What people commonly refer to as the common cold is medically known as the common cold. In fact, the common cold is not common. Some data show that the average number of common colds per year is 2-6 times for adults and 6-8 times for children, which can also cause a great financial burden to patients. What kind of disease is the common cold? The common cold is a common acute respiratory infectious disease caused mainly by viral infection. Seasonal changes, crowded environment, sedentary lifestyle, advanced age, smoking, malnutrition, stress, overexertion, insomnia, and low immunity make people more prone to colds. The early manifestations of the cold are mainly runny nose, sneezing, and throat discomfort, and later there can be coughing, a small amount of coughing phlegm, etc., and in severe cases, fever. What should I do if I have a cold? Since there are no effective antiviral drugs, and considering that most viral infections can be cured by themselves, the current treatment is based on symptomatic treatment and relief of cold symptoms. First of all, it is very important to take proper rest and avoid exertion. Resting is the same as giving our body time to recuperate and give our body an advantage in the fight against viruses. People with fever, serious illnesses and the elderly and frail should rest in bed. Second, avoid bad habits. Bad habits, such as smoking and staying up late, can make the immunity drop, so quitting smoking and good habits are also measures to beat the cold. Third, proper hydration and light diet. Ensuring sufficient water intake helps prevent dehydration of the body. A light and easily digestible diet helps to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Fourth, symptomatic treatment to reduce symptoms. When the symptoms are mild, you can wait for self-cure, and when the symptoms are severe, you can apply drugs to improve the symptoms. Drugs used to improve the symptoms of the cold, mainly the following categories: (1) decongestants, mainly used to reduce nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose and other symptoms. Pseudoephedrine is the most commonly used drug (2) antihistamines, which help to eliminate or reduce symptoms such as sneezing and runny nose. The most commonly used drug is chlorpheniramine maleate. (3) Cough suppressants, which are used to improve the symptoms of cough. Commonly used drugs are codeine, dextromethorphan, etc. (4) Expectorants, used for patients with phlegm. (5) Antipyretic and analgesic drugs, mainly for fever, sore throat and general aches and pains. Commonly used drugs include acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc. It should be noted that most of the cold medicines on the market are compound preparations, containing two or more ingredients of the above-mentioned types of drugs or other drugs. Although there are many kinds of drugs with different names, the ingredients of their formulas are the same or similar, and the drug effects are similar, so it is enough to choose one of them when choosing a compound anti-cold medicine. If more than two drugs are taken at the same time, it will lead to repeated medication, overdose and increase the incidence of adverse drug reactions.