How common is the Common Cold?

People know when they don’t feel well. They usually say they just don’t feel well, but do they know that they probably have the common cold? Headache, runny nose, and sore throat are usually what you feel when your body gets a cold (Common Cold 2). While having a cold there are many different viruses and symptoms you can have.

Many people suffer every year from what is known as the common cold. Symptoms of this cold usually cause you to have a runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing (Common Cold ). But it might also give you a sore throat, cough and headache. Even though you feel sick when you have a cold the reason is because the virus in the cell is starting to destroy the good parts in the cell (Common Cold 2). The most common time of year to catch a cold is usually with cold weather in winter or fall.

There are many ways to catch a cold but what are they? One of the main ways is being in contact with a person that is sick. Another big way to catch a cold is touching commonly touched things, such as door knobs, car doors, and chairs (Aaseng). You can also catch a cold if you don’t wash your hands enough. After and before every meal you should wash your hands, but you should also wash them after coughing or sneezing in your hands. If you don’t wash your hands after doing that you could pass the germs by touching people or even objects (Common Cold 2).

During the process of having a cold there are many good and bad viruses throughout your body. The most common virus that your body had while you have a cold is the rhinovirus (Common Cold ). But another common virus is the corona viruses. Even though there are over 200 different types of viruses that or both good and bad those two are the ones that give your body a cold (Aaseng). While the virus moves into your body and into the cells it is trying to destroy all the good molecules in your body. This is what makes you feel sick. When the virus moves into the cell it is slowly removing and destroying the good parts of your cell. After the virus has completely destroyed the good part of the cell the virus will start to reproduce its self (Common Cold(3)).

Even though there are many ways to recover from cold you have to be careful which way you choose. Some cures for colds are to drink plenty of liquid and get lots of sleep. If you need you can also get cough medicines. It just helps you feel better but doesn’t help make the cold go away faster then it will on its own (Common Cold(3)). When you’re sick something that helps you feel better is chicken noodle soup or any kind of soup. You then get liquids into your body with the broth and the chicken will give you protein.

When having a cold you might think you just have allergies but they are completely different from each other. One way that they are different from each other is the symptoms that you have. While having allergies the symptoms are usually your eyes, nose and lungs usually get irritated from whatever you might be allergic to (Aaseng). The virus that goes into the cell while having both a cold and allergies are bad. They want to get into the cell to destroy it and then start to reproduce the virus, which then will make you sicker then you already are.

In conclusion, having a cold puts a lot of stress on your body with all the viruses your body is trying to fight off, which isn’t easy with all the stress your body has. Over 200 viruses, but only one or two will give you the common cold. What do the other 198 viruses do to your body then? Are they helpful or harmful to the human body?

Bibliography:
Aaseng, Nathan. The Common Cold and flu . 1992.
"Common Cold ." 8 January 2012. Pub Med Health . 17 April 2012 .
"Common Cold 2." 11 February 2011. National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases. 18 April 2012 .
Common Cold(3). 8 July 2011. 19 April 2012 .