What are the signs that your cold is getting better?
Going a whole year without catching a cold in today’s world is as likely as avoiding the Black Death in the 1300s — the odds are not in your favor.
There are more than 200 viruses floating around in the air, just waiting to infect a host. So there’s no surprise that the average adult can get up to four colds in one year, while a child can be infected with as many as eight, according to the American Lung Association.
How long does a cold last?
The good news is that colds don’t last forever. The average cold should only last between seven and 10 days. Symptoms will begin to show and progress during days 1-3, per GoodRX Health.
Although there are preventative measures to reduce the risk of contracting a cold, even the healthiest person can become infected. According to Healthline, the beginning symptoms of a cold start with the following:
Runny nose.
Sore throat.
Coughing.
Sneezing.
Congestion.
Fatigue.
Body aches.
The bad news is that there is a chance your cold lasts longer than the average amount of infection. “We do see people all the time who have symptoms that persist for 14 (days) even out to three, four weeks,” Penn Medicine physician Richard Wender told USA Today. “As long as they … don’t start getting worse again, they don’t develop a new fever, we just let people ride that out.”
“That’s just your body working inflammation out, and it’s not a reason for panic,” Wender added.
How to treat a cold
Because there are hundreds of different viruses, there are no cure-all antibiotics to get rid of a cold.
“The treatment for colds is symptomatic care, meaning it’s directed at your symptoms,” per Today, recommending the following treatments to try to relieve symptoms:
Rest as much as possible.
Drink plenty of liquids.
Gargle salt water to relieve a sore throat.
Use a humidifier.
Lay a warm cloth on your face to relieve sinus pressure.
Do a nasal rinse to clear out the sinuses.
Take a pain reliever to ease body aches.
Use cough drops to reduce coughs.
Related
How to know if your cold is improving
Hopefully, by day 6 or 7, the worst of your cold is over, and your symptoms begin to ease.
To know if you are on the downhill of your sickness, Today said the following symptoms are good signs that your health is improving:
Less body aches.
Nasal congestion eases.
Coughing becomes less constant.
Sore throat pain soothes.
“If you’ve been nursing a cold but haven’t gotten better after a week, if cold symptoms return often, or if you had started to feel better only to have symptoms then worsen again, you may be dealing with allergies or a sinus infection rather than a cold,” according to Everyday Health.
When to seek professional help
Most of the time, a person infected with a cold doesn't need medical attention, but that doesn’t mean people don’t seek it out. “In the United States, colds account for more visits to the doctor than any other condition,” according to the American Lung Association.
The Mayo Clinic recommended seeking out professional health care if the following symptoms occur:
No improvement of symptoms or symptoms worsen.
Fever reaches 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit for adults (100.4 for children) and lasts for more than three days.
Shortness of breath.
Wheezing.
Unbearable sinus pain or headache.
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