Coughing helps to keep the mucus out of the lungs so you can console yourself as you cough throughout the night that it is having a beneficial effect. After three or four days the symptoms start to improve. This improvement is virtually inevitable - whether you have dosed yourself with penicillin, hot whiskey or just nothing. So just because your neighbor swears that swallowing six antibiotic capsules cured her cold in three days, don't rush to stock up on antibiotics - her cold would have got better in three days even if she had flushed the six capsules down the toilet and drank six cups of hot water instead. If by some chance the symptoms of your cold do not improve in three or four days, it is wise to seek medical advice. A "Cold" that lasts a week or more is more likely to be Allergic Rhinitis (due to dust or other irritants) or a secondary infection.

Sometimes harmful aggressive bacteria may attack the lining of your nose or throat after it has been damaged by the cold virus. This is what is known as Secondary Infection, and produces its own symptoms on top of the cold. The nasal discharge can thicken and become colored. If the cough becomes deep-seated, with yellow or green (purulent) sputum, or there are breathing difficulties, then a doctor should be consulted in case a chest infection is developing. Bacteria are responsible for this type of damage, and antibiotics may now become necessary to support the body's own antibodies.

An antibody is a small entity that roams around the body in the bloodstream like a soldier on patrol. On finding an intruder (like a cold virus), it will attack and try to kill this foreign germ. If there are enough antibodies to kill all the intruders, the individual may never even know that his or her body had been invaded by foreign germs. On the other hand, if the invading germs outnumber the body's antibodies, the person starts to feel unwell as his body's defense services are fighting a losing battle. As time passes, however, the body produces more and more antibodies. Reinforced by these new recruits to its fighting force, the body will be able to destroy all the enemy invaders - and the individual starts feeling better again.



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