Basic Overview of the Common Cold
The common cold is caused by viruses of the respiratory tract, with coronaviruses and rhinoviruses being the primary causative viruses. It is characterized by clinical manifestations such as nasal congestion, cough, headache, aversion to cold with fever, and general discomfort. It can occur throughout the year, but is more common in the spring.
Modern Medicine: It is believed that when the body's overall or local respiratory defense functions are reduced due to inducing factors such as getting chilled, being drenched in rain, or excessive fatigue, viruses or bacteria that already exist in the respiratory tract or invade from the outside can rapidly multiply, causing this disease, which mainly manifests as nasopharyngeal inflammation. The main cause of the common cold is rhinovirus.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Concept: The common cold is a condition caused by the invasion of external pathogens into the human body, with clinical manifestations mainly including headache, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, aversion to cold and wind, fever, and a floating pulse. It can occur throughout the year, but is more common in winter and spring. Mild cases are called "cold damage" (shang feng); severe cases that cause widespread epidemics within a certain period are called "epidemic cold" (shi xing gan mao).
The flu is highly contagious. Because this virus mutates easily, even people who have had the flu can still get infected when they encounter another flu outbreak, so the flu can easily cause explosive epidemics. It is more likely to spread in winter and spring, and each outbreak may infect 20-40% of the population.
Cold cases are sporadic and do not cause epidemics, but are often associated with secondary bacterial infections. The common cold has a relatively acute onset. Early symptoms include a dry or scratchy/scratchy sensation in the throat, sneezing, nasal congestion, and a runny nose. The nasal discharge is initially clear but becomes thick after 2-3 days. It may be accompanied by a sore throat. There is generally no fever or systemic symptoms, or only a low-grade fever and headache. It usually resolves within 5-7 days.
The common cold is also an acute infectious rhinitis, commonly known as "cold damage." It is caused by viruses of the respiratory tract, with coronaviruses and rhinoviruses being the primary causative viruses. The virus is shed from respiratory secretions and transmitted. When the body's resistance is lowered, such as from getting chilled, malnutrition, excessive fatigue, excessive smoking and drinking, systemic diseases, or chronic nasal diseases affecting respiratory patency, infection can be easily triggered. A secondary bacterial infection can follow the onset of a cold. At the onset of a cold, there is a dry and itchy sensation in the nose, sneezing, general discomfort or a low-grade fever. This is followed by nasal congestion, reduced sense of smell, a large amount of clear nasal discharge, nasal mucosal congestion and swelling, and a large amount of clear or purulent secretions. Without complications, the course of the illness is about 7-10 days.
Because viruses live inside human cells, there are no drugs in the world that can directly kill the cold virus. The effective method is to rely on the human immune system. Therefore, treatment for the common cold should mainly be supportive, with special attention to rest, drinking plenty of fluids, and a light diet. This can provide the immune system with adequate physical support.
A cold can lead to a bacterial infection, but medication should never be used indiscriminately. After the human immune system kills the virus, the vast majority of infections will resolve on their own. Indiscriminate medication can increase bacterial resistance and is also detrimental to the proper functioning of the human immune system.