What is a cold?
On average, residents in Central Europe are affected by a common cold two to four times each year; the frequency in children being even higher. A common cold or acute flu-like infection is a mild viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, which causes an inflammation of the mucous membranes. There are more than 200 different viruses that cause colds.
Onset and course of the disease are usually harmless. Typical symptoms are a runny or congested nose, sneezing, soar throat and dry cough, which can be associated with fever, muscle pain and general malaise.
Colds are spread by droplet infection (airborne droplets – speaking, sneezing, coughing) or by direct contact like shaking hands etc.
The incubation period (period between infection and appearance of symptoms) is about two to five days.
Usually, a common cold subsides within one to two weeks; in some cases a bacterial (super-) infection may cause tonsillitis, sinusitis, otitis media, bacterial bronchitis or pneumonia.
Children usually have milder diseases, although up to 25% may develop otitis media.
Common colds usually occur in seasonal outbreaks, particularly in winter, that is: December to March in the northern hemisphere and June to August in the southern hemisphere.
