The common cold its causes,clinical picture,treatment

l       Short, mild and usually self-limiting illness.

l       Children may have up to12 colds per year.

l       200 types of viruses, the most common is rhinovirus ( 40% ).

Clinical features of comm on cold:

l          Rhinorrhea, sore throat,cough,fever and malaise lasting up to 7 days and often lingering mucopurlant nasal discharge.
l          In infants cold may manifest as irritability, snuffles and difficulty with feeding.

l          Infants under 3 months of a age are susceptible to LRTI.

Treatment of common cold
   Echinacea, humidified air, nasal decongestants, vitamin C and zinc have reported some positive results but there insufficient data to recommend any of these for treatment.

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