The influenza (flu) virus causes high fever, cough and body aches. It strikes more quickly than a cold and makes people feel worse. Children with colds usually have energy to play and keep up their daily routines. Children with the flu are usually in bed.
Some respiratory viruses that cause colds in older children and adults may cause more serious illness in babies and toddlers. These illnesses include croup (hoarseness, noisy breathing, barking cough), pneumonia (lung infection), bronchiolitis (wheezing, trouble breathing), or sore eyes, sore throat and neck gland swelling. Children with these conditions need to be seen by a doctor.
How to prevent and treat cold cough
Infected people are most contagious during the earliest stages of the illness for up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. Antibiotics shorten the period of contagiousness to 5 days following the start of antibiotic treatment.
Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics. Many experts believe that antibiotics are most effective in shortening the length of the infection when they're given in the first stage of the illness, before coughing spells begin. But even if antibiotics are started later, they're still important because they can stop the spread of the pertussis infection to others. Ask your doctor whether preventive antibiotics or vaccine boosters for other family members are needed.
Some kids with whooping cough need to be treated in a hospital. Babies and younger children are more likely to be hospitalized because they're at greater risk for problems like pneumonia. Whooping cough can be life-threatening for infants younger than 6 months, so they almost always need hospital treatment.
If your child is being treated for pertussis at home, follow the schedule for giving antibiotics exactly as your doctor prescribed. Giving cough medicine probably will not help, as even the strongest usually can't relieve the coughing spells of whooping cough. The cough is actually the body's way of trying to clear the airways. (Due to potential side effects, cough medicines are never recommended for children under age 6.)
Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are those that can be sold directly to people without a prescription. OTC medicines treat a variety of illnesses and their symptoms including pain, coughs and colds, diarrhea, constipation, acne, and others. Some OTC medicines have active ingredients with the potential for misuse at higher-than-recommended dosages.
Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a cough suppressant found in many OTC cold medicines. The most common sources of abused DXM are "extra-strength" cough syrup, tablets and gel capsules. OTC medications that contain DXM often also contain antihistamines and decongestants. DXM may be swallowed in its original form or may be mixed with soda for flavor, called "robo-tripping" or "skittling." Users sometimes inject it. These medicines are often misused in combination with other drugs, such as alcohol and marijuana.
It used to be that if you had a mild cough, you often just waited for it to clear up or took some over-the-counter cough medicine to ease your discomfort. If it was more severe or was accompanied by other symptoms, you went to a doctor to find out how to treat it.
Your doctor will likely ask if you have a wet or dry cough. If you have a wet cough, also known as a productive cough, you may cough up mucus or notice a salty taste in your mouth. A wet cough typically occurs if you have the flu, a cold, bronchitis, pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
"Patients may present with a combination of symptoms, such as a scratchy throat, sneezing, congestion, ear discomfort, cough, fever, a general achy feeling and/or fatigue. We seem to more frequently contract the common cold within the winter months, but you can actually get sick with it any time of year," says Dr. Tilney.
Because there is no single virus responsible for the common cold, it's difficult to treat and easy to catch, especially because each type of virus flourishes in different conditions during different times of the year. That's part of the reason we have not come up with the elusive cure for this oh-so-common illness.
A person who has caught a cold is usually contagious one to two days before symptoms appear. With respiratory infections, such as the cold, flu or COVID-19, an infected person can release contaminated droplets containing the virus into the air, via coughing, sneezing, talking, shouting or singing. These droplets can make direct contact with other people by either being inhaled or the virus landing on surfaces that others touch.
A person with whooping cough can pass it to others as soon as they get cold-like symptoms. They can also pass it up to 3 weeks after they start coughing. If the infected person takes an appropriate antibiotic, they will not spread the germ after 5 full days of treatment.
Call your local health department, doctor or clinic for advice. If you have close contact with an infected person, you will be given the same medicines used to treat whooping cough. This will help prevent you and others from getting sick.
The FDA does not recommend using over-the-counter medications for cough and cold symptoms in children younger than age two. As a result of this decision, many manufacturers relabeled their products to state that they should not be given to children younger than age four. Be aware that many of these products contain multiple ingredients, which can lead to accidental overdosing, says the FDA.
Unfortunately, some companies are selling fraudulent products such as teas, essential oils, tinctures and colloidal silver, which claim to prevent, treat, diagnose, cure or alleviate coronavirus symptoms.
Today, people use echinacea to shorten the duration of the common cold and flu, and reduce symptoms, such as sore throat (pharyngitis), cough, and fever. Many herbalists also recommend echinacea to help boost the immune system and help the body fight infections.
Several laboratory and animal studies suggest that echinacea contains active substances that boost immune function, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. For this reason, professional herbalists may recommend echinacea to treat urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast (candida) infections, ear infections (also known as otitis media), athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever (also called allergic rhinitis), as well as slow-healing wounds. Preliminary studies in the lab suggest echinacea may help inhibit colon tumors when combined with cichoric acid. One study even suggests that echinacea extract exerted an antiviral action on the development of recurrent cold sores triggered by the herpes simplex virus (HSVI) when taken prior to infection.
Whether or not echinacea helps prevent or treat the common cold remains controversial. Some studies have shown that the herb can make you feel better faster. Others suggest that echinacea has no impact on a cold at all. Several clinical trials have shown that people who take echinacea as soon as they feel sick reduce the severity of their cold and have fewer symptoms than those who do not take the herb. One study of 95 people with early symptoms of cold and flu (such as runny nose, scratchy throat, and fever) found that those who drank several cups of echinacea tea every day for 5 days felt better sooner than those who drank tea without echinacea.
In Germany (where herbs are regulated by the government), the above-ground parts of Echinacea purpurea are approved to treat colds, upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and slow-healing wounds. The root of the Echinacea pallida plant is also approved for the treatment of flu-like infections.
Goel V, Lovlin R, Barton R, et al. Efficacy of a standardized echinacea preparation (Echinilin) for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2004;29(1):75-83.
Naser B, Lund B, Henneicke-von Zepelin HH, Kohler G, Lehmacher W, Scaglione F. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical dose-response trial of an extract of Baptisia, Echinacea and Thuja for the treatment of patients with common cold. Phytomedicine. 2005;12(10):715-22.
When you become pregnant, your immune system is likely to change. As a result of these changes, you may contract a cold or cough at some point during your pregnancy. In addition, your illness may last longer. The good news is that even though you probably feel fatigued, the symptoms of a cold or flu are not typically dangerous to your baby. However, it is important to take the necessary measures to avoid contracting a cold or cough during pregnancy and to treat it once you get one.
It is best to reduce the number of over-the-counter medications you take. Many medications you normally would use to treat the symptoms of your cold are not safe to take during your pregnancy. The following is a list of medications that pose little risk to your baby during pregnancy; however, it is best to consult with your doctor before taking any medications to relieve your symptoms. 2ff7e9595c
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