On This Page
- Causes
- Risk Factors
- Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Treatment
- How to Feel Better
- Over-the-Counter Medicine and Children
- Prevention
Preventing and Treating Common Cold Pdf[PDF – 2 pages]
Sneezing, stuffy and runny nose? You might have a cold. Colds are one of the most frequent reasons for missed school and work. Every year, adults have an average of 2 to 3 colds, and children have even more.
Antibiotics do not work against viruses that cause colds and will not help you feel better.
Risk Factors
Many factors can increase your risk of catching a cold, including:
- Close contact with someone who has a cold
- Season (colds are more common during the fall and winter, but it is possible to get a cold any time of the year)
- Age (infants and young children have more colds per year than adults)
Symptoms
Symptoms of a cold usually peak within 2 to 3 days and can include:
- Sneezing
- Stuffy nose
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Coughing
- Mucus dripping down your throat (post-nasal drip)
- Watery eyes
- Fever (although most people with colds do not have fever)
When viruses that cause colds first infect the nose and sinuses, the nose makes clear mucus. This helps wash the viruses from the nose and sinuses. After 2 or 3 days, mucus may change to a white, yellow, or green color. This is normal and does not mean you need an antibiotic.
Some symptoms, especially runny or stuffy nose and cough, can last for up to 10 to 14 days. Those symptoms shouldimprove over time.
When to Seek Medical Care
See a doctor if you have:
- Trouble breathing or fast breathing
- Dehydration
- Fever that lasts longer than 4 days
- Symptoms that last more than 10 days without improvement
- Symptoms, such as fever or cough, that improve but then return or worsen
- Worsening of chronic medical conditions
This list is not all-inclusive. Please see a doctor for any symptom that is severe or concerning.
Colds can have similar symptoms to flu. It can be difficult (or even impossible) to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. Learn more about differencesbetween cold and flu.
Common Cold Symptoms
When you have a cold, mucus fills your nose and could cause post-nasal drip, headache, and a sore throat.
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How Long Will Symptoms Last with a Typical Cold?
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When you have a cold:
- a sore throat could last for 8 days
- a headache could last for 9 or 10 days
- congestion, runny nose, and cough could last for more than 14 days
Baby Talk to a healthcare professional right away if your child is under 3 months old with a fever of 100.4 °F (38 °C) or higher.
Read more: Colds Versus Flu
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Treatment
Your doctor can determine if you have a cold by asking about symptoms and examining you. Your doctor may also need to order laboratory tests.
There is no cure for a cold. It will get better on its own—without antibiotics. Antibiotics won’t help you get better if you have a cold.
When antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and their side effects could still cause harm. Side effects can range from mild reactions, like a rash, to more serious health problems. These problems can include severe allergic reactions, antibiotic-resistant infections and C. diffinfection. C. diff causes diarrhea that can lead to severe colon damage and death.
Virus or Bacteria What’s got you sick?Image
How to Feel Better
Below are some ways you can feel better while your body fights off a cold:
- Get plenty of rest.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Use a clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer.
- Use saline nasal spray or drops.
- For young children, use a rubber suction bulb to clear mucus.
- Breathe in steam from a bowl of hot water or shower.
- Use throat lozenges or cough drops. Do not give lozenges to children younger than 4 years of age.
- Use honey to relieve cough for adults and children at least 1 year of age or older.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about over-the-counter medicines that can help you feel better. Always use over-the-counter medicines as directed. Remember, over-the-counter medicines may provide temporary relief of symptoms, but they will not cure your illness.
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Carefully read and follow instructions on over-the-counter medicine product labels before giving medicines to children. Some over-the-counter medicines are not recommended for children of certain ages.
- Pain relievers:
- Children younger than 6 months: only give acetaminophen.
- Children 6 months or older: it is OK to give acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
- Never give aspirin to children because it can cause Reye’s syndrome. Reye’s syndrome is a very serious, but rare illness that can harm the liver and brain.
- Cough and cold medicines:
- Children younger than 4 years old: do not use over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in young children unless a doctor specifically tells you to. Cough and cold medicines can result in serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects in young children.
- Children 4 years or older: discuss with your child’s doctor if over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are safe to give to your child.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the right dosage of over-the-counter medicines for your child’s age and size. Also, tell your child’s doctor and pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter medicines they are taking.
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Prevention
You can help prevent colds by doing your best to stay healthy and keep others healthy, including:
- Clean your hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who have colds or other upper respiratory infections.
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Don’t smoke and avoid secondhand smoke.
- Stay at home while you are sick and keep children out of school or daycare while they are sick.
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