A cold refers to an acute upper respiratory tract infection caused by a virus, which is influenza caused by an influenza virus. Virus is present in patient’s respiratory tract, and gives others through droplet infection when patient’s cough, sneeze.
The infectivity of influenza is very strong, because this virus is easy to mutate. Even people who have suffered from influenza will still be infected when they meet an influenza epidemic next time, so influenza can easily cause fulminant epidemics. Influenza generally has more chances to be popular in winter and spring, and 20 to 40% of people may infect each time.
The common cold is caused by other viruses (rhinovirus and coronavirus are the most common), of which 30% to 50% are caused by a certain serotype of rhinovirus. Though common cold is mainly in early winter, any season, such as spring, summer also can take place. Clinical manifestations are characterized by nasal congestion, cough, headache, chills, fever, and general malaise.
Due to different cold pathogens and different physical strengths, the syndrome can represent upper respiratory tract infection in Western medicine, which belongs to the cold category of traditional Chinese medicine. Because viruses live in human cells, there is no medicine in the world that can directly kill cold viruses. The effective way is to rely on the human immune system. Therefore, supportive therapy should be the main treatment for colds, with special attention to rest, drinking plenty of water, and a light diet.
This gives the immune system full physical support. Colds may cause bacterial infections, but do not use drugs casually. After the body’s immune system kills the virus, most infections resolve on their own. Blind drug treatment will enhance bacterial resistance, and it is also not conducive to the normal function of the human immune system.