0
Cold and Flu
Questions and answers about the "Common Cold"; symptoms in the upper respiratory tract like sneezing, scratchy throat, and runny nose, but adults don't typically have fevers. Colds are usually caused by the rhinovirus (up to 40% of colds), or Coronaviruses (about 20%), but there are more than 200 viruses that can cause the common cold. Also questions about the seasonal flu, also called "regular flu", caused mostly by Type A and Type B Influenza viruses. Flu starts with similar symptoms as a cold only it hits faster and harder and usually includes fever in adults. Although the "stomach flu" is a common term, it is not a real diagnosis. The proper medical term for stomach flu is gastroenteritis (an intestinal disease, sometimes viral but also bacterial), it is often mistaken for influenza because the flu can sometimes include vomiting and diarrhea.
4,331 Questions
What is the incupation period of common cold?
The average incubation period of the common cold is estimated to be 3-5 days - the virus is spread via respiratory droplets (mucus, coughing, sneeezing).
Yes it can. Some flues can hit with a vegence and thus the person doesn't eat well or at all. They can also become hydrated and if there is diarrhea or vomiting involved it weakens the person and their immune system. The electrolites in the body fail and must be replenished with electrolite liquids bought at your local pharmacy. Once you are over your flu then your ovulation will start to straighten out. Don't worry about it.
When does your body temperature become too high?
When exercising, working hard in heat, getting too much sun (can cause heat exhaustion and dehydration) or when you are running a fever from a virus or cold. Anything over 102 degrees F is a time to see your doctor.
Would it affect you if you smoked weed then you get a flu shot?
There are no vaccine manufacturers' warnings against this and the flu vaccine has no other drug interactions listed, either. In the US if you use medical marijuana, tell them when you go for a flu vaccination and they will tell you if there is any reason you should not get the vaccination or ask the doctor who prescribed the marijuana.
Why is it possible to only be vaccinated once for measles but the flu vaccine is required yearly?
Oh, well for all intents are purposes, there is only one strain of the measles. One vaccinted you are vaccinated forever. (Depending on the vaccine, tetatnus is every 10 years.) But, there are thousands of strains of the flu. Once vaccinated you do stay vaccinated, but each year there are many, many brand-new flus. If you catch the flu you are immune to that strain forever too, which is why the old ones don't keep coming back. The flu vaccine is made to protect against the 3 or 4 that doctors predict will be the worse each season. It doesn't protect against them all and it can't protect against the new mutations that we will see next year. Hope this clears things up for you!
Biological cause: If you have some foreign objects in your respiratory system mainly bronchial tract, you cough in order to expel them.
Psychological cause: If you have suppressed your emotions and for some reasons can't express them, then you often resort to coughing without being aware why you are coughing.
Does the flu shot have swine ingredients?
No, except the virus itself does contain portions of DNA from swine, human and avian influenza genomes. The only protein used in the manufacture of the vaccine was from chicken eggs in which the virus was grown for production. There are tiny/trace amounts of that. For a full list of ingredients of the various vaccines see the related question below.
Should a eleven year old get a flu shot?
Most definitely yes. Children and young adults are the groups most effected by the Swine Flu and most deaths are occurring in the age group. Get you child vaccinated, esp. if they are in contact with other children through school or daycares or even interacting with siblings.
How long does it take to get a cold from somebody?
If someone has the flu and is contagious the disease can be transmitted to someone else within a few minutes if conditions are right. However, that second person will not show symptoms for a day or two, sometimes as long as four days after exposure.
How many people died from the flu?
about so many ppl i cant count
In a typical year, the flu deaths in the United States are about 23,000. It can range from 3300 to 48,000 deaths depending upon the kind of flu and if it is an epidemic or not. To put it in perspective, last year 8 people in the US died of "West Nile Virus". So flu should be renamed "The East African Lung Disease"!
The Bird Flu is spread from animals to humans but not from humans to humans (except in very rare cases). To transfer the sickness, an animal only has to come into contact with another animal who has it. The animal with the Avian Flu can give it to another bird or human through its feces, saliva, or nasal secretions. People can get it by coming in direct contact with infected poultry, usually not with contact with wildbirds, however it is feasible. That means that you should be careful when handling any birdbath, feeder, or other place where bird saliva or feces is likely to be. It is rare in humans, but to be better safe than sorry use gloves, or be sure to wash your hands well after touching anything on which the birds may have left secretions or excrement.
How long do flu symptoms last?
According to information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
"The typical incubation period for influenza is 1-4 days (average: 2 days). Adults shed influenza virus from the day before symptoms begin through 5-10 days after illness onset. However, the amount of virus shed, and presumably infectivity, decreases rapidly by 3-5 days after onset in an experimental human infection model. Young children also might shed virus several days before illness onset, and children can be infectious for 10 or more days after onset of symptoms. Severely immunocompromised persons can shed virus for weeks or months.
"Uncomplicated influenza illness typically resolves after 3-7 days for the majority of persons, although cough and malaise can persist for >2 weeks. However, influenza virus infections can cause primary influenza viral pneumonia; exacerbate underlying medical conditions (e.g., pulmonary or cardiac disease); lead to secondary bacterial pneumonia, sinusitis, or otitis media; or contribute to co-infections with other viral or bacterial pathogens."
Is there a medicine that will help you get your voice back from your cold?
Not a whole lot...other than complete voice rest,drink plenty of water,get a cool mist humidifier if your house is dry...Also don't try and whisper that can strain your vocal cords more than talking
i actually have a lost voice right now and the bad thing is that i have a callback audition tomorrow for theatre so i need to cure it, i am right now getting lots of sleep, and also trying to get my 6 yr old sister to understand my made up sign language :) i am also drinking LOTS of water and blowing my nose. i do have a trick that i use, to fill up my sink with the hottest water i can get and put a washcloth in there and wring it out, then put it up to your nose and mouth and breathe in :) it clears your sineses very well. i hope i could have been of assistance :)
you could also just gargle salt water. It's nasty, but it works. In all seriousness, I had the swone flu (srry, H1N1) and it left me with no voice. it really sucks.
How do you prevent catching a cold?
By direct contact with a sick person who has a cold, or by touching things they have touched or drank from, etc., and by their respiratory droplets containing the virus particles that come out with coughs and sneezes. If you breathe this, the virus can enter your body. If you touch where the droplets land after they fall from the air, or if you breathe the droplet-containing air, you can become infected with the virus that causes colds. Once you have the virus on your hands, it is just a matter of a short time before most people have touched their own mucous tissue. It is then that the virus is able to attach to the cells in the mucous tissue and begin the process of reproduction called the Lytic Cycle. See the related question below for more detailed information about the Lytic Cycle of virus reproduction.
Why don't flu shots not prevent the common cold?
A flu shot (or intranasal flu vaccine) are made from INFLUENZA viruses. The shot is the outer shell of the virus (which provides the markers we categorize as 'H' and 'N' types). The intranasal flu vaccine is an ATTENUATED or weakened virus which gives a minor infection giving immunity without illness.
The common cold is generally caused by ADENOVIRUSES or RHINOVIRUSES. These are both different from the influenza virus. In short, they are different pathogens and cause different illnesses.
The symptoms of the "Spanish flu" were very similar to the symptoms of all strains of influenza viruses. It would start out with upper respiratory symptoms like runny and stuffy nose, cough, and sneezing. Then muscle and joint aches and fever would usually begin, with fevers often very high, in the area of 104 degrees F., and with marked fatigue. Sometimes, that was the extent of the symptoms, ending in around a week's time. But for many, the respiratory symptoms would progress to pneumonia and the body would increase the defenses, often to the point of a "cytokine storm", which was usually fatal.
A cytokine storm is thought to have been the cause of many, if not most, of the 1918 Pandemic deaths from Spanish Flu. It is an over-reaction of the immune system. With a respiratory infection, that causes the body to send massive amounts of fluids, to flush the infection out, along with immune cells. These fluids and cells move to the lungs so quickly they can accumulate and close off the airways. Respiratory failure and death can result, and did, especially among young and healthy infected individuals who had strong immune systems that could make overly strong responses.
The "Spanish Flu" is what the pandemic influenza from 1918 has been called because the reports of the flu that many people first heard originated in Spain, so many people assumed that was also the origin of the flu. However, it probably started in other locations, but due to WWI, the news did not get out about it until cases were reported in the still operational newspapers of Spain.
If you get really hot indoors and then go outside in cold weather can you get sick?
A sudden transition in temperature, such as going from a very hot to a very cold environment or vice versa, will weaken your resistance as your body tries to re-balance itself quicker than usual.
High heat is usually also associated with high humidity, which means that unless you are accustomed to that, this also increases your risk for getting ill.
It is often believed that colds and flu and other infectious diseases can be caused by cold weather, changes in temperatures, being wet outside, or having wet hair, etc. None of this is correct information.
People also often say that being cold affects your immune system so you are more susceptible to infections. This is also not correct. When this is discussed, it doesn't just mean feeling chilly or even getting "goosebumps" or shivering. Hypothermia can have negative effects on your entire body including the immune system, but just being cold is not hypothermia. When medical studies use that term, it is used to refer to a specific measurement of core body temperature.
Hypothermia is not the same as being cold, it is a specific medical diagnosis.
The normal core body temperature is considered 98.6F (37.0 C). Our bodies easily maintain a normal and stable core body temperature unless we are sick or suffer exposure in extreme weather. Hyopthermia is significantly different. Hypothermia facts:
- It is defined as a core body temperature that is at or below 95 F (35 C).
- Needs to be treated if body temperature goes below 95 F (35 C).
- Becomes life threatening below body temperatures of 90 F (32.2 C).
- Affects motor coordination through impact to the nervous system at 95 F.
- When the body temperature drops that low, at the start of a hypothermic condition, symptoms can include intense uncontrollable shaking and shivering, then if your body continues to get colder, the shivering stops when the core temperature gets between 90 F and 86 F.
- It causes heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to rise during the first stages of hypothermia as your body tries to increase metabolism and warm itself, but these vital signs fall once the temperature gets 90°F (32.2°C).
- Creates coma at below 86 F.
- Heart rate becomes very irregular below 82 F and death can soon follow.
The term is not used just to mean that someone felt cold.
What does it mean to cough up green phlegm?
It usually will mean you have a respiratory system infection (like bronchitis). Check your temperature so you can tell your health care professional if you have had any fever. They should be contacted because it could be something that will need immediate treatment.
How long do cold germs live without contacting people?
Cold germs can live outside of the body for various times depending on the environmental conditions and other such factors. Research has shown cold germs to survive for a few minutes up to 48 hours without a host.
Yes and no,
If you have a good immune system, you might have symptoms only one day (as it is in my case, rarely goes beyond one day of fever and good to work next day).
But even without symptoms your body will still be "cleaning up" the virus, which definitely would take more than a day
Actually, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure about that. Because dogs don't have hair-free skin around their lips so they shouldn't be able to... If you want to make sure just ask a vet. It's what I would do. But, otherwise, no.
What does that mean when you urinate when you cough?
i had the same question a while ago. look up light bladder leakage. it happens to 1/3 women.
someone put it means you are HIV positive. NO i can't even believe Wiki Answers would even let them put that. it means you might just have weak 'pee' muscles. i don't know but i know that you don't have aids. hopfully. and i hope you don't either, down there!
It means your HIV positive.
What parts of the body can a common cold affect?
Your brain and conscienceness if you drink enough. Quite remarkable experiences are possible.
Tamiflu is an antiviral medicine that is made from the generic drug called oseltamivir, using the chemical oseltamivir phosphate. It works to inhibit the ability of the one of the surface proteins on the "shell" of the virus to cause the release of newly reproduced viruses from the body cells they have invaded.
Ingredient information from the manufacturer:
"The drug comes in capsule form, and a powder form that can be made into a liquid. Besides the active ingredient of Oseltamivir, each capsule contains pregelatinized starch, talc, povidone K 30, croscarmellose sodium, and sodium stearyl fumarate.
The 30 mg capsule shell contains gelatin, titanium dioxide, yellow iron oxide, and red iron oxide. The 45 mg capsule shell contains gelatin, titanium dioxide, and black iron oxide. The 75 mg capsule shell contains gelatin, titanium dioxide, yellow iron oxide, black iron oxide, and red iron oxide. Each capsule is printed with blue ink, which includes FD&C Blue No. 2 as the colorant.
In addition to the active ingredient, the powder for oral suspension contains sorbitol, monosodium citrate, xanthan gum, titanium dioxide, tutti-frutti flavoring, sodium benzoate, and saccharin sodium.
Oseltamivir phosphate is a white crystalline solid with the chemical name (3R,4R,5S)-4acetylamino-5-amino-3(1-ethylpropoxy)-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid, ethyl ester, phosphate (1:1). The chemical formula is C16H28N2O4 (free base). "
