Health Services
The Cold Self Assessment Clinic |
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Different kinds of germs cause different diseases, and in your case a VIRUS is responsible. There are over 200 different viruses that can cause the common cold. Any combination or number of these viruses can give you cold symptoms. Viruses also cause mononucleosis, polio, viral pneumonia and influenza - the ’Flu’. Another type of germ, the bacterium, causes conditions such as Strep Throat and pneumonia which may require antibiotics.
No medicine exists that will stop or kill the growth of viruses that cause the common cold. Antibiotics kill or arrest the growth of bacteria, but have no effect on the virus.
The flu shot contains the weakened version of the influenza virus and prepares your body to fight the influenza virus only. If you have had a flu shot, you will be partially or completely immune to the flu virus - but you will have no protection against the virus that causes the common cold.
No, in fact, taking antibiotics for the common cold may cause additional problems. Here are some good reasons for not taking antibiotics for your cold: Your body contains both harmful and nonharmful bacteria. The nonharmful bacteria keep harmful organisms under control. Antibiotics don’t know the difference between harmful and helpful bacteria; they kill them all, permitting other illnesses or side effects to occur. In addition, bacteria become resistant to antibiotics after they have been exposed to them long enough. When you take a antibiotic, the organism it affects struggles to survive. After repeated courses of antibiotic therapy, those organisms may successfully change their structure so that they will be less affected by the antibiotic. Consequently, when you are really sick with bacterial infections and need an antibiotic, that antibiotic may no longer be effective in your body against bacteria that are causing your illness. Also, you could become allergic to the antibiotic through repeated use of it.
Your body is a very special organism with a tremendous capability to rid itself of disease through its own natural defence mechanisms. The best thing you can do is to treat your body kindly by: getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids, increasing humidity in your room, gargling with warm salty water if a sore throat is present, and breathing in steam from a shower or a hot water washbowl to break up the congestion in your nose. If a fever, a headache, or muscle aches are present, take 1-2 Aspirin or Tylenol every 4-6 hours.
© UWSP Institute for Lifestyle Improvement
Pregnant woman should not take any medication without first consulting their physician.
ASA should be avoided by anyone with previous gastric ulcers, asthma, or previous allergic reactions to it. ASA should be avoided in influenza and chicken pox..
Do not drink alcohol while taking any medication.
Food and juices rich in Vitamin C may decrease the severity, duration of symptoms if taken early.
Your body is under attack by swarms of viruses. There are no medicines that CURE the common cold, but take heart. It will last from 4 days to 10 days, and there are several things you can do to both make yourself more comfortable AND help your body get rid of the viruses:
Get more rest; relax, take it easy; slow down. Pause from your usual routine. Take a good look at your current life style. What could you have been doing - (overwork, tension, worry, poor diet, too much alcohol, tobacco, lack of sleep) that has set the stage, has provided the environment for the cold virus?
Rest will give your body the energy it needs to make the antibodies that kill the cold virus. Try for 10 hours of sleep per day. Avoid fatigue and exposure to the cold.
Drink plenty of fluids - at least 8 glasses of water and juices a day - more if you have a fever.
The fluids will thin your mucous so you can get rid of it more easily, and will ease your coughing. Warm drinks are especially good for sore throats, and to help loosen up those sticky secretions that are trying to float the virus away. Help your body!
Eat and drink more foods that are high in Vitamin C - oranges, apples, broccoli, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes with their skins, melons.
Avoid alcohol at this time - beer and wine are not good fluid replacers - they take out more than they put in, and put an extra load on your body, too.
Smoking (anything) further irritates your respiratory passages - so Help Your Body! It’s really a great time to QUIT!
Use warm water with about one teaspoon of salt per 8-ounce glass and gargle every hour. This is the cheapest, safest, and probably the best way to relieve the irritation and swelling that makes your throat sore.
A steamy shower or draping a towel over your head and holding it over a washbowl with the hot water running - these will help you break up the congestion and will moisten your raw, dry throat. Breathe in the steam. Nice, huh?
Many colds can be PREVENTED by putting some moisture into your air, day and night!