Common Cold

An Overview of the Common Cold

By Kristina Duda, RN | Reviewed by a board-certified physician

Updated August 11, 2016

Colds are almost certainly the most commonly occuring illness among humans. Adults in the United States average two to three per year, and kids can get as many as 10. There is no cure for the common cold or a vaccine to prevent it because it can be caused by so many different viruses. So, what can you really do? There is both good and bad information out there. We are here to set the record straight.

It turns out, you may not know everything you need to about the common cold.

Causes

The common cold is caused by a virus—over 200 different of them, actually. Rhinoviruses are the type that cause most colds, but they can also be caused by coronaviruses, respiratory synctial virus (RSV), parainfluenza, and others.
Because colds are caused by so many different viruses, there likely will never be a cure.

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We can't develop immunity to colds because there is always another virus that our bodies haven't seen that will cause similar symptoms.

What are a few things that don't cause colds?
Wet hair, cold weather, and changes in temperature. These "old wives' tales" have been shared and passed down for generations, but they have no basis in science. Research has shown that people may be more likely to catch colds during the winter when the air is cold and dry, but it is not the weather itself that makes you sick. Only germs can do that.

Symptoms

Colds are a respiratory illness, meaning they tend to cause symptoms in your head and sometimes your chest.

For most people, symptoms are generally mild and go away on their own within about a week.

Common cold symptoms include:

• runny nose
• congestion
• cough
• headache
• sore throat
• itchy or watery eyes
• fever (rare—more common in children)

Although cold symptoms are annoying, they are rarely serious. People with chronic health conditions—especially those that affect the respiratory system, like asthma and COPD—may have more difficulty recovering from a cold or may have more significant symptoms. People with weakened immune systems may also have a harder time getting over a cold.

Treatments

As we mentioned before, there is no cure for the common cold. It is a self-limiting illness, which means it will go away on its own with time. Usually, they only last about a week. But most everyone knows that week can seem very long when you aren't feeling well.
There may not be any medications that will "cure" a cold, but there are plenty of things you can do to get relief from your symptoms. Whether you take modern over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, natural, or herbal remedies, or some combination of the two, you don't have to suffer.