The Common Cold

Signs and Symptoms:
The first symptoms of a cold are often a "tickle" in the throat, a runny or stuffy nose and sneezing. Children with colds may also have a sore throat, cough , headache, mild fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and loss of appetite. The discharge from the runny nose changes from watery to thick yellow or green.

Description:
The common cold is a contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. It can be caused by a number of common viruses - most typically the rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. The common cold affects the nose, throat, sinuses, ears, eustachian tubes, trachea, larynx, and bronchial tubes. The incidence of colds is greatest in school-age children and declines with age.

Prevention:
No effective cold vaccine has ever been developed. Maybe someday! To prevent catching or spreading a cold, a child should avoid contact with other people for the first two to four days of the cold. Unfortunately, someone just coming down with a cold is contagious even before they know they have an infection.

Children with colds should wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, especially after blowing the nose. They should cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. Some people believe that people may be more susceptible to colds if they are stressed or tired; if they do not eat nutritious meals; and if they are exposed to cold, wet weather - but there is little evidence to support many of these common beliefs.

Duration:
Children usually recover from a cold in seven to 14 days. Sometimes complications such as sinusitis, ear infection, laryngitis or bronchitis will prolong the illness.

Contagiousness:
The contagious phase is the first two to four days after symptoms appear. The common cold can result from breathing in virus particles spread through the air by sneezing or coughing, or from person-to-person contact.

Home Treatment:
"Time cures all." That may not be always true, but in the case of the common cold, it's pretty close. Medicine cannot cure the common cold but can be used to relieve some of the symptoms such as muscle ache and headache. Or the following treatments can be used: salt water drops in the nostrils to relieve nasal congestion; a cool-mist humidifier to increase air moisture; and petroleum jelly on the skin under the nose to soothe rawness. An older child can suck on hard candy or cough drops to relieve sore throat.

Although advertisements for over-the-counter decongestants/ antihistamines imply that they are effective for colds, there is little or no evidence to support these claims. In fact, decongestants have been reported to cause hallucination, irritability, and irregular heartbeats in infants. During the duration of the cold, the child should avoid vigorous activity and should get plenty of rest. Plenty of extra fluids - juice, water, carbonated beverages - should be consumed.

Professional Treatment:
Not usually required.

When to Call Your Child's Doctor:
A child's doctor should be called if there is increased throat pain; coughing which produces green or gray sputum or lasts more than 10 days; fever lasting several days or over 101F; or if the child has shaking chills, chest pain or shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, poor intake of fluids, pain in the ear, unusual lethargy, enlarged, tender glands in the neck, or blue lips, skin or fingernails.

The Good News:
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