Common cold facts for kids
The common cold is a very common sickness that affects your nose and throat. It's also called nasopharyngitis or acute coryza. This sickness is easily spread from person to person.
When you have a cold, you might have a cough, a sore throat, or a runny nose. You might also have a fever. These symptoms usually last about seven to ten days. Sometimes, they can last up to three weeks.
More than 200 different viruses can cause the common cold. But rhinoviruses are the most common ones. Your body's immune system fights off these viruses. The symptoms you feel are mostly from your body fighting the infection.
Washing your hands often is the best way to avoid catching a cold. Wearing face masks can also help. There is no cure for the common cold, but you can treat the symptoms to feel better. Most people get two to three colds every year. Kids often get six to twelve colds each year.
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Signs and Symptoms of a Cold
The main signs of a cold are a cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, and a sore throat. You might also feel tired, have sore muscles, or a headache. Some people might not feel like eating much.
About half of people with colds have a cough and sore muscles. A sore throat happens in about 40% of cases. Adults usually don't get a fever with a cold. But it's common for babies and young children to have a fever.
A cold cough is usually mild compared to a cough from the influenza (the flu). If an adult has a cough and a fever, it might be the flu instead of a cold. Sometimes, people can have cold viruses without showing any symptoms at all. The color of mucus you cough up can change from clear to yellow or green. This color doesn't tell you if the infection is from a virus or bacteria.
How a Cold Develops
A cold often starts with feeling tired, a bit chilly, sneezing, and a headache. After a day or two, you might get a runny nose and a cough. Symptoms usually get worse two to three days after you get infected.
Most cold symptoms go away after seven to ten days. But they can last up to three weeks. For children, a cough can last more than ten days in about 35% to 40% of cases. In some cases, it can last over 25 days.
What Causes a Cold?
Viruses That Cause Colds
The common cold is an infection of your upper breathing system. The rhinovirus is the most common cause. It causes 30% to 80% of all colds. A rhinovirus is a type of virus that has RNA. There are 99 known types of rhinovirus.
Other viruses can also cause colds. Coronavirus causes 10% to 15% of cases. The flu virus causes 5% to 15% of cases. Other viruses include human parainfluenza viruses, human respiratory syncytial virus, adenoviruses, and metapneumovirus. Sometimes, more than one virus can cause an infection at the same time. In total, over 200 different viruses can cause colds.
How Colds Spread
Cold viruses usually spread in two main ways. You can get sick by breathing in tiny droplets from the air that have the virus. These droplets come from someone who coughs or sneezes. You can also get sick by touching infected mucus or objects that have the virus on them. Then you might touch your eyes or nose.
Viruses can live on surfaces for a long time. People who are close to each other are more likely to get infected. Colds spread easily in day care centers and schools. This is because many children are close together. They might not have strong immunity yet and sometimes don't have the best hygiene. These infections then spread to family members at home.
Rhinoviruses are most contagious in the first three days of cold symptoms. After that, they are much less likely to spread.
Weather and Colds
People used to think that staying in cold weather or rain caused colds. That's how the sickness got its name. But the role of cold weather in getting sick is still debated. Some cold viruses are more common in cold or wet weather. This is mostly because people spend more time indoors and closer to each other. This is especially true when children go back to school.
Dry air might also help viruses spread farther and stay in the air longer. This could make it easier to get infected.
Other Factors Affecting Colds
When many people in a group become immune to an infection, it's called herd immunity. This happens from being exposed to cold viruses before. So, younger people tend to get more colds. Older people get fewer colds because they have built up more immunity.
Having a weaker immune system also makes you more likely to get sick. Not getting enough sleep and poor nutrition can also increase your risk. This is because they can affect how well your immune system works.
How Colds Affect Your Body
The symptoms of a common cold are mostly caused by your immune system fighting the virus. For example, when you get a rhinovirus, it attaches to cells in your nose. This makes your body release chemicals that cause symptoms like a runny nose. The virus itself usually doesn't damage the cells in your nose.
However, other viruses like the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can spread to your lower breathing system. RSV can damage the cells in your airways.
Human parainfluenza virus often causes swelling in the nose, throat, and airways. In young children, if it affects the windpipe (trachea), it can cause croup. Croup causes a hoarse cough and difficulty breathing. This happens because a child's airway is smaller.
How Doctors Diagnose a Cold
Doctors usually diagnose a cold based on your symptoms. A common cold mainly affects your nose. Pharyngitis mainly affects your throat. Bronchitis mainly affects your lungs.
Most people can tell if they have a cold themselves. Doctors rarely need to find out the exact virus causing the cold. It's usually not possible to tell which specific virus it is just by looking at your symptoms.
Preventing a Cold
The best way to prevent a common cold is to stop the viruses from spreading. This mainly means washing your hands often and wearing face masks. In hospitals, doctors and nurses also wear gowns and gloves.
It's hard to keep sick people away from others because colds are so common. It's also hard to make a vaccine for colds. This is because there are so many different viruses that cause colds. Also, these viruses change quickly. So, it's very unlikely to have one vaccine that works for all colds.
Washing your hands regularly helps a lot to stop cold viruses from spreading. This is especially important for children. There isn't much proof that over-the-counter cold medicines work well for kids. Also, some of these medicines can be harmful to children. In 2009, Canada limited the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicine for children six years old and younger. This was due to safety concerns.
Treating Cold Symptoms
For adults, some medicines can help with cold symptoms. First-generation antihistamines can reduce a runny nose. But they can also make you sleepy. Other decongestants like pseudoephedrine also help adults. A nasal spray called ipratropium can reduce a runny nose, but it doesn't help much with stuffiness. Newer antihistamines don't seem to help with colds.
It's not clear if drinking more fluids helps with cold symptoms. There's also not enough information about using warm, humid air. One study found that chest vapor rub helped with night-time cough, stuffiness, and sleep problems.
Antibiotics and Antivirals
Antibiotics do not work against viruses. So, they have no effect on the common cold. Doctors sometimes prescribe antibiotics for colds even though they don't help. This can cause side effects and contribute to antibiotic resistance. There are no effective antiviral medicines for the common cold yet. Some early research has shown a little benefit, but nothing is approved for use.
Other Treatments
Many alternative treatments are used for the common cold. But there isn't enough scientific proof to support most of them. As of 2010, there isn't enough evidence to say if honey or nasal rinsing helps.
Taking Zinc supplements within 24 hours of symptoms starting might make your cold less severe and shorter. Vitamin C has been studied a lot for colds, but it hasn't shown much benefit. The evidence about echinacea is mixed. Different types of echinacea supplements might work differently.
What Happens After a Cold?
The common cold is usually mild and goes away on its own. Most symptoms get better in about one week. Serious problems from a cold are rare. They usually happen in very old people, very young children, or those with a weakened immune system.
Sometimes, a cold can lead to other infections caused by bacteria. These can include sinusitis (sinus infection) or an ear infection. It's thought that about 8% of colds lead to a sinus infection. Ear infections happen in about 30% of cold cases.
How Common Are Colds?
The common cold is the most common human sickness. People all over the world get colds. Adults usually get two to five colds each year. Children might get six to ten colds per year. School children can even get up to twelve colds a year. Older people might get more colds if their immune system gets weaker.
History of Colds
We've only known what causes the common cold since the 1950s. But this sickness has been around for thousands of years. Its symptoms and treatments were described in the Egyptian Ebers papyrus. This is a very old medical text written before 1600 BC. The name "common cold" started being used in the 16th century. This was because its symptoms seemed similar to being exposed to cold weather.
In the United Kingdom, a special research center called the Common Cold Unit (CCU) was set up in 1946. This is where the rhinovirus was found in 1956. In the 1970s, the CCU showed that a medicine called interferon could offer some protection against rhinovirus infections. But they couldn't develop a practical treatment. The unit closed in 1989.
Economic Impact of Colds
Colds have a big impact on the economy. In the United States, colds lead to 75 million to 100 million doctor visits each year. This costs at least $7.7 billion per year. Americans spend billions on over-the-counter cold medicines. They also spend money on prescription medicines for symptoms.
Colds cause many missed school days each year. Parents also miss workdays to care for their sick children. Employees miss many workdays because of colds too. This adds up to a huge economic cost each year.
Future Research on Colds
Scientists are testing new antiviral medicines for the common cold. As of 2009, none have been approved for use. There are ongoing studies for a drug called pleconaril. It looks promising against some cold viruses. Another drug, BTA-798, is also being studied.
Researchers from the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have mapped the genetic code for all known cold virus types. This helps them understand the viruses better.
Images for kids
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Woman with symptoms of the common cold
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Poster from 1937 encouraging citizens to "consult your physician" for treatment of the common cold
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A British poster from World War II describing the cost of the common cold
See also
In Spanish: Resfriado común para niños
