaccine. Cold viruses also change often, so a new vaccine would probably be needed each time a virus changes.
What happens if colds are not treated?
Answer:
Most people get over colds within two weeks. In a small number of cases, colds may lead to bacterial infections of the sinuses or the ear. Ear infections are more common in children than in adults. People who get these infections have high fevers. Bacterial sinus and ear infections must be treated with antibiotics. People who have asthma may have asthma attacks when they are ill with colds. People who have chronic bronchitis may get worse when they have a cold.