The flu is one of the most common diseases, but people don’t know as much about it as we think. The health section of the MSN website recently summarized 10 little-known facts about colds that people can keep in mind.
1. It takes 48 hours for the common cold to infect a person
When feeling like you have a cold, it’s best to think back to what you were doing 48 hours ago, and that may be the source of getting a cold. It’s hard to distinguish between the flu and the common cold, but Dr. Ron Ackles, director of the Common Cold Research Centre at Cardiff University in the UK, offers a rule to follow: the virus of the common cold does not usually cause fever in adults; a sudden onset of fever and cough are the most prominent symptoms of the flu.
2, the best weapon against the flu is physical activity
A study by Appalachian State University found that any exercise has a preventive effect on colds. A quick 30-minute walk five times a week will allow the immune system to successfully fight off colds.
3. Staying up late may lead to colds
Research published in the Journal of the Archives of Internal Medicine by scholars from Carnegie Mellon University shows that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are three times more likely to get a cold. People who sleep well are only 1/5 as likely to catch a cold as those who do not sleep well.
4. Vitamin C does not protect against colds
Scholars from the Australian National University and the University of Helsinki in Finland found that vitamin C does not prevent or reduce cold symptoms for most people by reviewing more than 30 relevant papers.
5. Echinacea is the most effective herb against colds and flu
Scholars at the University of Connecticut found through a study of more than 1,600 people that echinacea (i.e. pine coneflower) not only halves the chances of getting a cold, but also reduces the duration of cold symptoms by 1 or 4 days.
6, there are cold virus will make people fat
According to a study conducted by Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, children infected with adenovirus-36 (a common cold virus that causes typical cold symptoms and gastrointestinal problems) weighed more than 20 kilograms more than children who were not infected with this strain.
7. Drinking hot beverages can help reduce the discomfort of colds
When suffering from a bad cold, drink some hot tea and hot soup to help reduce the symptoms of discomfort. British scholars published in the recent “Journal of Nasal Science” a research result shows: just drink some hot drinks can relieve the discomfort caused by the cold. When suffering from a bad cold, you may want to drink a cup of hot tea with a teaspoon of honey and lemon juice, it can also relieve the sore throat.
8, breast milk ingredients will make you feel better
A component of breast milk helps relieve cold and flu symptoms. This derivative of lauric acid (glycerol-laurate) is a natural fatty acid present in breast milk, which can reduce the symptoms of flu and fatigue. There are supplements that contain this nutritional supplement, but consult your doctor before taking it.
9.The average person will suffer from about 200 colds in their lifetime
It is estimated that when people live to the age of 75, they are likely to have had 200 colds, which means that people sneeze for two years of their lives. Children usually get 4 – 8 colds a year, but the flu is more harmful to older people.
10. Colds are not highly contagious
Research by the Common Cold Research Centre at Cardiff University in the UK shows that it is quite difficult to pass a cold to a healthy person when they are in the same room with a cold sufferer. In fact, the cold virus is only contagious under certain conditions.
The cold with a runny nose is the lightest
As the weather turned colder, Ms. Liu, who lives in Beijing, had symptoms such as fever and muscle aches for several days in a row, and went to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her as having a cold, and she felt a little strange as to why she did not have a runny nose and sneezing symptoms. Chen Xin, deputy director of the cadre medical west ward of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, told reporters that not all colds have upper respiratory tract symptoms.
There are two main types of colds: the common cold and the flu. Chen Xin said that the common cold is caused by viruses or bacteria, mostly disseminated, with a slow onset, obvious upper respiratory symptoms and mild systemic symptoms. This kind of cold is commonly known as cold, is the nasopharyngeal cata symptoms (sneezing, runny nose) as the main performance. The cold caused by influenza virus is influenza, and there are three main types of influenza: simple influenza, pneumonia influenza, and gastroenteritis influenza.
Specifically, the symptoms of the common cold are generally lighter than those of the flu, and can be dealt with by taking some common cold medicine, and if there are no other complications, it can heal itself in a few days even without medicine.
The simple type of influenza is common in winter and spring. It starts rapidly and is often accompanied by general symptoms such as chills, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pains.
Pneumonia-type influenza is generally less common and occurs more often in the elderly, children, people with pre-existing heart and lung diseases, or people with low immunity. The onset of the disease is similar to that of simple influenza, but the duration of the disease may extend for 3 to 4 weeks. This type of influenza mostly presents with a persistent high fever, severe cough, and coughing up bloody sputum.
The gastrointestinal type of influenza is also generally less common and occurs mostly in the elderly and children with weakened digestive tract. It is not easily distinguished from acute gastroenteritis, but the two do differ somewhat: patients with gastroenteritis generally have a history of unclean diet without respiratory symptoms, with diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting as the main clinical manifestations.
Chen Xin reminded readers that first of all, patients should distinguish the type of cold before taking medication, if the indiscriminate use of drugs will be delayed. Second, do not carry a cold without seeing a doctor, “carry” on a few days can be self-healing, but some may delay the disease.