How do I relieve my symptoms of stuffy, blocked and runny nose? How do I stop this sneezing? How am I going to finish my work today? Questions hovering on your mind when suffering with annoying cold!

Sneezing, scratchy throat, runny nose—as you know are the first signs of cold, probably the most common illness known that can be caused by more than 200 viruses; highly common one being rhinovirus causing approximately 30% – 35% of all adult colds.

Common cold is medically referred to as a viral upper respiratory tract infection. It varies in its manifestation, depending upon the areas involved, the intensity of infection or inflammation.

Although common cold is usually mild with symptoms lasting for 1 to 2 weeks, it is a leading cause for doctor visits and school or work absenteeism. According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold.

Causes of Common Cold
Cold can be caused by a lot of viruses and because new cold viruses constantly develop, the body never builds up resistance against all of them. Due to these reasons, colds are a frequent and recurring problem, in fact the most frequently occurring illness in the world.

Children in preschool and elementary school can have 6 to 12 bouts of cold per year while adolescents and adults, typically have two to four cold bouts per year. It occurs most frequently during winter and monsoon season.

Factors that lead to cold infections could be over-crowded areas, variation in weather conditions, smoke, dust, odours or pre-existing allergies, chronic sinusitis, septic tonsillitis or any related infection of the nasopharynx.

Symptoms of Common Cold
Cold takes a toll on you…

A cold attack is often sudden. It presents with frequent sneezing, throat irritation, mild fever, chilly feeling, body pain and much more.

The nasal discharge may initially be watery and plentiful. When the cold turns ripe, the nasal discharge may become thick and purulent. As the cold progresses, your sense of smell and taste may get affected and eyes may water profusely.

Common cold can include any combination of the following symptoms:

Recurrent sneezing
Runny nose
Watery eye
Throat irritation
Fever
Body pain
Hoarse Voice
Cough

Diagnosis of Common Cold
Your homeopath will generally diagnose a common cold based on the description of your symptoms, history of your illness (onset, duration, progress, modalities), and the findings of your physical examination.

The history of symptoms is very important in diagnosing common cold as it will help to differentiate the other conditions with similar symptoms.

Laboratory tests and image studies are generally not necessary unless there are concerns about another underlying medical condition or potential complications, such as influenza, bacterial sore throat (caused by Streptococcus pyogenes), ear infections, sinus infections or bronchitis (chest infection).