Cold, Flu and Cough Symptoms and Remedies

Introduction

Cold also known as the common cold because it is commonly found in people and is very easily cause due to exposure to some viruses which are generally present in our surroundings. The common cold which includes the chest cold and head cold as well and the seasonal flu , they all are caused by viruses. It results into running nose, congestion and cough as well. Symptoms of flu are almost the same. They include frequent headaches followed by feverishness and muscle soreness.

There is not just single causal organism of common cold. There are around 200 viruses which cause common cold. Whereas the seasonal flu is caused mainly by three types of viruses: Influenza A, B and C. October to April are generally considered as flu seasons. Even September to early November is also easily vulnerable to flu and common cold viruses.

Now cough is another disease commonly found around us. It is basically a sudden and often repetitive reflex action which helps to clear off the breathing passages from the secretions and foreign particles such as dirt etc. It consists of three phases: inhalation, exhalation and a sudden and violent release of unwanted material out in the air and this is followed generally by a sound which is irritating as well.

Causes

There are said to be large number of causes of common cold . No such viruses had been found to cause flu. But there are hundreds of them which cause it. It is known as the viral infection in the upper respiratory tract. It leads to nasal congestion and a running nose which may is the most irritating part of common cold. Rhinovirus is said to cause 30-35% of the adult cold. Other casual viruses are par influenza viruses and corona viruses. There are many more but these are few commonly known. The reason why common cold happens frequently is because there are so many viruses which cause it so the body even if develops immunity against them still there occurs another virus which causes it. So, the body in particular is not able to develop the immunity to any of these. It is said that adults normally have two to three common colds in a year whereas a school going child of around 12 years may have it 10-12 times in a year.

Another research found that common cold is the number one reason to take rest from work and schools and causes most often visit to doctors for getting its alternative.

Symptoms

There are no big symptoms for it. One can easily know that one has common cold and flu. It may be irritation in the nose, running nose, irritation in the respiratory tract, mild headaches which may get severe if not taken care of. Further the symptoms may include mild fever as well.  Since common cold is caused by many different viruses so it is bit difficult to actually shunt it off. It gets much transmitted through air or with contact to infected secretions. Although it’s a myth that common cold is cause due to being in cold weather. It a misconception because it is never caused due to cold weather.  A sore throat is yet another symptom for common cold.  Antibiotics can nowhere treat cold and there are no such medicines for eradicating it fully. Moreover, common cold can be managed at home by home remedies.

On the other hand cough has also similar symptoms as that of flu or cold. Cough may even become more irritating at times. It may result into aches or pains and fever if prolonged. Cough may also result into cold symptoms. Cough lasts for longer periods of time because of inflammation due to air.

Common cold is easily transmitted from person to person as the virus is easily present in the air. Even after touching a contaminated container you may get infected from common cold. Even sitting near someone with sneezing may cause common cold to you. Thus there is no fix cause to it .You may be encountered by common cold at any stage and anywhere.

Treatment

Treatment of cough or common cold is again not fixed. In children many cases go untreated for several days and even in adults they are not prescribed heavy medicines from the beginning only. The usage of honey has been commonly seen to cure the common cold and cough. Even home remedies include use of tulsi, neem and honey. In case the cough persists then only children are moved to antibiotics.

There is no single medicine meant for this. The main aim of the medicines or the treatment is to pacify the symptoms and strengthen the immune system. Some of the medicines are paracetamol, ibrufen and aspirin. Although children below 16 are never advised to take aspirin. Lots of intake of water is also recommended to make sure the body has the right amount of fluid required in the body.

Avoid smoking in general also helps to avoid cough. Else it would prolong to turn into bronchitis. To avoid lung diseases one should never opt to cigarette smoking and tobacco consumption .

                         

There are large number of home remedies also for treating cold and cough. Like decongestant nasal spray may also help you sometimes and on the same side this may be substituted with the rinsing of throat with hot water combined with some oil and salt. But all these remedies may contain some ingredients which cause drowsiness . And even they cause difficulty in sleeping. And there are many other remedies at home as well. Treatment through some hot seeds such as cashew nuts is also there. But make sure if you switch to medicines then you don’t consume a large amount of paracetomal which is generally present in all the medicines and cause difficulty later.  Thus even there may be many ways to cure it but still common cold has got no perfect treatment and once caught it becomes difficult to get rid of it.