The obvious preventive measure is to avoid the company, especially in a confined space, of those already suffering from colds. This is easy for doctors to say, but difficult to practice in our daily lives.

As to how one catches a cold after getting wet is difficult to explain. However, most of us know from our own experience that after a drenching, or the wearing of damp clothes, or after walking about under the fan with wet hair and bare-bodied after a cold bath on a wet day, how easy it is to catch a cold. It follows that such practices should be avoided whenever possible.

If despite all your efforts you still catch a cold, what then?

The frank answer is that there is no cure for the common cold. Antibiotics can kill bacteria - but are ineffective against viruses. In some cases, taking antibiotics can actually make things worse because they kill harmless bacteria which are helping to limit the spread of harmful viruses.

The treatment of a cold is simply aimed at making the symptoms better. Even when one is in good health, the nose and nasal sinuses are producing about a liter of a colorless liquid called mucus every 4 hours. Most of this mucus trickles harmlessly down the back of the throat into the stomach. The amount of mucus that is produced increases greatly during a cold; as a result, the nose gets blocked, the throat feels uncomfortable and a ticklish cough is inevitable.

It is tempting to use a nasal decongestant (in the form of drops or spray) to get some relief. Undoubtedly, these work - but the problem is that they can produce a rebound effect which can actually increase congestion. The best thing to do is to rest as much as possible and stick to plenty of hot drinks (tea, coriander water, milk etc.), hot salt water gargles to soothe the throat, analgesics like aspirin or paracetamol to ease headaches and joint pains, with perhaps a little of your favorite cough mixture - and wait patiently for the agony to end.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunjeewa_Wijesinghe