Are colds contagious? Why is it contagious?

In fact, cold is what we call the common cold in daily life. Cold is just a name in traditional Chinese medicine. So, is the cold contagious? What are the types of colds?

Introduction to Cold

Cold is a self-healing disease, which is generally divided into common cold and influenza. The common cold, called "cold" in traditional Chinese medicine, is a common respiratory disease caused by a variety of viruses, of which 30%-50% are caused by a certain serotype of rhinovirus. Although the common cold is more common in early winter, it can occur in any season, such as spring and summer, and the pathogenic viruses of colds in different seasons are not exactly the same. Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza virus. The virus exists in the patient's respiratory tract and is transmitted to others through droplets when the patient coughs or sneezes.

Highly contagious

Influenza is highly contagious. Because the virus mutates easily, even people who have had the flu will still be infected the next time a flu epidemic occurs, so influenza can easily cause an epidemic outbreak. Generally, there are more chances of influenza spreading in winter and spring, and 20% to 40% of people may be infected with influenza each time.

Colds are also a type of acute infectious rhinitis caused by respiratory viruses, among which coronaviruses and rhinoviruses are the main pathogenic viruses. The virus is discharged and spread through respiratory secretions. When the body's resistance is reduced, such as due to cold, malnutrition, excessive fatigue, excessive smoking and drinking, systemic diseases, and chronic diseases of the nose itself that affect the patency of the respiratory tract, infection can be easily induced. Bacterial infection secondary to a cold attack. When a cold first occurs, there is a dry and itchy feeling in the nose, sneezing, general discomfort or low fever, followed by gradual nasal congestion, loss of smell, a large amount of clear nasal discharge, congestion and edema of the nasal mucosa, and a large amount of clear watery or purulent secretions. If there are no complications, the course of the disease is about 7-10 days.

Because the virus lives in human cells, there is no medicine in the world that can directly kill the cold virus. The effective method is to rely on the human immune system. Therefore, supportive therapy should be the main treatment for colds, with special attention paid to rest, drinking plenty of water, and eating a light diet. This can give the immune system adequate physical support.

Colds may cause bacterial infections, but you must never use medication to treat them casually. Most infections heal automatically after the human immune system kills the virus. Blind drug treatment will enhance bacterial resistance and is not conducive to the normal functioning of the human immune system.