Cold Symptoms, Causes, Effects, And Treatment

As the name suggests, this is one of the most common viral infections that happens to almost everyone. Popular as a common cold, this infection mainly occurs in the throat and nose. It is harmless most of the time but can cause a lot of symptoms, complications to interrupt your daily life. 

A common cold can happen from many types of viruses. An adult usually experiences an ordinary cold three times a year, but young and infants might experience it more frequently. The common cold is also a symptom of other diseases. Generally, it takes nearly ten days to recover from a common cold.  

However, cold symptoms might last for a long, especially for people who are active smokers. You can recover from the common cold without any treatment, but you might need to see a doctor when the symptoms last longer. Let’s find out more about the symptoms of the common cold to learn in detail. 

Symptoms Of Cold 

The best way to identify a cold is by looking at the symptoms. The symptoms start to appear within the first to third days of getting old. These symptoms can change a lot from person to person. Also, things like age, medical history, gender, and others can change the symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms of a cold include: 

• Sore throat
• Sneezing 
• Cough
• Low-grade fever
• Stuffy or runny nose
• Congestion
• Feeling unwell
• Mild headache
• Body aches 

Apart from that, there are some other rare common cold symptoms available. Here are some of them mentioned below. 

• Shivering 
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Low appetite 
• Pinkeye

Primarily, people who have weak immune systems can develop these rare symptoms. They might also develop any secondary infection like pneumonia. If the symptoms start to get worse, it is best to take medical help. Ignoring the symptoms can cause them to get into more severe conditions. 

Apart from symptoms getting severe, there are many other conditions when you might need to take medical help. Some of them are wheezing, fever more than 101 F for three days in a row, breathing problems, sinus pain, and others. As head cold symptoms are similar to them, only a doctor can help you know which type of cold you have. 

Causes Of Cold 

Cold is a very common condition that happens very often to people of different ages and gender. Plenty of things can develop this condition, such as viruses, other diseases, physical harm, and others. More than 200 viruses can develop cold and the symptoms. Among all the others, rhinoviruses are known to be the most common cause of the cold. 

Rhinoviruses are mostly active at the time of March to May and September to November. However, they can cause a cold at any time during the year. They tend to multiply in the nose, where the temperature is best. However, anyone with a strong immune system can fight off this virus and stay protected. 

Apart from them, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, and others can also cause a common cold. As there are many viruses that can cause colds and new viruses are developed constantly, the body is not able to build resistance for all of them. This is why colds are recurring and a very frequent problem. 

You might not get any cold symptoms if your immune system is strong. However, you can still develop a cold for some days. Not only viruses, but you can also catch a cold from any other sick person through sneezes, coughs, talks. Also, hand-to-hand contact can spread this virus. Therefore, do not use any shared objects of the person such as towels, fruits, toys, and others. 

Effects Of Cold 

If you have any other diseases and infections, then a common cold can affect them. Here are some of the most common effects of the cold that you might experience. 

1. Asthma 

If you have asthma, then a cold can affect it and make it worse. Therefore, it would be best to get rid of the cold as soon as possible, or it can make your asthma worse with time. Even if you do not have asthma or breathing problems, a cold can cause wheezing. 

2. Otitis Media (Acute Infection in Ear) 

During cold, if viruses enter the space behind the eardrum, then they can cause this condition. Symptoms like fever returning after a common cold and earaches are commonly seen with this condition. 

3. Acute Sinusitis

Mostly in children and adults, this condition is expected when the common cold is not resolved. It can cause pain, swelling, inflammation, and sinus infections. 

4. Other Infections 

You can develop many other infections from the common cold, such as pneumonia, strep throat, bronchiolitis, and others. In any case, you need to visit a doctor immediately to treat the infections. 

Apart from them, the cold symptoms can become severe when not treated for a long time. Therefore, you need to take care of them as soon as they appear or visit a doctor to get treatment. 

Treatments Of Cold 

In general, you don’t need to have any treatment for a cold as they tend to resolve on their own after some days. However, if the symptoms of a cold are still there, you might need to take the help of treatments and medicines. 

If you are having a hard time getting rid of the cough, you can try the cough syrups. They are available in every medical shop and perfect for making coughs disappear. In addition, there is plenty of OTC medication available for the cold that you can take to get well sooner. If you do not have ten days to get better, then this is the only solution. 

However, do not give OTC medicines to children. You can try other home remedies like drinking lots of fluids, resting a lot, gargling with salt water, taking nasal sprays, and others. Not only children, but these home remedies also work for adults. 

If the cold lasts more than ten days, you might need to see a doctor as it can be a symptom of any other disease like coronavirus. Also, children suffering from lack of sleep, lethargy, and fever from cold need the doctor’s attention. 

If you want to get better soon, you have to follow some of the things and treatments. First, you have to quit smoking as it increases the chance of getting a severe cold. Try not to be around any smoker while recovering from a cold. Second, you need to use disinfectants to keep the virus from spreading. 

Try to get sufficient sleep throughout the day and avoid any crowds. Last and final one, do not drink any cold drinks or beverages. It can make things worse and increase the cold and symptoms. Try to avoid them until the cold symptoms are gone to be safe. 

Conclusion 

Cold is one of the most common conditions that happens to everyone. Go through this article to learn about the symptoms, causes, effects, and treatment of a cold. Also, other details about colds are given to help you understand more