Although both the cold and flu can lead to complications, flu complications can be life-threatening. The flu also causes body aches and more severe symptoms than a cold. Adults don’t usually get a fever with a common cold, although kids sometimes do. The main difference between cold and flu is that you’re more likely to have a fever and chills with flu. The flu comes from the influenza virus, while many other types of viruses cause colds. But different viruses cause cold and flu. Both are widespread during the colder months and affect the upper respiratory system (nose, throat and trachea). It can be hard to tell whether you have a cold or flu, since many of the symptoms are the same. How can you tell the difference between a cold and flu? Within one to three days of picking up a cold virus, you’ll get symptoms like: But other types of viruses can also cause cold symptoms. There are more than 100 different rhinoviruses. Rhinoviruses cause up to 50% of common colds. Kids typically don’t cover their coughs and sneezes or wash their hands before touching their faces - steps that prevent the virus from spreading. It’s easier for your immune system to identify and attack similar viruses.Ĭhildren are also in close contact with other children. By the time you become an adult, you’ve had many colds. Their immune systems have to learn how to recognize and deal with these new germs. Why do children get more colds?īecause young children haven’t been exposed to viruses before, they get more colds than adults. Researchers found that when cooler air lowered nose temperature, mouse immune systems had a harder time stopping the rhinovirus from multiplying. In winter, people stay indoors and are in closer contact with each other.Ī recent study in mice suggests cold temperatures may also affect your immune system’s response. You can catch a cold any time of year, but it’s more likely during colder months. If someone else touches those surfaces and then touches their nostrils, eyes or mouth, the virus can get in. You can also leave virus particles on surfaces you touch when you’re sick. If you breathe in those droplets, the cold virus takes root in your nose. That happens when you touch a surface or breathe moist air that contains the cold virus.įor example, when a sick person sneezes or coughs, droplets of fluid containing the cold virus are launched into the air. For you to become infected, the virus has to get to one of your mucous membranes - the moist lining of the nostrils, eyes or mouth. Are colds contagious?Ĭolds spread from person to person. Adults catch two to three colds a year, while young children come down with a cold four or more times a year. You’ll probably have more colds in your lifetime than any other illness. How common are colds?Īs its name implies, the common cold is widespread. More than 200 different viruses can cause a cold, but most colds are caused by a rhinovirus. A cold is a contagious upper respiratory infection that affects your nose, throat, sinuses and trachea (windpipe).
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