Common Cold: The Commonest Human Disease

Common cold in terms medicine also named as coryza or acute catarrhal rhinitis. Rhinitis refers to the inflammation of the nasal mucosa. Common cold is an acute infectious disease due to a filterable virus with superadded secondary infections with gram positive cocci (rounded shaped gram positive staining bacteria). The incubation period is from 1 to 3 days.

CAUSES:

• Exciting cause is an unidentified virus but there are certain predisposing factors which render some people more prone to catch the infection that others like

• Damp, dark and over crowded houses which predispose to cross infection.
• Lowered body resistance for e.g. starvation or some other diseases
• Wet and cold weather
• Sedentary occupations and working conditions in which there may be dust of fumes in the atmosphere
• Other defects in the nose and throat for e.g. allergy, nasal polyp, deflected septum, sinusitis, tonsillitis etc
• Age and sex is no bar but very young patient seem to suffer most from the disease
• Imbalanced diet and smoking.

Common cold usually has 3 stages in its clinical presentation

1. The 1st stage is the prodmal stage in which the onset is sudden with a sense of rawness which mostly starts in the postnasal space. There may be feelings of chill and other general symptoms like slight feeling of being ill. There is some sneezing and running nose. These symptoms from sudden start goes on getting worse for 2 to 3 days leading to the next stage of well established disease.
2. The patients in this stage are definitely ill with local and general symptoms. Local symptoms are marked nasal obstruction with fairly good amount of nasal discharge which may be thin or mucous in the early stages, slowly becoming thick and yellowish in the later stage. The patient have got rise of temperature and pulse rate and may have loss of appetite and loss of sleep. There may be tearing of eyes. These conditions remain for 3 days
3. The third stage is of resolution. The general symptom shows a gradual descent. The nose may open up at times. The discharge becomes scanty, thick and yellowish on account of admixture of a good amount of mucin and pus cells. Slowly the patients recover. The total duration of the disease is about a week to ten days

The disease runs its natural course coming to termination when body has developed immunity against the attack. This immunity lasts for about a month and the patient is then again in danger of getting another attack.

In severe cases, infective complications mainly in the respiratory tract may occur. These are usually sinusitis, aslpingitis, otitis media, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, tracheo-bronchitis, particularly in children. In cases of repeated colds, these complications may become chronic

TREATMENT:

The disease must have its course and the treatment is mainly directed towards amelioration of symptoms and prevention of complications. The treatment may be general and local.

General treatment consists in confining the patient to bed so that he builds up body resistance and is exposed to uniform temperature and humidity. He should be fed on light but nourishing diet to maintain strength. He may be given a hot bath.

The local treatment consists of giving the patient the vasoconstrictor drops for e.g. half percent ephedrine in normal saline three times a day. Vitamin C in large doses is a favorite with many. Some people find antihistamine of definite value. For local fomentation, steam inhalation containing menthol or tincture benzoic or both are very soothing

For permanent relief, the patient should be advised to avoid contacts with people suffering from catarrh of the upper respiratory passages and any other nasal defects listed above should be corrected. As a prevention the patient of common cold are advised to lead a healthier mode of life, mixed with a little exercise. The  use of autogenous or stock vaccine has the reputation of conferring long term immunity.