You notice that your throat feels irritated and scratchy. The next thing you know, you can’t swallow food without feeling a burning sensation in your throat, and it hurts! A few hours later, you find yourself rushing to the bathroom to grab some tissues for your runny nose. All of this sounds like symptoms of a cold. Find out what a cold is, its causes, treating the symptoms with AXIM DayTime and AXIM NightTime, and how to prevent spreading it to your loved ones.
What is a cold?
Sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and coughing. These are the characteristic symptoms of the common cold. Millions of people in the United States catch a common cold each year. Adults have an average of two to three colds per year, while children have even more.
Although the common cold tends to appear in winter and spring, it’s possible to catch a cold at any time of the year.
What causes a cold?
While many different viruses can cause a cold, rhinoviruses are the main cause of the common cold.
A cold virus enters your body through your mouth, eyes, or nose, usually when someone who is sick coughs, sneezes, or talks (the virus can spread through droplets in the air).
You can also catch a cold by touching contaminated objects and surfaces and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Cold symptoms and how long they last
Common cold symptoms usually start two to three days after infection and can last from two to 10 days.
Typically, a sore throat is the first symptom that appears, followed by nasal discharge.
If you have the following symptoms, you may have a common cold:
- Sneezing
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Postnasal drip (mucus dripping down the throat)
- Watery eyes
- Fever
What is the difference between a cold and the flu?
It can be difficult to distinguish between the common cold and the flu. These two illnesses have similar symptoms, and both are viral respiratory infections. However, they are caused by very different viruses.
A cold caused specifically by a cold virus cannot “transform” into the flu. Additionally, flu symptoms tend to be worse than cold symptoms and appear suddenly (cold symptoms tend to develop gradually). With the flu, you can expect to have a fever, chills, and muscle and joint pain. Colds, on the other hand, are generally associated with a sore throat and nasal discharge.
Colds are much more common than the flu.
Treating symptoms of the common cold
Your doctor may have told you that there is no cure for the common cold. And your doctor is right. To date, there are no antiviral medications that can fight the viruses that cause the common cold. Additionally, you cannot use antibiotics as a treatment for the common cold since they are only used to treat bacterial infections, and as we know, the common cold is caused by a virus.
Although you can’t cure your cold, that doesn’t mean you have to suffer with every single symptom until your body fights off the virus. You can try home remedies to treat your symptoms. You can also go to your local pharmacy or supermarket and look for over-the-counter medications that relieve cold symptoms.
Take AXIM DayTime & AXIM NightTime for relief of multiple symptoms.
Home remedies for cold symptoms
- Drink plenty of fluids: Keeping your body hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids (especially water) is an excellent way to relieve nasal congestion caused by a cold. Drinking fluids can thin mucus and facilitate drainage from nasal congestion and the sinuses.
- Rest: Sleep is essential for your body to rest and heal. Research shows that when you sleep, your body produces proteins called cytokines, which are important for fighting infections and inflammation. Try to adjust your sleep schedule to get more rest and help your body fight the cold virus. When going to bed, try propping up your head with pillows to help gravity work better for you. Sleeping at an inclined angle allows fluid from the sinuses to keep flowing to prevent congestion and other cold symptoms.
Over-the-counter treatment for cold symptoms
Over-the-counter medications can help relieve cold symptoms. Although AXIM products cannot cure the common cold, they can help you feel better. Many over-the-counter cold remedies treat multiple symptoms. Make sure to identify any other symptoms you may be experiencing with your cold so you can get the relief you need.
AXIM DayTime and AXIM NightTime are good choices if you have a cold, as they contain a pain reliever/fever reducer, a nasal decongestant, and a cough suppressant.
