ANN ARBOR, MI (University of Michigan Health System) -- Chances are you or someone you know is battling with a nasty cold right now. The cold bug is definitely biting its way into work places and schools all across the country, forcing millions of people to stay home.
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February 25, 2003
By Mary Pickett, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
How does this article relate to me?
As if the nose-blowing, throat-burning misery of the common cold was not bad enough, now an analysis shows that the economic costs of this illness are immense, when lost work and pharmacy costs are tallied.
A cure for the common cold has been elusive. Should the medical establishment and government respond with a major effort to fund research that might permit us to eliminate common viral respiratory infections?
Possibly, but we have to be careful what we wish for. The common cold is a part of our world and our biology. It may, in fact, provide us a service. Several studies within the last two or three years have suggested a curious link between infections and other problems: Children with fewer episodes of infection in their early years have an increased activity of allergy and asthma by age 7.
This relationship has been named the "hygiene hypothesis," and viral respiratory infections are key players. A 50 percent decrease in childhood wheezing and allergy has been demonstrated for kids with at least two colds during their first year of life. Activation of the immune system against these viruses appears to steer the immune system off the allergy "track" in some way.
What changes do I need to make?
Unnecessary doctors' consultations and misguided antibiotic prescriptions contribute to the high economic burden of common cold illnesses.
It is appropriate to visit your doctor when you are in the throes of a respiratory infection if you have symptoms that suggest a bacterial illness. It is also important to be evaluated if you have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, asthma, or heart failure that is worsening in reaction to the stress of infection.
The following symptoms should prompt you to visit a doctor, since they may signal a bacterial infection or a more serious viral illness:
- Sinus pain and stuffiness that lasts for longer than a week, especially if accompanied by tooth pain, headache or fever. These symptoms can suggest a bacterial sinus infection.
- Chest pain with breathing or shortness of breath, or persistent fever with a cough. These symptoms should trigger an evaluation for possible pneumonia.
- Sore throat accompanied by sore or swollen lymph nodes in the neck or fever, but without a runny nose. These symptoms suggest strep throat.
- If you are a smoker, persistent cough with sputum production. Because your lungs contain different bacteria types than the lungs of a non-smoker, antibiotics may be appropriate in your case as treatment for bronchitis. Adjustments in your inhalers or steroid medicine might also be recommended to you.
Ninety percent of respiratory symptoms (including runny or congested nose, watery eyes, sore throat, mild fever, and associated body aches) are caused by viruses and do not require (or benefit from) treatment with antibiotics. The cost estimates discussed in this study included infections caused by viruses in various families other than the well-studied influenza (flu) virus, such as rhinovirus, enterovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus families.
What can I expect in the future?
Although the common cold is not likely to be eliminated any day soon, more effective treatments are being developed. For now, the best way to spare yourself the worst of the season's respiratory ills is to wash your hands often.
Related Areas:
Common Cold
