How It Works According to CommonCold.org the common cold is spread by the nasal passages, from fingers with the virus cell on it or by cough and sneeze drops. The virus cell travels through the nose and into the abdominal area. How Does The Common Cold Work? Video says that the rhinovirus cell (one of the many causes of a common cold) gets into your nose and starts to reproduce. The reason that you have mucus is because your immune system releases information to the rest of your body. The virus moves into the cell lining and into the lungs making you cough. Mucus thickness as your immune system is fighting the virus and also the mucus changes color because of the dead cells. Eventually your immune will fight it off the virus cell. Causes According to Duke Health you can get the common cold by being near someone who is sick. Medlineplus says that by touching your nose or mouth after touching a surface with the cold germs you can also get a cold. Medicinenet stated that you can get the common cold from over 200 viruses. MayoClinic says that sharing contaminated objects can also get you the common cold. There are many causes of the common cold. These are just a few. Symptoms The symptoms for the common cold are mild. Center for Disease Control states that the symptoms for the common cold are stuffy nose, sneezing, and sore throat. Also mild headaches, mild body aches, coughing and watery eyes. According to MayoClinic some symptoms are, congestion, itchy throats, fever, ear pain, migraines, and constant crying. MayoClinic also says that sleepiness and mild fatigue are some other symptoms that may occur. They also have the same symptoms listed as the other website. Prevention According to WebMD 80% of disease is passed from touch. There is know vaccine to prevent the common cold but by washing your hands often you can help prevent the cold from affecting you. Many ways to prevent the cold include don’t sneeze or cough into your hand, and wash your hands often. Another thing that you can do is try not to touch your face. By touching your face all of the germs that are on your hands may go into your mouth,or nose and effect your internal body. Make sure you get a lot of exercise because that also helps prevent the common cold. Treatment WebMD says that if you get a lot of sleep, and gargle with salt water that can help get rid of the common cold. According to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases over-the-counter drugs can help your common cold, even though there is not an exact cure. Center for Disease Control states that drinking juice and water can help. Also, Claritin and Aspirin may help. Hopefully these treatments will help cure your cold. |