Causes of Common Cold

Common Cold Symptoms, Causes, Remedy and Diet

Exposure to the Virus

A common cold results from exposure to the virus. Its intensity, however, depends upon the state of health
of the person and environmental factors.

Exposure to Cold, Low Vitality, Dust, Changes in Temperature

Low vitality, exposure to cold, lack of sleep, mental depression, fatigue, and factors such as sudden
changes in temperature, dust, and other irritating inhalations are important contributory causes.

Causes of Common Cold

Although you may have heard that common colds are passed on through airborne droplets there is actually
a much higher chance of infection through direct contact with an infected individual as objects that are in
physical contact can be contaminated with the virus. For example, in an office there is a much higher
chance of you catching the infection from using the keyboard of an infected person even when that
individual is not around as opposed to simply sitting in the same room.

The odds of picking up the common cold are also determined by other factors such as climatic conditions,
weather changes, or your age and immunity levels.

Common Cold Home Remedies

Common Cold home remedies and natural cures, Questions and answers

Common Cold treatment using Lemon

Lemon is the most important among the many home remedies for common cold. It is beneficial in all types
of cold with fever. Vitamin C-rich lemon juice increases body resistance, decreases toxicity and reduces the
duration of the illness. One lemon should be diluted in a glass of warm water, and a teaspoon of honey
should be added to it. This should be taken once or twice daily.

Common Cold treatment using Garlic

Garlic soup is an old remedy to reduce the severity of a cold, and should be taken once daily. The soup can
be prepared by boiling three or four cloves of chopped garlic in a cup of water. Garlic contains antiseptic
and antispasmodic properties, besides several other medicinal virtues. The oil contained in this vegetable
helps to open up the respiratory passages. In soup form, it flushes out all toxins from the system and thus
helps bring down fever. Five drops of garlic oil combined with a teaspoon of onion juice, and diluted in a cup
of water, should be drunk two to three times a day. This has also been found to be very effective in the
treatment of common cold.

Common Cold treatment using Ginger

Ginger is another excellent remedy for colds and coughs. About ten grams of ginger should be cut into
small pieces and boiled in a cup of water. It should then be strained and half a teaspoon of sugar added to
it. This decoction should be drunk when hot. Ginger tea, prepared by adding a few pieces of ginger into
boiled water before adding the tea leaves, is also an effective remedy for colds and for fevers resulting from
cold. It may be taken twice daily.

Common Cold treatment using Lady's Fingers

Lady's fingers are highly valuable in treating irritation of the throat and a persistent dry cough. This
vegetable is rich in mucilage and acts as a drug to allay irritation, swelling, and pain. About 100 gm of
lady's fingers should be cut into pieces, and boiled down in half a litre of water to make a decoction. The
steam issuing from this decoction may also be inhaled once or twice a day to relieve throat irritation and a
dry cough.

Common Cold treatment using Bitter Gourd Roots

The roots of the bitter gourd plant are used in folk medicine to cure a cold. A teaspoon of the root paste,
mixed with an equal quantity of honey or holy basil leaf juice, given once every night for a month, acts as
an excellent medicine for colds.

Common Cold treatment using Turmeric

Turmeric is an effective remedy for colds and throat irritations. Half a teaspoon of fresh turmeric powder
mixed in 30 ml of warm milk, and taken once or twice daily, is a useful prescription for these conditions.
Turmeric powder should be put into a hot ladle. Milk should then be poured in it and boiled over a slow fire.
This mixture should then be drunk by the patient. In case of a running cold, smoke from the burning
turmeric should be inhaled. It will increase the discharge from the nose and provide quick relief.

Common Cold treatment using Tamarind and Pepper

Tamarind-pepper rasam is also considered an effective home remedy for a cold in South India. Dilute 50
mg tamarind in 250 ml of water. Boil the diluted tamarind water for a few minutes with a teaspoon of hot
clarified butter and half a teaspoon of black pepper powder. This steaming hot rasam has a flushing effect,
and should be taken three times a day. As one takes it, the nose and eyes water and the nasal blockage is
cleared.

Common Cold treatment using Vitamin C

Regular intake of vitamin C-75 mg for adults and 35 mg for children-will prevent the common cold. If,
however, a cold has already appeared, large doses of this vitamin will relieve the symptoms and shorten its
duration. He estimates that one to two grams (1000 mg to 2000 mg) per day is approximately the optimum
amount of this vitamin for this purpose. His advice is to swallow one or two 500mg tablets of vitamin C at
the appearance of the first sign of the cold and continue the treatment by taking one to two 500 mg tablets
daily.

Home Remedies for Stuffy Nose

Inhale turmeric fumes, for this tie some turmeric in a clean cloth and light it. Boil some water and allow it
to cool, now add ¼ teaspoon table salt to it. Put 2 to 3 drops of this solution in your both the nostrils before
meals and going to bed. Mix natural apple cider vinegar and water in equal parts. Boil this solution in a pan,
when the fumes rises lean over the pan and inhale the fumes. Prepare a solution using 4 drops of Lavender
Essential Oil and Pine Essential Oil, 3 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil and 7 drops of Eucalyptus Essential
Oil. Inhale vapors of this solution by putting it on a cotton ball or an aromatherapy diffuser.
Signs and symptoms

Symptoms are cough, sore throat, runny nose, and nasal congestion; sometimes this may be accompanied

by conjunctivitis (pink eye), muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, shivering, and loss of appetite. Fever is often present
[5]
thus creating a symptom picture which overlaps with influenza. The symptoms of influenza however are usually
[6]
more severe. The common cold usually resolves spontaneously in 7 to 10 days, but some symptoms can last for up
[2]
to three weeks. In children the cough lasts for more than 10 days in 35–40% and continues for more than 25 days in
[7]
10%.

Those suffering from colds often report a sensation of chilliness even though the cold is not generally accompanied

by fever, and although chills are generally associated with fever, the sensation may not always be caused by actual
[5]
fever. In one study, 60% of those suffering from a sore throat and upper respiratory tract infection reported
[5]
headaches, often due to nasal congestion.

[edit]Progression

The viral replication begins 8 to 15 hours after initial contact.
infection but occasionally occur in as little as 10 hours.
[5]
influenza symptom onset is constant and immediate.
[2]
but some can last for up to three weeks.
[8]
Symptoms usually begin 2 to 5 days after initial
[9]
Symptoms peak 2–3 days after symptom onset, whereas
The symptoms usually resolve spontaneously in 7 to 10 days

The first indication of an upper respiratory virus is often a sore or scratchy throat. Other common symptoms are runny
[10]
nose, congestion, and sneezing. These are sometimes accompanied bymuscle
[11]
aches, fatigue, malaise, headache, weakness, or loss of appetite. Cough and fever generally
[5]
indicate influenza rather than an upper respiratory virus with a positive predictive value of around 80%. Symptoms
[12]
may be more severe in infants and young children, and in these cases it may include fever and hives. Upper
[13]
respiratory viruses may also be more severe in smokers.

[edit]Cause

[edit]Viruses

The common cold is a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. The most commonly implicated virus is
[5][14][15]
a rhinovirus (30–50%), a type of picornavirus with 99 known serotypes. Others include:coronavirus (10–
[5]
15%), influenza (5–15%), human parainfluenza viruses, human respiratory syncytial
[10]
virus, adenoviruses, enteroviruses, and metapneumovirus.

[5]
In total over 200 serologically different viral types cause colds. Coronaviruses are particularly implicated in adult

colds. Of over 30 coronaviruses, 3 or 4 cause infections in humans, but they are difficult to grow in the laboratory and
[10]
their significance is thus less well-understood. Due to the many different types of viruses and their tendency for

continuous mutation, it is impossible to gain complete immunity to the common cold.

[edit]Risk factors
 Spending time in an enclosed area with an infected person or in close contact with an infected person. Common

colds are droplet-borne infections, which means that they are primarily transmitted through breathing in tiny
particles that the infected person emits when he or she coughs, sneezes, or exhales.

 The role of body cooling in causing the common cold is controversial.

[16]
It is the most commonly offered folk

explanation for the disease, and it has received some experimental evidence. One study showed that exposure

to the cold causes cold symptoms in about 10% of those exposed, and that the subjects experiencing this effect
[17]
report far more colds overall than those who do not. However, a variety of other studies do not show such an
[16]
effect.

 Frequently touching eyes, nose, or mouth with contaminated fingers. This behavior somewhat increases the

likelihood of transferring viruses from the surface of the hands, where they are harmless, into the upper
[8][10]
respiratory tract, where they can infect the tissues. Some studies show that very frequent hand washing and
[18]
not touching any mucous membranes can somewhat reduce the likelihood of acquiring a cold among adults.

 A history of smoking extends the duration of illness by about three days.

[19]

 Getting fewer than seven hours of sleep per night has been associated with a risk three times higher of

developing an infection when exposed to a rhinovirus, compared to those who sleep more than eight hours per
[20]
night.

 Low blood vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of getting a common cold.
[21]
Whether this
[22]
relation is causal has yet to be determined.

 Common colds are seasonal, occurring more frequently during winter outside of tropical zones. This is believed

to be partly due to a change in behaviors such as increased time spent indoors, which puts infected people in
[10][23]
close proximity to other people, rather than to exposure to cold temperatures.

 Low humidity increases viral transmission rates. One theory is that dry air causes evaporation of water, thus
[24]
allowing small viral droplets to disperse farther and stay in the air longer.

 Counterintuitively, people with stronger immune systems are more likely to develop symptomatic colds.
[25]
This is

because the symptoms of a cold are directly due to the strong immune response to the virus, not the virus itself.

People with less active immune systems—about a quarter of adults—get infected with the viruses, but the

relatively weak immunological response produces no significant or identifiable symptoms. These people

are asymptomatic carriers and can unknowingly spread the virus to other people. Because strong immune
[25]
responses cause cold symptoms, "boosting" the immune system increases cold symptoms.