Common Cold - the facts

What is the common cold?  The common cold, also known as a viral upper respiratory tract infection, is a contagious illness that can be caused by a number of different types of viruses. Because of the great number of viruses that can cause a cold, the body never builds up resistance against all of them. For this reason, colds are a frequent and recurring problem. In fact, on average, preschool children have 9 colds a year; those in kindergarten, 12 colds a year; and adolescents and adults, 7 colds per year.

What are the symptoms of the common cold?  Symptoms of a common cold include nasal stuffiness and drainage, sore throat, hoarseness, cough, and perhaps a fever and headache. Many people with a cold feel tired and achy. These symptoms typically last from 3-10 days.

How is the common cold spread? The common cold is spread mostly by hand-to-hand contact. For example, a person with a cold blows or touches his or her nose and then touches someone else who then becomes infected with the virus. Additionally, the cold virus can live on objects such as pens, books, and coffee cups for several hours and can be acquired from such objects. While common sense would suggest that coughing and sneezing spread the common cold, these are actually very poor mechanisms for spreading a cold.

Does it have anything to do with exposure to cold?  Going out into the cold weather or getting ‘cold’ has no effect on the spread of a cold. The reason that there appears to be a relationship is that people spend more time indoors during the cold winter weather. In fact, however, it is the proximity to other people rather than the temperature outside that seems to be the culprit. For this same reason, children in day care or kindergarten are more prone to having colds.

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