How Much Do You Know About The Common Cold?

Here’s one old-fashioned tip that will help: Washing your hands and keeping them away from your face is one of the best ways to prevent the common cold. This is because most colds are caused by rhinoviruses that concentrate in nasal passages and, during a cold, our hands often come in contact with our noses! Viruses can live for up to three hours outside nasal passages, which is why hand-washing and cleaning affected surfaces with virus-killing disinfectant is so important.

It is important to keep your body well-hydrated during a cold. You should drink adequate amounts of liquids, such as water or juice. A dehydrated or water-starved-body will cause the lining of the nose and throat to dry out. Lots of liquid will ensure that the mucus stays moist and continues to flow out of the body. Avoid caffeinated drinks and alcohol since they can lead to dehydration.

Many people think an antibiotic from their doctor is a cure-all to get them back to health this cough and cold season. The facts? The majority of what people think are colds occur from viruses, not bacteria. Therefore, antibiotics will not relieve cold symptoms since they cannot kill viruses. Most colds come and go, but some may carry with them a very severe cough that can become increasingly disruptive and cannot be treated with over-the-counter medications. That’s when you may need to see your physician who may prescribe a medication.

There is no significant clinical evidence that herbal remedies like zinc lozenges or echinacea are effective in cold prevention.

The bottom line is that there’s no magic pill you can take that will prevent you from getting sick.

Contrary to popular belief, catching a cold is not due to getting caught in the cold! Research shows that exposure to extreme cold weather has little or no effect on the development or severity of a cold. However, the seasonal change may prompt people to spend more time indoors, increasing the chance that viruses will spread from person to person, thus causing colds. Cold weather can also cause the nasal passages' lining to become drier, making them more vulnerable to viral infection.

You should always sneeze or cough into a facial tissue, then promptly throw it away and wash your hands. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow—not your hands. Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be effective when soap and water are not available. But sanitizers should not be used as a substitute for a good scrub!

There is no conclusive evidence from any study that supports the notion that taking large doses of vitamin C prevents colds. The vitamin may reduce the severity or duration of some symptoms, but there is no conclusive evidence to that effect.