Almost everyone has caught a cold at some point. Sore throat, runny noses, lots of coughing fits and in some cases lying in bed for days. But what exactly does a cold mean? How does a cold develop in your body? What should you do if you have a chronic cold?
What is a cold?
Many people suffer from a cold more than twice a year. A cold is a respiratory infection. As a result, you often suffer from a sore throat, headache, runny nose and a lot of coughing. Everyone suffers from a cold sometimes. The extent to which you may be affected differs for everyone. It can make you sick for days or weeks or leave you feeling a bit snotty. A cold usually lasts a few days, but in some cases can last weeks. Unfortunately, there are no medications that can replace the common cold.
If you have a (chronic) cold more often, this may indicate:
- an allergie
- Asthmatic reaction
- A weak resistance
Symptoms of a cold
- Running nose
- Stuffy nose
- Headache
- Coughing fits
- A sore throat
- Tears in the eyes
- Less smell or taste
How does a cold start?
It is a virus that causes the common cold and is often very easily transmitted. This is easily transmitted through the air, through coughing and sneezing. But infection can also occur through skin contact, for example through kissing and hand contact. This usually happens in densely populated places, such as school, train, bus, etc. You are not immediately affected by the contamination. The moment you actually catch a cold takes about 2 days. A cold often starts with a pain in the throat, followed by a headache, sneezing, coughing, and so on.
How does your body deal with a cold?
The mucous membrane is affected by the cold, which means it can provide less protection. The mucous membrane becomes inflamed and will produce more mucus. This mucus is also called snot. This often causes a stuffy nose. The mucous membrane has become irritated by the entire inflammation. This creates tickling sensations. So coughing stimuli in the throat and sneezing stimuli in the nose. This results in severe sore throat, which can in turn be caused by inflammation of the throat mucosa and hoarseness due to vocal cords that may be inflamed.
What to do if you have a cold?
There are no medicines for a cold. You will therefore not always have to go to the doctor if you suffer from this. If you still want to go to the doctor, this is only necessary if:
- Trouble breathing
- Wheezing
- Fever
- drowsiness
- Feeling short of breath
Complete prevention of a cold is not possible . Consult the pharmacy or drugstore for products that can combat a cold. There are various nasal sprays that quickly reduce the symptoms.
read more
- The causes of headaches
- What causes stress?
- Sore throat and voice problems
- What are antibiotics?
- Stress! How do you get it and how do you get rid of it?