Common Cold Health Article

Prognosis

Given time, the body will generate antibodies to the cold. Most colds last a week to ten days, and patients start feeling better within four or five days. Occasionally, a cold will lead to a secondary bacterial infection that causes strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infection, or a middle ear infection. These conditions usually resolve rapidly when treated with the appropriate antibiotic.

Health care team roles

Nearly all health care professionals encounter patients seeking advice about, or treatment for, cold symptoms. Physicians, mid-level practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and health educators are often called upon to evaluate symptoms, instruct patients in self-care techniques, and reassure them that colds are self-limiting disorders that generally resolve without treatment.

Patient education

Along with strategies to prevent the spread of cold viruses, it is vitally important for health care professionals to teach patients that antibiotics have no role in the treatment of the common cold. Antibiotics should not be prescribed for colds because, as of 2001, there are no antibiotics effective against the viruses that cause colds. Further, antibiotics should not be prescribed unnecessarily because they can produce side effects such as rash and diarrhea. Another dangerous public health consequence of overuse of antibiotics is the emergence of strains of bacteria that are resistant to these medications.

Prevention

It is not possible to prevent colds because the viruses that cause colds are common and highly infectious. There are, however, steps individuals can take to reduce their spread. These include:

• Washing hands well and frequently, especially after touching the nose and before handling food.
• Covering the mouth and nose when sneezing.
• Disposing of used tissues properly.
• Avoiding close contact with an infected individual during the first two to four days of their infection.
• Not sharing food, eating utensils, or cups with others.
• Avoiding crowded places where cold germs can spread.
• Eating a healthy diet and getting adequate sleep.

KEY TERMS

Bronchial tubes—The major airways to the lungs and their main branches.

Coronavirus—A type of virus that causes respiratory disease and gastroenteritis.

Corticosteroids—A group of hormones produced naturally by the adrenal gland or manufactured synthetically. They are often used to treat inflammation. Examples include cortisone and prednisone.

Eustachian tube—A thin tube between the middle ear and the pharnyx. Its purpose is to equalize pressure on either side of the ear drum.

Rhinovirus—A virus that infects the upper respiratory system and causes the common cold.

BOOKS

Castleman, Michael. "Cold and Flu Therapy." In Nature's Cures. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1996.

"Colds and Flu." In Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, compiled by the Burton Goldeberg Group. Puyallup, WA: Future Medicine Publishing, 1994.

Pelletier, Kenneth R. The Best Alternative Medicine What Works? What Does Not? New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Silverstein Alvin, et al. Common Cold and Flu (Diseases and People). Springfield, MA: Enslow Publishers, 1996.

OTHER

"Zinc: A Weapon Against the Commmon Cold?" Mayo Health Oasis. <http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9709/htm/zinc.htm>. (9 September 1997).

Barbara Wexler