Set out below are self-help suggestions and useful information relating to conditions connected with the common cold. However, if you have any concerns that last for more than a few days, they should be reported to your doctor.

The Common Cold

Set out below is useful information on self-help and prevention of the common cold. However, if the condition remains unresolved for more than a few days it should be reported to your doctor.

Forty or more viruses, (some of them carried by healthy people) can produce the common cold. Highly infectious, it is spread by droplet infection through sneezing, coughing or just talking. Its incubation period is 2-3 days and duration anything up to 2 weeks.

Inflaming the upper respiratory tract its symptoms include sore throat, runny nose and eyes, congested sinuses and nasal passages, cough, loss of voice, raised temperature, headache and muscular discomfort.

No specific medication cures the common cold. Antibiotics will not help unless there are bacterial complications.

Continue with normal activities if you can but rest, keep warm, drink plenty of fluids and take an analgesic (aspirin, paracetamol) regularly while symptoms last. A wide variety of patent medicines is available over the counter to help with your symptoms – decongestants, inhalants, nose drops, throat sprays, cough mixtures and combination cold remedies. Contact your local pharmacist for help in deciding what may be best for you.