Sneezing, sore throat, a stuffy nose, coughing - everyone knows the symptoms of the common cold. It is probably the most common illness. In the course of a year, people in the United States suffer 1 billion colds.
You can get a cold by touching your eyes or nose after you touch surfaces with cold germs on them. You can also inhale the germs. Symptoms usually begin 2 or 3 days after infection and last 2 to 14 days. Washing your hands and staying away from people with colds will help you avoid colds.
There is no cure for the common cold. For relief, try
- Getting plenty of rest
- Drinking fluids
- Gargling with warm salt water
- Using cough drops or throat sprays - but not cough medicine for children under four
- Taking over-the-counter pain or cold medicines - but not aspirin for children
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Cold and Flu Guidelines: The Common Cold(American Lung Association) - http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35873
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Colds and the Flu(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/cold-flu/073.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/cold-flu/073.printerview.html
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Common Cold
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/commonCold/
- Common Cold(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/common-cold/DS00056/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Cold Virus on Home Surfaces Transferable to Fingers(10/29/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70987.html
- Scientists Come Closer to Unlocking Secrets of Common Cold(10/24/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70845.html
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Using Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Products in Children(10/22/2008, Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/coughcold102208.html
- Drug Companies Say No Cold Meds for Kids Under 4(10/07/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70158.html
- More News on Common Cold http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_c.html#commoncold
- Cold and Flu(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/517.printerview.html
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Is It a Cold or an Allergy?(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - Links to PDF - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/allergicDiseases/PDF/ColdAllergy.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/allergicDiseases/PDF/ColdAllergySpan.pdf
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Is It a Cold or the Flu?(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - Links to PDF - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Flu/PDF/sick.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Flu/PDF/sick_spanish.pdf
- Cold Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, What Can't Hurt(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cold-remedies/ID00036/METHOD=print
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Decongestants: OTC Relief for Congestion(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/otc-center/otc-medicines/859.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/otc-center/otc-medicines/859.printerview.html
- Snort, Sniffle, Sneeze: No Antibiotics, Please(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community/know-and-do.htm
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What to Do for Colds and Flu
(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/clds&flu.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/scldsflu.html
- How Colds Are Spread(Commoncold, Inc.) - http://www.commoncold.org/prevent.htm
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Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/home_work_school.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/es/home_work_school.htm
- Adenovirus(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/adenovirus.html
- Asthma: Limit Asthma Attacks Caused by Colds or Flu(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/asthma/AS00024/METHOD=print
- Cold and Flu Guidelines: Myths and Facts(American Lung Association) - http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35869
- Complications of Colds(Commoncold, Inc.) - http://www.commoncold.org/cmplcatn.htm
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Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/cough_cold_medicine_abuse.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/padres/cough_cold_medicine_abuse_esp.html
- Humidifiers: Moisture in the Air Eases Skin, Breathing Symptoms(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/humidifiers/HQ00076/METHOD=print
- Runny Nose(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/runny-nose/MY00177/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Some Cold Medicines Move behind Counter(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/406_meth.html
- Unapproved Timed-Release Guaifenesin Products(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/cough053107.html
- Understanding Colds: Anatomy of the Nose(Commoncold, Inc.) - http://www.commoncold.org/undrstnd.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Common Cold(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Common+Cold%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Dynamics of human respiratory virus-specific CD8+ T cell responses in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18832713&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: What is mucus? And why is so much produced in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18802975&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Antibiotics for coughs and colds. Different in developing world. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18710848&tool=MedlinePlus
- Common Cold -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=common+cold[mh]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+case+reports[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Academy of Family Physicians - http://familydoctor.org/
- American Academy of Pediatrics - http://www.aap.org/
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
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Chilling Out with Colds(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/colds.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/enfermadades/colds_esp.html
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Common Cold(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/cold.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/cold_esp.html
- Common Cold in Babies(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/common-cold-in-babies/DS01106/METHOD=print&FLUSHCACHE=0&UPDATEAPP=false
- OTC Cough and Cold Products: Not For Infants and Children Under 2 Years of Age(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/coughcold011708.html
- Recurring Colds or Coldlike Symptoms(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZF7HIXN6E&sub_cat=0
- Runny Nose (with Green or Yellow Mucus)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community/campaign_materials/FactSheet-RunnyNose.htm
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Coping with Colds(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/common/colds.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/colds_esp.html
- Flu - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/flu.html
- Sinusitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sinusitis.html
- Viral Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/viralinfections.html
- Ear, Nose and Throat - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/earnoseandthroat.html
- Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Common Cold is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
Common Cold - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/commoncold.html