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Set out below is useful information on self-help and prevention of the
common cold. However, if the condition remains unresolved for more than
a few days it should be reported to your doctor.
Forty or more viruses, (some of them carried by healthy people) can
produce the common cold. Highly infectious, it is spread by droplet
infection through sneezing, coughing or just talking. Its incubation
period is 2-3 days and duration anything up to 2 weeks.
Inflaming the upper respiratory tract its symptoms include sore throat,
runny nose and eyes, congested sinuses and nasal passages, cough, loss
of voice, raised temperature, headache and muscular discomfort.
No specific medication cures the common cold. Antibiotics will not help
unless there are bacterial complications.
Continue with normal activities if you can but rest, keep warm, drink
plenty of fluids and take an analgesic (aspirin, paracetamol) regularly
while symptoms last. A wide variety of patent medicines is available
over the counter to help with your symptoms – decongestants, inhalants,
nose drops, throat sprays, cough mixtures and combination cold remedies.
Contact your local pharmacist for help in deciding what may be best for
you.
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