|
Common-cold Sense You can't beat it, but you don't have to join it. Maybe it got the name "common cold" because it's more common in winter. The fact is, though, being cold doesn't have anything to do with getting one. Colds are caused by the spread of rhinoviruses，and, at least so far, medical science is better at telling you how to avoid getting one than how to get rid of one. Children are the most common way cold viruses are spread to adults, because they have more colds than adults--an average of about eight per year. Why do kids seem so much more easily to get colds than their parents? Simple. They haven't had the opportunity to become immune to many cold viruses. There are more than 150 different cold viruses, and you never have the same one twice. Being infected by one makes you immune to it--but only it. Colds are usually spread by direct contact, not sneezing or coughing. From another person's hand to your hand and then to your nose or eyes in the most common route. The highest concentration of cold viruses anywhere is found under the thumbnails of a boy, although the viruses can survive for hours on skin or other smooth surfaces. Hygiene is your best defense. Wash your hands frequently, preferably with a disinfectant soap, especially when children in your household have colds. But even careful hygiene won't ward off every cold. So, what works when a coughing, sneezing, runny nose strikes? The old prescription of two aspirins, lots of water, and bed rests a good place to start. But you'll also find some of the folk remedies worth trying. Hot mixtures of sugar ( or honey), lemon, and water have real benefits. |