The most common cold myths usually sound as follows: drafts, cold winds, improper clothes - these are the main reasons for the development of SARS. The time has come to dispel all these prejudices not supported by scientific facts!
We present the top 10 most popular misconceptions related to the common cold, because of which you can not only aggravate the course of the disease, but also get a “pack” of complications.
10. Colds can not be treated
On average, the main symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections in a sick person last about 3 days, but if you count on the fact that the body will defeat the disease on its own, you can increase the period of the disease to a month or even worse - provoke the occurrence of complications. If symptoms like shortness of breath or shortness of breath appear, then this is a real reason for urgent seeking medical help.
9. With a cold you only need to lie
Long bedtime can lead to the development of congestion in the respiratory system and limbs. Undoubtedly, during illness you need to adhere to a certain moderation in the matter of physical activity, but you do not need to completely turn into an immovable body until the last symptom disappears.
8. You can get rid of a cold in just a day
There is a category of people who sincerely believe that if you drink a shock dose of medicines, you can overcome a cold in just one day. And this is a rather dangerous misconception. Every body in which the ill-fated SARS virus has settled needs time to recover. If the patient is stuffed with sufficiently strong drugs with a number of side effects that only reduce the severity of symptoms, then you can create a serious burden on his cardiovascular system. The result of such treatment can be significantly shaken health. In addition, if you exceed the dose of such a harmless drug as paracetamol, you can provoke liver failure in yourself.
7. Colds sometimes turn into flu
Colds and flu occur as a result of human infection with different types of viruses, so the first ailment cannot progress to the second.
When a person only gets sick, he cannot always see the difference in the main manifestations of these two diseases. You can understand that you have a cold, not a flu, as follows. Firstly, the cold begins to manifest itself gradually. Its hallmark is a gradual increase in symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, and fever. Influenza, on the contrary, starts quickly and is manifested by severe symptoms. Secondly, sneezing is a hallmark of the common cold. If you become infected with the flu, this symptom will not occur.
6. Must be finished to the end
Residual cough and runny nose can occur for a maximum of a month, so do not wait until absolutely all the symptoms of a cold have gone. If you assess your well-being as satisfactory, then you can very well return to a normal lifestyle.
5. The common cold can be cured with antibiotics.
Antibiotics are designed to fight bacteria. Against viruses that have a slightly different structure, they are powerless. In addition, the use of such drugs with ARVI will not only not be beneficial, but will also be harmful: the manifestations of the common cold will not disappear, and the pathogenic pathogen will remain in your body.
Remember! You can not take antibacterial drugs "at random" without the recommendation of a doctor. The result of such experiments with health will be exactly the opposite: you will harm your immunity, thereby weakening your body, and giving a “green light” to the virus. In addition, with the frequent use of antibiotics, the risk increases that they really will not help at the right time, since bacteria will simply become immune to them.
4. The common cold is not a reason to go on sick leave
Many of us, especially residents of the countries of the former Soviet Union, have taken for us the habit of stoically experiencing the acute period of acute respiratory viral infections, as they say “on our feet,” without leaving our workplace. Some even sincerely believe that if you do not recognize the fact that you have a cold, then the disease will recede much faster. In reality, the recovery process in this case only drags on and becomes more complicated.
The most appropriate solution in this situation would be to take a sick leave at least for the first 1-2 days, and after that it is already possible to return to the performance of your official duties. In addition, appearing at work in an unhealthy way, a cold person is a threat to his colleagues, so sitting at home the most acute moment of a cold is not his privileged right, but a holy duty.
3. If you appear on the street with a wet head, you will definitely get sick
This is a very common misconception, absolutely untrue. Remember, there are only 3 mechanisms for acquiring a viral infection: airborne, airborne, and household. However, hypothermia can “knock out” your own immune system, thereby making the body more susceptible to pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, it is still not worth it to once again test your immunity for strength, risking your health.
2. Subcooling provokes a cold
The main opportunity to “catch” a cold is to “let in” a virus into your body. And he absolutely does not care if you are dressed warmly or not. Therefore, all of these adversities, which people have directed for centuries into the wind and drafts, have no scientific justification.
If you decided that you should definitely get SARS after you had to freeze, then you should know that these are unreasonable conjectures that have nothing to do with reality. The only thing that can be affected by the cold wind is the degree of moisture in your mucous membranes. If they are too dry, then the pathogen will be much easier to penetrate the human body.
1. You can get ARVI only once a season
This statement is both true and false at the same time. On the one hand, the human body is able to develop immune defense against the type of virus that a person has already been ill with, so in this case the probability that he will again become infected with the same virus is reduced to zero.
However, it should be borne in mind that science knows about two hundred types of viruses that cause SARS, so once you have had a cold once caused by a certain type of pathogenic microflora, do not think that you are now protected from other forms of pathogenic agents.