It’s That Time Of Year
It is that time of year. Sneezing, coughing and congestion mark the return of cold season. While many in the local region are allergy sensitive, the common colds head the Center for Disease Control’s hit list for most common illnesses. Adults will have as many as two or three colds per year and children can have even higher numbers of the illness. According to the CDC, the common cold is the main reason for missing work or school. Independent research has found that the average person has more than 200 colds in their lifetime, which means around five years of coughing, sneezing and congestion. Most colds have a span of 7-10 days, with the onset beginning with sore throat and runny nose, headache and body aches. While cold weather is associated with the common cold, scientific research has found that it is the proximity to others who may be infected that actually drive the spread of the illness, not the temperature.
It is a common held belief that the cold virus is spread through close contact with infected individuals, however a limited study done by Wisconsin Medical School points to only certain types of contact that spread the virus. Surprisingly, their study found that kissing and drinking after an infected person only spread the cold virus once in sixteen cases, lending to the conclusion that the virus is not easily spread through saliva. Excretions from the nose and eyes are sources of the spread of the common cold and the CDC promotes sound health practices to decrease the chances of spreading the virus.
Frequent hand washing, for more than 20 seconds, is encouraged. Avoid rubbing eyes, mouth or nose to control the point of entry and avoid people that are sick. Those that are ill should stay home. Good hygiene is important and sneezing should be done into a tissue, which is immediately thrown away, or if no tissue is available the shirt sleeve. The Wisconsin Study aside, the CDC contends that infected individuals should limit contact with others, including hugging, shaking hands and kissing. They should also wash hands after blowing their nose or sneezing and frequently disinfect door knobs, toys and other frequently touched surfaces to prevent the spread of the virus.
The good news is that, in the case of the common cold, older is better. Adults over the age of 50 have half the number of colds that their younger counterparts do each year. As far as remedies, aside from over the counter medications to alleviate the symptoms, the cold virus has remained a scientific mystery. The CDC suggests seeing a doctor if a fever above 100.4 is one of the symptoms or if the sickness lasts more than 10 days. If the symptoms are severe or unusual or the infected person is very young, they suggest seeking qualified medical advice. As for chicken soup, research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center suggests that it actually does help with inflammation in infected individuals, though why it helps, like the common cold, remains a mystery.
