Cold, or common cold, is a common respiratory illness, often acute and self-limiting. Colds can occur at any age, and a person can have multiple episodes in a year, usually 2-5 times a year in adults and 4-8 times in children. Most colds are caused by viruses. Rhinovirus is the main pathogen causing colds, and the rest of the pathogens are coronavirus, parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, echovirus, coxsackievirus and enterovirus. The flu can develop throughout the year, with seasonal changes, and is more common in winter and spring when the climate changes from cold to warm. The elderly, young children, immunocompromised, patients with chronic diseases (chronic sinusitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic cardiopulmonary insufficiency, anemia, tuberculosis, diabetes, chronic nephritis, etc.), overwork, intoxication, menstruation, nasopharyngeal allergy are the groups at high risk for colds, and cold is often the trigger. It can be spread by droplets containing virus or contaminated utensils, mostly sporadically. The main way of virus transmission is by contact (hand-nose, hand-eye), but also by droplets from sneezing. The incubation period varies due to the different pathogens infected during the cold. The onset of the common cold is rapid, with a dry throat, itchy throat or burning sensation at the beginning, and sneezing, nasal congestion and clear watery nose at the same time or a few hours after the onset, turning into mucus or purulent snot after 2-3 days. It may be accompanied by sore throat, sometimes hearing loss due to Eustachian tube inflammation, tearing, dull taste, breathlessness, hoarseness, small amount of cough, etc. The common cold usually has no fever and systemic symptoms, or only low fever, malaise, mild chills and headache. Examination reveals conjunctival congestion, nasal mucosa congestion, edema and discharge, and mild congestion in the pharynx. If there are no complications, the patient will usually recover after 4 to 10 days. The diagnosis of cold is generally based on clinical features: nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, mild pharyngitis and cough, without fever or low fever, and less systemic symptoms. Because the cold is mainly caused by viruses, the patient’s peripheral blood white blood cells are generally not high, neutrophils are mostly below, and lymphocytes are increased. Because of the wide variety of viruses, it is not easy for general laboratories to carry out pathogenic diagnosis; moreover, colds generally have mild symptoms and a short duration of illness, while virus isolation and identification take a long time, so it is unlikely that pathogenic diagnosis is used as the basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment. For a cold with mild symptoms, it is generally recommended not to use medication, as long as appropriate water and rest can be taken. For elderly and frail people, those with severe symptoms such as fever, headache and cough or those with complications, bed rest, avoid smoking, drink more water, keep the air circulating in the room and often need to take medication. At present, medication is mainly symptomatic treatment, which can relieve the symptoms as soon as possible and facilitate the recovery of the disease. There are many medicines for treating colds, commonly used are Neocontrol, Conde, compound aspirin, quick-acting cold capsule, Quick, cold pass, etc.. Among them, the most commonly used are compound aspirin and Neocontrol. The anti-cold effect of compound aspirin is good, and its various dosage forms also make it more convenient for patients to take (please use according to the instructions). It is especially inexpensive and suitable for general consumers. Neocontech has slow-release technology, which can keep the drug concentration in the blood in a stable state for 12 hours in one use, and patients only need to take one capsule in the morning and one in the evening. At present, there is no broad-spectrum antiviral drugs with certain efficacy, so it is generally not necessary to use antiviral drugs when you have a cold. At present, the choice of morpholine guanidine, adenosine, ribavirin and other antiviral drugs, the effect of the treatment of respiratory viruses is still controversial. The common cold does not require antibiotics, but for elderly and infant patients with chronic diseases and complications such as increased body temperature and white blood cells, appropriate antibiotic treatment should be considered. Chinese medicine treatment is also the more commonly used treatment method for colds. There are many varieties of Chinese medicines, such as cold punch, Banlangen punch, cold and fever granules, Shuanghuanglian oral liquid, clearing fever and detoxifying oral liquid, Yin Qiao detoxifying pill, etc., and also soup treatment. Since there is no special treatment for colds, and once you have a cold, it will affect your work and life to a certain extent, so prevention is especially important. Strengthening resistance and preventing pathogens from invading is the key to prevention. The main measures are: 1, pay attention to exercise, reasonable arrangements for outdoor activities to adapt to changes in the environment and climate. 2, clothing should be appropriate, with climate change should be timely increase or decrease, to prevent cold or overheating. 3.Control and treat chronic diseases and correct malnutrition. 4, pay attention to indoor ventilation, avoid going to crowded and dirty air public places. 5.Avoid overwork, drunkenness and other triggering factors. 6, pay attention to personal hygiene, wash hands regularly. Some drugs have the effect of preventing colds. Mainly multivalent bacterial vaccine preparations, such as bronchitis vaccine tablets, Bixi Tim, Lantana, etc.; immune enhancers such as nucleic acid, BCG, thymidine, etc., its efficacy is still not sure. High-risk groups are not only prone to colds, but also prone to complications after colds. Common complications include: acute conjunctivitis, sinusitis, otitis media, tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. Some may develop rheumatic fever, nephritis, myocarditis, etc. Patients with chronic diseases may experience aggravation of their original diseases or develop corresponding complications, such as obvious heart failure symptoms in patients with cardiac insufficiency and ketoacidosis in diabetic patients. If the symptoms of cold are serious or different from those you usually suffer from, or if the symptoms have been there for a week but still not cured, you need to go to the hospital so as to clarify whether it is just a cold, or if there are complications or other diseases, so that you can be given the appropriate treatment early and control your condition.