common cold (redirected from The common cold)

common cold

a mild viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, characterized by sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, nasal congestion, etc.

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common cold [¦käm·ən ′kōld]

(medicine)

A viral disease of humans most frequently caused by the rhinovirus and accompanied by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, and eyes.

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Common cold

An acute infectious disorder characterized by nasal obstruction and discharge that may be accompanied by sneezing, sore throat, headache, malaise, cough, and fever. The disorder involves all human populations, age groups, and geographic regions; it is more common in winter than in summer in temperate climates. Most people in the United States experience at least one disabling cold (causing loss of time from work or school or a physician visit) per year. Frequencies are highest in children and are reduced with increasing age.

Most, or possibly all, infectious colds are caused by viruses. More than 200 different viruses can induce the illness, but rhinoviruses, in the picornavirus family, are predominant. Rhinoviruses are small ribonucleic acid-containing viruses with properties similar to polioviruses. Other viruses commonly causing colds include corona, parainfluenza, influenza, respiratory syncytial, entero, and adeno. See Adenoviridae, Rhinovirus

Cold viruses are spread from one person to another in either of two ways: by inhalation of infectious aerosols produced by the sneezing or coughing of ill individuals, or by inoculation with virus-containing secretions through direct contact with a person or a contaminated surface. Controlled experiments have not shown that chilling produces or increases susceptibility to colds. Infection in the nasopharynx induces symptoms, with the severity of the illness relating directly to the extent of the infection. Recovery after a few days of symptoms is likely, but some individuals may develop a complicating secondary bacterial infection of the sinuses, ear, or lung (pneumonia).

Colds are treated with medications designed to suppress major symptoms until natural defense mechanisms terminate the infection. Immunity to reinfection follows recovery and is most effective in relation to antibody in respiratory secretions. There is no established method for prevention of colds; however, personal hygiene is recommended to reduce contamination of environmental air and surfaces with virus that may be in respiratory secretions. See Pneumonia