Cold

The common cold is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract, self-resolving and proceeding normally without fever, with inflammation of the upper parts of the respiratory tract, including rhinorrhea, cough, and throat swelling. Diagnosis of the common cold is clinical. Prevention of colds consists in thorough washing of hands. Cold treatment is symptomatic.

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Causes of colds

In most cases (30-50%), the cause of a cold is one of more than 100 serotypes of the rhinovirus group. Colds are also caused by viruses from the coronarovirus group, influenza, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial, especially in patients with re-infection.

The causative agents of the common cold have a connection with the time of the year, more often it is spring and autumn, rarely winter. Rhinoviruses are most often spread by direct contact with an infected person, but can also be transmitted by airborne droplets.

For the development of infection, the most important is the presence in the serum and secrets of neutralizing specific antibodies, reflecting the previous contact with this pathogen and providing relative immunity. The susceptibility to colds is not affected by the duration of cold exposure, human health and nutrition, pathology of the upper respiratory tract (eg, enlarged tonsils and adenoids).

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Symptoms of a cold

Disease of the cold begins suddenly after a short incubation period (24-72 hours) with discomfort in the nose and throat, followed by sneezing, runny nose and malaise. The temperature usually remains normal, especially when the cause is the rhino and coronovirus. In the first days of discharge from the nose watery and abundant, then become more dense and purulent; the mucopurulent nature of these secretions is due to the presence of leukocytes (mainly granulocytes) and not necessarily a secondary bacterial infection. Coughing with scant sputum often lasts for 2 weeks. If there are no complications, the symptoms of colds subsided after 4-10 days. With chronic diseases of the respiratory tract (asthma and bronchitis) after a cold usually there are exacerbations. Purulent sputum and cold symptoms from the lower respiratory tract are not very characteristic for rhinovirus infection. Purulent sinusitis and middle ear inflammation are usually bacterial complications, but sometimes they are associated with a primary viral infection of the mucous membranes.

How is the common cold recognized?

Diagnosis of the common cold is usually clinical, without diagnostic tests. The common cold differs from the most important disease with allergic rhinitis.

Treatment of colds

There is no specific treatment for the common cold. Usually, antipyretics and analgesics are used, which reduce fever and reduce perspiration in the throat. With nasal congestion, decongestants are used. The most effective local nasal decoestants, but their use for more than 3-5 days can lead to increased nasal secretions. For treatment of the common cold (rhinorrhea), first-generation antihistamines (eg chlorpheniramide) or ipratropium bromide (intranasal 0.03% solution 2-3 times a day) can be used; these drugs, however, should be excluded in the elderly and persons with benign prostatic hyperplasia and those with glaucoma. Antihistamines of the first generation cause drowsiness, however second-generation drugs (without sedation) are not effective for treating colds.

Treatment of the common cold can consist in the use of zinc, echinacea, vitamin C everywhere, but their effects are not proven.

There is no vaccine against colds. Colds are not prevented by such drugs as: polyvalent bacterial vaccines, citrus fruits, vitamins, ultraviolet, glycol aerosols and other alternative agents. Hand washing and the use of surface disinfectants reduce the prevalence of infection.

Antibiotics are prescribed only with the addition of a secondary bacterial infection, with the exception of patients with chronic lung diseases.