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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 if you get the flu right after getting a tattoo?
The symptoms from getting a tattoo after a flu shot should be no different than they would have been anyway. You'll have the same risks of infection from a tattoo as you would have without having had a flu shot beforehand.
Obviously, you shouldn't put a tattoo in the area where the shot was given until all signs of a reaction to the shot and sore arm have had an opportunity to come and go. So wait at least a couple of weeks or after there is no swelling, redness, or pain/soreness (whichever is later) to get one put right there. Having it put someplace else will have no different symptoms than usual just because you have had a flu shot.
If you would get the tattoo before getting the flu shot, and if your tattoo were infected, your health care professional may suggest waiting until your body isn't fighting off something else before you use any vaccines.
Did Justin Bieber have a high fever and the flu?
Justin Bieber has, within the past year, had at least one cold that went into bronchitis and then a chest infection in May. However, despite this illness, he refused to cancel or shorten his Taiwan performance. I, on the other hand, have not had bronchitis since I was 9 years old and have had 0 colds since turning 27 (I'm 28 now). So yes, Justin Bieber has had a cold recently and is therefore less healthy than I am in my opinion.
What are some slogans about health?
About General Health:
Health Is Life, Health Is Wealth,...
Health is wealth!
About alcohol use and drunk driving:
Alcoholism is an equal opportunity destroyer.
Day is duty. Drink is disease.
Driving hammered will get you nailed!
Drink and drive in (*Your State*) and our officers will show you some new bars.
Friends don't let friends drive drunk.
Over the Limit. Under arrest.
You can hand over your keys or your life. Make the right choice.
You booze, you cruise, you lose.
You could learn a lot from a dummy. *visual of crash test dummy*
About tobacco use:
Who says being a quitter is a bad thing?
Tobacco companies kill their best customers.
Kissing a smoker is like licking a dirty ashtray clean.
Only a whako starts tobacco.
Don't be a Butthead!
Cigarettes: You take my breath away.
Smoking? You must be joking.
Too much smoke will leave you broke.
About preventing the spread of flu, swine flu and infectious disease:
Catch it! Kill it! Bin it!
Cover your cough!
Know what to do about the flu.
Wash your hands and drown the germs!
Holding hands feels better when they're clean.
Wash your fingers so no germ lingers!
Flu ends with U.
Who needs a flu vaccine?
A. You
B. You
C. You
D. All of the above!
Don't sneeze on me, let me be flu free!
Cover your sneeze, it's a breeze!
If you get the flu, you know what to do...
Don't make me squirm, don't share your germ!
Wash the hand that feeds you.
About illegal drugs:
Just say NO!
This is your brain on drugs: *picture of frying egg*
Keep off the Grass!
Say nope to dope.
Say not to pot!
About nutrition:
Healthy and nutritious can be delicious
Eat right and the pants won't be tight.
Eat your veggies-have less wedgies!
Milk, it does a body good!
Make it your mission for good nutrition.
Got milk?
An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
Eat right, be bright.
Vegetables: They're what's for dinner.
Give junk food the boot and switch to fruit.
Eat to live not live to eat.
Promote Nutrition not Pharmaceutical Addiction
Give Peas a Chance!
Be sure to eat Vegetables and Fruit to look good in your birthday suit.
Pray for whirled peas!
Minimize red meat to keep a healthy heart beat.
About always using seat belts:
Don't be dumb, buckle your bum.
Click it or kick it!
You will need help if you don't wear your seat belt.
No belt, no brains.
About exercise and fitness:
A mind is a terrible thing to waste and, a waist is a terrible thing to mind!
Balance diet and keep healthy
Creating a new you.
Drop the fries and move those thighs!
Get pumped up about Heart Health.
Move it or lose it!
Seven days with out exercise makes one weak.
Stay Strong, Live long.
Weight Loss can be more than a notion if you get into motion.
Commit to be fit.
No pain no gain.
Early to bed, early to rise keeps you healthy wealthy and wise!
You talk the talk but can you walk the walk?
GET UP AND GO!
Jump like a frog so you won't feel like a hog!
About pollution/global warming:
Give a hoot, don't pollute.
Don't be a litterbug!
Modern technology owes ecology an apology.
Save water, shower with a friend!
Cool kids help a warm planet.
Do your share for cleaner air!
Pollution ain't cool, so don't be a fool!
About STD/AIDS prevention:
Don't be silly, protect your willy.
No glove, No love!
Don't be a loner, cover your boner.
The right selection is to protect your erection!
If you can't shield your rocket, leave it in your pocket.
STDs don't discriminate.
Condoms: I take them everywhere I take my penis.
In the Northern Hemisphere, it is October through March(some say through April) for the "seasonal flu".
In the Southern Hemisphere, it happens in the opposite time of year from the Northern Hemisphere. It is in the Southern Hemisphere's winter (during the US summer) from April through September.
There can be differences between climates within each of the hemispheres, too. For example, in the US in Texas, flu season is from November to to April, while in Iowa, flu season is from December to April.
Seasonal flu vaccinations should be obtained any time beginning in September through March to be effective for that season in the Northern Hemisphere.
See the related question in the related questions section about why the flu has a season. Interestingly, you will see that in some locations in the world the flu season is during the warmer times and not in fall and winter. It is more the effect of absolute humidity and not the temperature itself that makes that difference. In areas with the flu season in warmer months, the absolute humidity is lower then, making the dry conditions that influenza viruses prefer despite warm temperatures. In the US, the absolute humidity levels are lowest during the peak of the flu season in January and February, the colder season.
Why there is fever if the patient has Dengue?
Fever is one of the hallmark symptoms of dengue fever, a viral infection caused by the dengue virus, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. There are several reasons why fever occurs in dengue patients:
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Viral Replication: Dengue virus replicates inside the human body after being transmitted through a mosquito bite. As the virus multiplies, it triggers an immune response. Fever is a common immune response to viral infections. When the body detects the presence of the virus, it raises its internal temperature as a defense mechanism to help fight off the infection.
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Cytokine Release: Dengue fever can lead to a phenomenon known as a cytokine storm. This is an excessive immune response characterized by the release of a large number of cytokines (small proteins) that play a key role in inflammation. The excessive release of cytokines can lead to a fever and other symptoms like joint pain and muscle aches.
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Vascular Permeability: In severe cases of dengue, the virus can affect the permeability of blood vessels, causing leakage of plasma from the blood vessels into surrounding tissues. This can lead to a drop in blood pressure and shock, a condition known as dengue shock syndrome. Fever is one of the early signs of this syndrome.
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Immune Response: As the immune system continues to respond to the virus, it produces antibodies to fight the infection. This immune response can also contribute to the fever and other symptoms.
It's important to note that not all cases of dengue fever are severe, and not everyone with dengue will experience the same symptoms. Some individuals may have mild cases with relatively low-grade fevers, while others may develop more severe forms of the disease with high fevers and potentially life-threatening complications. If someone suspects they have dengue fever, it's important to seek medical attention for proper diagnosis and management, especially in areas where dengue is endemic. Dengue can be a serious illness, and early detection and medical care can significantly improve outcomes.
How did the influenza epidemic of 1918 end?
it ran out of people it was susceptible to. peoples ammune system got stronger
What were the final results of the Korean Conflict?
North and South Korea remained separated. North Korea=Communist and South Korea=Democratic
From F.S. (aka Gas Station Owner
Mortality rate or prognosis of common cold?
The common cold is usually a mild, self-limiting illness with a low mortality rate, especially in healthy individuals. However, complications can occur in certain groups such as young children, older adults, or individuals with weakened immune systems. Most people recover from the common cold within 7-10 days.
How did World War 1 contribute to the influenza pandemic of 1918?
The disgusting conditions in the trenches and the close quarters the men lived in made the spread of the disease easy. The sick soldiers went to the medical tents. The doctors and nurses who didn't get sick returned home, bringing the virus with them.
How many people have died to date from influenza?
Which subtype or strain of the flu can be a factor. The exact kind of flu virus infection, such as H1N1/09, is not being tracked, nor tested and counted any longer now that the pandemic is over. Therefore, this information is no longer available.
Due to a good preventive vaccination program, many people are resistant now to H1N1/09 and the numbers would be expected to be significantly lower than the counts during the pandemic. In the US approximately 36,000 people die of one of the seasonal variants of flu viruses each year. The related question linked to this Q&A about deaths from swine flu during the pandemic may give a frame of reference.
What does a virus do to its host cell?
A virus hijacks the host cell's machinery to replicate itself, causing the cell to produce more viruses. This can eventually lead to cell death and the spread of the virus to other cells.
Influenza is an RNA virus because its genetic material is made up of RNA. RNA viruses like influenza are able to mutate more rapidly than DNA viruses, which contributes to the virus's ability to evolve quickly and evade host immunity.
The process of molding is shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix.[1] This itself may have been made using a pattern or model of the final object.
How long are you contagious with a cold?
Adults are contagious one or two days before symptoms of the common cold start and approximately a week after. Children can be contagious even longer, as much as two weeks after symptoms have started. You are most contagious earlier in your illness rather than later. Some people can be infected with a common cold virus and have no symptoms, but still spread the virus to others. See the related links section below for a link to more information.
What cell does the rhinovirus attack?
The rhinovirus primarily infects and attacks cells of the respiratory tract, particularly cells in the nose and throat. It targets the epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract, leading to symptoms like congestion, runny nose, and sore throat.
What is influenza bacterium or virus?
It is a type of bacteria that can cause pneumonia. Although the name sounds like influenza, it is unrelated to the flu, which is caused by viruses and not bacteria.
What is the difference between H1N1 H1N2 H3N2 and H3N1 viruses?
H1N1 is the "swine flu" subtype of influenza, of which there are several different strains. This subtype is usually seen in humans and pigs. The better known reassortant H1N1 virus strain currently circulating is H1N1/09, the pandemic swine flu virus that caused the pandemic of 2009 and infected humans, pigs, birds, ferrets, dogs, and cats during the pandemic. There are several other less well known strains of the H1N1 subtype.
H1N2 is a common flu in pigs in the Upper Midwest of the US. Until 2011, only one case had been known to occur in humans and that was in 2007 in Michigan. The second ever known case was found in an infant in December 2011 in Minnesota.
H3N1 mostly only infects pigs.
H3N2 is the subtype that produced a strain of flu that caused the Hong Kong Flu and another was the cause of the Fujian Flu, etc. In birds, humans, and pigs, there have been many new strains mutated and this subtype is becoming more prevalent in seasonal influenza.
For background, the meanings of "H" and "N" in the nomenclature:
Hemagglutinin: An important surface protein on the capsid (coat) of the influenza virus that is essential for the reproduction and the spread of the virus in the body in the lytic cycle of virus replication. This protein enables the virus to attach itself to a cell in the respiratory system or other mucous tissue and penetrate it to invade and use the host cell for reproduction. Referred to as the "H" in influenza viruses.
Neuraminidase: An important surface structure protein of the influenza virus that is an essential enzyme for the spread of the virus throughout the respiratory tract. It enables the virus to escape the host cell and infect new cells. Referred to as the "N" in influenza viruses.
See more about the lytic cycle and influenza virus nomenclature in the related questions below.
Types of Influenza VirusesThere are three types of influenza viruses: Types A, B and C. Influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal outbreaks and epidemics of influenza virus infections each flu season. Type A causes all pandemics. Influenza type C infections cause a mild respiratory illness and are not thought to cause epidemics.Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on the configuration of the two proteins on the surface of the viruses: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). [Not all H1N1 viruses are the same; not all H5N1 viruses are the same.....etc] There are 16 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes. Influenza A viruses can be further broken down into different strains.
Influenza B viruses are not divided into subtypes. Influenza B viruses also can be further broken down into different strains.
Influenza A (H1N1), A (H3N2), and influenza B strains are included in each year's influenza vaccine. Getting a flu vaccination can protect against influenza A and B viruses. The flu vaccine does not protect against influenza C viruses.
More information including how influenza viruses change: Drift and ShiftInfluenza viruses are dynamic and are continuously mutating, reassorting, and evolving. Influenza viruses can change in two different ways: antigenic drift and antigenic shift. Influenza viruses are changing by antigenic drift all the time, but antigenic shift happens only occasionally. Influenza type A viruses undergo both kinds of changes; influenza type B viruses change only by the more gradual process of antigenic drift.Antigenic drift refers to small, gradual changes that occur through point mutations in the two genes that contain the genetic material to produce the main surface proteins, hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase. These point mutations occur unpredictably and result in minor changes to these surface proteins. Antigenic drift produces new virus strains that may not be recognized by antibodies produced after exposure to earlier influenza strains.
This process works as follows: a person infected with a particular influenza virus strain develops antibodies against that strain. As newer virus strains appear, the antibodies against the older strains might not recognize the "newer" virus to inactivate it, and infection with a new strain can occur. This is one of the main reasons why people can become infected with influenza viruses more than one time and why global surveillance is critical in order to monitor the evolution of human influenza virus stains for selection of which strains should be included in the annual production of influenza vaccine.
In most years, one or two of the three virus strains in the seasonal influenza vaccine are updated to keep up with the changes in the circulating influenza viruses. For this reason, people who want to be immunized against influenza need to be vaccinated every year.
Antigenic shift refers to an abrupt, major change to produce a novel influenza A virus subtype in humans that had not been currently circulating among people (see more information below under Influenza Type A and Its Subtypes).
Antigenic shift can occur either through direct animal (poultry)-to-human transmission or through mixing of human influenza A and animal influenza A virus genes to create a new human influenza A subtype virus through a process called genetic reassortment or reassortant. Antigenic shift results in a new human influenza A subtype.
A global influenza pandemic (worldwide spread) may occur if three conditions are met:
- A new subtype of influenza A virus is introduced into the human population.
- The virus causes serious illness in humans.
- The virus can spread easily from person to person in a sustained manner.
What does a cold virus look like?
The virus particle, when looked at with an electron microscope, looks like a sphere with stems sticking out of it all over that have blunt tips. See related links section for a link to an image.
You can pass a cold through respiratory droplets when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes, spreading the virus to others who breathe in the droplets. The virus can also spread by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching your face.
What kind of pathogen causes the flu?
Viruses cause flu. The swine flu virus is the Influenza Type A, Novel H1N1 virus (aka A-H1N1/09 virus). It is a sub-microscopic organism. Human Influenza refers to one of the three major types of flu viruses ( Influenza types A,B, and C) that are endemic to the human population. These are in the taxonomic family orthomyxoviridae.
The specific serotype/subtype of influenza virus that caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic is A-H1N1/09. The following very specific virus has been most prevalent and was the one that has been used in the manufacture of the vaccines:
A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus
Viruses also cause the common cold, viral "stomach flu" gastroenteritis, and the seasonal flu that comes around each year, plus mumps, measles, herpes and many other common infections.
Viruses aren't really alive like bacteria and other types of microorganisms, but they act alive since they can reproduce by using genetic material from the cells of the host.
A-H1N1/09 is a new mutation of human virus, first seen in 2009, containing genetic material from different viruses combined : three types of pig flu viruses, one avian "bird" flu virus, and one human influenza virus. The novel nature of "evolved" or combined viruses (known as reassortants) make it unlikely an individual will have a natural immunity to it when it first mutates into being.
Additional Note:
Not all scientists classify a virus as a "microbe". Most of them do for lack of a better way to talk about them instead of "germ" or other less specific nomenclature. Unlike the other organisms called microbes, they are not living organisms. They are specialized groups of "cells" that perform functions working in an organized way, but they latch on to and break into a living host's cells and use the life, energy, and nutrients from the host in an almost parasitic way. The genetic material that they have stored inside themselves combines with that of the host's cells to cause the host cells to stop reproducing more cells like itself for the host. Instead the virus instructs them to start making duplicate viruses like the one that invaded the host instead.
See the related questions below for more information about what caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic and what are the different types of microbes.
Germs are bacteria. Germs are said to make us sick but believe it or not we need them. If you kept germs away from you, you would get really sick when they come near you. Bacteria are vital in maintaining our health. We have good ones in our body all the time (don't want to scare you now!) and it is only when we get bad bacteria that we get sick. Our bodies learn how to fight us these bacteria when we meet them. This makes are immune system stronger and better able to deal with the bacteria the next time we meet them so that it doesn't happen again. You see, if we didn't fight bacteria off all the time they would get to strong for us and then we would be in trouble.
What is a cold agglutinins test?
There is a bedside version of the test in which the doctor collects four or five drops of blood in a small tube, cools the tube in ice water for 30-60 seconds, and looks for clumping of red blood cells.
Does cold weather cause the flu?
It is thought that the common cold virus has no seasonal preference, and that the only reason more people get it in winter is because they spend more time indoors with other people, making it easier to pass from person to person.I don't think a winter cold is any longer lasting than a summer cold.
What is the causative organism of seasonal influenza?
The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection of viral origin, usually caused by a rhinovirus (up to 40% of colds), or by Coronaviruses (about 20%). These are the more common viruses, but there are more than 200 different viruses (some say as many as 700) that can cause the common cold. There are a huge number of different viruses from a number of different viral 'families' that cause cold symptoms.
This is the main reason there is no vaccine for the common cold - there are simply too many different viruses to develop vaccines specific to each virus, and before a vaccine can be developed for a new viral mutation, it can mutate again.
