Colds catch us by surprise, appearing, as luck would have it, at the most inopportune moments – when you need to go with your child to a children’s party, urgently prepare a report at work, attend a holiday party. The question of how to quickly cure a cold does not lose its relevance. We tell you whether it is possible to overcome the disease in one day, how to treat it and what to do to avoid getting sick.
Colds catch us by surprise, appearing, as luck would have it, at the most inopportune moments – when you need to go with your child to a children’s party, urgently prepare a report at work, attend a holiday party. The question of how to quickly cure a cold does not lose its relevance. We tell you whether it is possible to overcome the disease in one day, how to treat it and what to do to avoid getting sick.
How a cold occurs and progresses 1
Viruses are transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person through airborne droplets – during sneezing, coughing, handshakes, hugs and kisses.
Even when simply breathing, an infected person releases pathogens into the air. If the room is well ventilated and the people around the sick person have a strong immune system, there is a chance that the cold will pass them by. However, with too close and prolonged interaction, dry air in the room and weakened defenses, the risk of infection increases to almost 100%.
As a rule, cold symptoms appear within 2-3 days after infection. They progress gradually: at first it may be just a runny nose, itching in the nose and sneezing, then other symptoms join in, such as a sore throat, cough, fever, general intoxication.
ARVI lasts, on average, from three to seven days. With adequate therapy, it ends in recovery. Without treatment, it can develop into a bacterial infection and complications from the respiratory tract and nasopharynx.
How to recognize the first signs of a cold
A cold is commonly called a mild acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI). Its main symptoms are:
● runny nose: tickling in the nose, congestion, mucous discharge from the nostrils, sneezing;
● redness of the throat , irritation, sometimes slight pain when swallowing;
● superficial cough;
● hoarseness of voice, nasal voice.
Colds in adults are caused by pathogens of acute respiratory viral infections that affect the upper respiratory tract (rhinoviruses, non-dangerous coronaviruses, adenoviruses), so the general well-being in some cases is almost not affected. The temperature during a cold rises slightly, the symptoms of intoxication (weakness, feeling of exhaustion) are also not very pronounced or are absent altogether. The malaise is mainly caused by a stuffy nose and an annoying cough. They cause inadequate rest, sleep disturbances, headaches.
How to Cure a Cold Fast 2
How quickly cold symptoms go away depends largely on the state of the immune system. For some, acute symptoms disappear within 1-2 days, while for others, recovery occurs only after a week. Some lucky people manage not to get sick at all – the immune system immediately neutralizes the virus, preventing it from multiplying and affecting a large number of cells of the mucous membrane of the nose and throat.
Despite the fact that a cold usually proceeds easily, you should not treat the disease carelessly. Firstly, a runny nose and cough cause discomfort, interfere with work and rest. And intoxication, even minor, aggravates the malaise.
Secondly, if a cold is not treated, complications may develop – the infection will spread to the paranasal sinuses ( sinusitis ), middle ear (otitis media), lower respiratory tract (tracheitis and bronchitis).
Thirdly, a sick person is a source of infection. The more intensely we sneeze and cough, the greater the danger we pose to others. Among them may be people to whom even a mild cold can cause great harm: for example, pregnant women, infants and young children, the elderly.
Treatment will help the body cope with the infection faster. Perhaps early therapy will help suppress ARVI at the very beginning. It is necessary to treat a cold, even if the treatment only slightly shortens the period of illness. Medicines and special procedures will significantly reduce the risk of complications and infection of household members, relieve unpleasant symptoms, and minimize malaise.
How to improve your well-being 3 . To improve your well-being, combined anti-cold medications are recommended for use, consisting of components with multidirectional action. As a rule, they include:
● Paracetamol. Reduces fever, relieves pain. This is a drug from the group of simple analgesics, which can be taken even by pregnant women and small children.
● Phenylephrine. A systemic vasoconstrictor. It reduces swelling of the nasal mucosa and relieves nasal congestion.
● Ascorbic acid is a powerful antioxidant. It alleviates the symptoms of intoxication and promotes the production of the body’s own antiviral proteins – interferons.
Some combination cold medicines contain rutin and calcium gluconate. They strengthen the vascular wall and reduce inflammatory swelling in the nasal cavity.
Don’t forget about the non-drug methods of relieving a cold that you’ve known since childhood:
● Physical, mental, emotional peace. Allows the body to direct its forces to fight infection.
● Drink plenty of fluids. Removes toxins that are formed during the life of viruses. Weakly alkaline drinks, such as weak tea with milk and still mineral water, promote active work of the immune system. Tea with raspberries, tea with lemon and rosehip syrup, cranberry, sea buckthorn, black or red currant juice will give strength and relieve intoxication.
● Frequent ventilation, air humidification, wet cleaning in the room where the patient is. The procedure will reduce the concentration of the virus in the environment, make breathing easier, add strength, fully saturating the body’s tissues with oxygen. Ventilate carefully, avoid drafts and hypothermia.
How to get rid of a sore throat 4 . The following will help you get rid of a sore throat:
● Rinsing with antiseptics and anti-inflammatory agents at least 3-4 times a day.
● Sucking tablets and irrigating the throat with sprays based on natural and synthetic antiseptics – propolis, chlorhexidine, hexetidine. The composition of combination lozenges for sore throat often includes menthol and essential oils with an analgesic effect. Pay attention to this, especially if you have an allergy to plant products
● Physical methods – steam inhalation, warming compresses on the throat.
● Avoid irritating effects on the throat. Do not breathe through your mouth in the cold, humidify the air at home, give up smoking and alcohol, follow a gentle diet – food should be soft, bland, without seasonings and spices. Do not consume excessively cold or hot foods and drinks.
● Warm milk with honey, softening and coating the mucous membrane of the throat.
How to quickly cure a runny nose 5 . The following medications and non-drug methods will relieve the symptoms of a runny nose:
● Local vasoconstrictors in the form of nasal drops and sprays. They will relieve the feeling of congestion and reduce the intensity of discharge. Drops are most effective during illness, when the nose is stuffy throughout the day and at night. When using drops, you need to pay attention to the dosage – exceeding it will not have an effect, but it can lead to unpleasant consequences. Put drops before bedtime to sleep peacefully.
● Thermal procedures that reflexively regulate the contraction of blood vessels in the nasal cavity: dry warming of the nose, foot baths, mustard plasters on the calf area. These methods are also used only at the first symptoms to facilitate nasal breathing. Do not use them if the temperature rises or there is severe intoxication.
● Steam inhalations with essential oils, saline solution, mineral water. It is better not to breathe over boiling water, but to use cold steam, which is created by a nebulizer. Essential oils can lead to the development of bronchospasm in some people, even in those who do not suffer from allergies, so be careful with them
● Mucolytics are agents that thin mucus (for example, carbocysteine). They are used “at the end” of a runny nose, when the discharge becomes viscous and is difficult to remove.
How to quickly cure a cough 6 . If you are bothered by a hacking cough, you can reduce its intensity by:
● Cough suppressants that reduce the sensitivity of cough receptors. They are effective only at the beginning of a cold, when the cough is dry and there is practically no mucus in the respiratory tract. If there is sputum in the respiratory tract, cough suppressants can lead to stagnation of sputum and dangerous complications, so they can only be used as prescribed by a doctor!
● Thermal procedures (as for a runny nose). Distract the body, reduce the cough reflex. Used at the onset of the disease.
● Mucolytics that thin viscous sputum: bromhexine, ambroxol, acetylcysteine. They are used when the mucus in the respiratory tract is viscous and difficult to cough up.
● Expectorants. They enhance the discharge of mucus. These mainly include natural remedies: licorice root and marshmallow, coltsfoot herb.
● Stop smoking. Smoking irritates the respiratory tract and provokes the cough reflex.
Is there a cure specifically for the common cold? 7,8,9
All the remedies listed above are primarily symptomatic. This means that they alleviate the symptoms of the disease, but do not affect its cause, so they only bring short-term results. If you stop taking them, the symptoms will return.
How to quickly recover from a cold? To do this, you need to eliminate not the symptoms, but the cause of the disease. The most effective cold remedies are specific antiviral drugs. They act on the pathogen. There are many such drugs, but not all of them are effective from the point of view of evidence-based medicine.
The domestic drug against ARVI, enisamium iodide, has undergone all necessary studies. It is included by experts of the World Health Organization in the ATX classification in the section of drugs with direct antiviral action 10 .
Enisamium iodide, being the active ingredient of the drug Nobazit ® Forte, acts against most pathogens of acute respiratory viral infections – from mild colds to influenza 11 . Nobazit ® Forte prevents infection of cells and reproduction of the virus 11 . Preclinical and clinical studies conducted at leading institutes of the country have established the following properties and effects of enisamium iodide:
● anti-inflammatory action 12 ;
● significant relief of symptoms of intoxication in acute respiratory viral infections (fever, headache, muscle pain) 13 ;
● significant reduction in the intensity of cough, runny nose and sore throat 13 ;
● average reduction in the duration of illness from 24 to 36 hours 13 .
1 package of Nobazit® Forte is enough for a course of treatment from 5 to 7 days 11 .
Prevention of colds in adults
It is easier to prevent a cold than to cure it. Here are some tips for prevention:
● Avoid overcooling. Dress for the weather – warmly, but not too warmly so that you sweat. Do not go outside straight from the sauna or gym.
● Avoid visiting crowded places during acute respiratory viral infection epidemics, avoid shaking hands. If you are forced to visit crowded places (clinics, shopping centers, large companies), use a protective medical mask correctly, wash your hands more often, treat them with a disinfectant solution, rinse your nose with an isotonic saline solution. Try not to touch your face with your fingers.
● Take antiviral drugs as a preventative measure if you have been in contact with sick people.
● Stop smoking tobacco, hookah, and electronic cigarettes.
● Maintain your immunity. Try to avoid stressful situations, do not work to exhaustion and at night, move more, walk in the fresh air, eat well, take vitamins. You need to take care of your body regularly, all year round. A single dose of vitamins during the ARVI season will not bring results, and an unusually intense workout will not prevent, but increase the risk of infection.
If you are sick, do not forget about the safety of others and try to stay at home and work remotely. When you still need to leave the house, wear a medical mask in public transport and indoors. Change it every two hours or when it gets wet.
