Frequently Asked Questions About Flu And Colds

What are the most frequently asked questions about flu and colds? The answers to some of them may surprise you.

What are the most frequently asked questions about flu and colds? The answers to some of them may surprise you.

How is a cold different from the flu?

Flu and cold are acute respiratory diseases caused by different viruses. The main difference between a cold and the flu is that it occurs in a milder form. Symptoms of a cold can include a runny nose, cough, sore throat and mild fever.

Influenza is caused by influenza viruses. This disease is usually accompanied by high fever, chills, headache and body aches.

Can you catch a cold with hypothermia?

A cold due to the cold is a fairly common myth. Let's note once again that colds and flu are infectious diseases, and you can get sick only when infected. But why do we often get sick precisely after hypothermia? In fact, the cold simply acts as an unfavorable factor, resulting in a decrease in local immunity. Thus, the body begins to cope with pathogenic microorganisms worse, which significantly increases the likelihood of developing a cold or flu.

Is a runny nose always a cold?

Nasal congestion and runny nose are not always a symptom of a cold. Sometimes it can be a manifestation of an allergic reaction. If you have a runny nose without a fever and red eyes for no apparent reason, then, most likely, you have an allergy. Especially if such symptoms occur during the flowering period, it does not hurt to consult an allergist.

Are there cold vaccines?

While vaccines against some types of flu can really be effective, things are much more complicated with colds. To date, experts know more than 250 types of viruses that can cause a cold, and this list is constantly being updated. It is still impossible to make a vaccine against all types of colds, but there is no need for this, since colds, in the vast majority of cases, do not pose any threat to the human body.

How effective is vitamin C for colds?

Paradoxically, vitamin C has almost no effect on the healing process. If it was previously believed that ascorbic acid contributes to the rapid recovery of the treatment of colds and flu, recent studies have shown that the effect of vitamin C on colds is extremely small (almost non-existent).

How to properly treat a cold?

If the cold is mild, you can do without drugs. The most important thing is to treat yourself at home and provide yourself with plenty of hot drinks. It is also necessary to regularly ventilate the room and humidify the air in the room where the patient is.

The drugs should be used in case of a complicated course of a cold (as well as the flu). The patient may be prescribed antiviral, immunomodulatory, antipyretic and painkillers, depending on the severity of the symptoms.

Should antibiotics be used?

Antibiotics are drugs that eliminate bacterial infection. Since colds and flu are viral diseases, the use of antibiotics in this case is useless.

Antibiotics can be used only for bacterial complications, in particular, for bacterial pneumonia, complicated sore throat and other lesions caused by bacteria.

How to prevent colds and flu?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely protect yourself from respiratory viral diseases. Since we come into contact with people, there is always a risk of infection, especially if we are often in poorly ventilated places with a lot of people (for example, public transport, markets, educational institutions, etc.). However, the likelihood of infection can be minimized if the following recommendations are followed:

• wash your hands regularly with soap, especially during epidemics;
• touch your face as rarely as possible;
• avoid crowded places;
• regularly ventilate the room;
• humidify the living space, especially in winter, when the air in the houses is dry;
• use tissues when sneezing and coughing.