At this time of the year, Christmas is gone, New Year is gone. What's left to be gone is only the cold, wet and frosty weather. In this season, the sniffles and sore throats just would not go away! I'm not an exception. For those of you who understands my situation, I'm sure you want to do anything possible to get rid of it. So what exactly is causing all these sneezing?
So what is a cold? According to Wikipedia,: "The common cold (also known as nasopharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, or a cold) is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which affects primarily the nose.
Whoa whoa whoa... A-what? Naso-pha? It is basically a disease that infects the soft lining on the nose causing the sneezing and sniffling. The most common symptoms is a runny nose. However, sometimes, the same symptoms can become more serious.
There are a lot of misconceptions and false beliefs about the common cold; this includes the one about the weather. You don't actually catch a cold from the cold - so tell your Moms to relax when you're going out without a coat. Colds are caused by viruses, but they are more common in autumn and winter because people tends to gravitate inside to avoid the cold and wet weather outside. This makes it easier for viruses to jump from one person to another. Cold viruses are spread by airborne droplets and by hand.
There is no effective way to treat a cold and make it go away quicker and as colds are caused by viruses, there is no reason to see a doctor as antibiotics are not needed. So how do you avoid getting a cold in the first place?
1. Stay away from people with colds!
2. Avoid crowded areas where they is a greater risk of infection.
3. Avoid touching your eyes and nose.
4. Wash your hands thoroughly.
5. Ventilate your room.
But if you're unfortunate enough to already be infected, here some ways to treat it:
1. Drink plenty of fluid, ideally water. Warm drinks can also sooth most symptoms.
2. Sleep with a high pillow.
3. Do not smoke! This will irritate the infected soft lining of the nose even more.
4. Use over-counter medicines to relieve symptoms such as sore throats and coughs, but avoid using more than one cough and cold medicine at the same time.
5. Wash your hands often and throw tissues away after use to prevent your cold from spreading.
Lastly, I hope we get well soon...
