10 myths about cold

All are familiar with cold, and practically everyone believes that he has sufficient knowledge and experience that correctly to treat it. In practice most of people makes mistakes in attempts to get rid of rhinitis, and divides numerous delusions it.

Let's consider the most widespread of myths about this widespread illness.

Cold – an easy indisposition, harmless for an organism

Rhinitis, with rare exception, not an independent disease: it is only the symptom inherent to many pathologies. It can have the allergic, bacterial, virus nature. Anyway the person suffers from a congestion of a nose, the complicated breath and feeling of fatigue, it interrupts a sleep, appetite decreases. All this is unpleasant, but it is not too dangerous.

The real problems begin in that case when the patient treats cold without due gravity. For lack of treatment such complications of rhinitis as antritis and sinusitis develop. At further distribution inflammatory process can affect respiratory tracts, acoustic organs and even a meninx. Complications of banal cold can be really life-threatening.

Cold arises because of overcooling

Popular belief: "you will have wet feet – you will catch a cold". Actually development of rhinitis has no direct link with overcooling of an organism. Cold which symptom is cold has the virus nature, and the susceptibility to pathogenic microorganisms depends on immune system. Therefore one rather small draft to "zasoplivitsya", and another remains healthy and in a bitter cold.

Infection occurs in the airborne way therefore the person with the weakened immunity in the period of seasonal colds should avoid places of big accumulation of the people (shopping centers, the crowded public transport, etc.).

At cold it is necessary to accept immunomodulators

If cold was played, to accept the drugs activating protective forces of an organism, not only is useless, but also it is dangerous. The matter is that the raised mucifying from a nose is a consequence of reaction of immune system to pathogenic microflora. Artificially urging on this process it is possible to aggravate a problem, and instead of cold to receive serious disorder of immunity. Fortunately, the majority of immunomodulators – drugs with unproven (that is in no way not found) action.

Green allocations from a nose – a symptom of a bacterial infection

It is not always right. Dense green slime at rhinitis – a sign of successful work of immune system. In process of development of a disease of allocation from a nose change the color and a consistence: in an onset of the illness they transparent and liquid, then become white-yellow or greenish, and get denser. It is connected with increase in quantity in them the white blood cells fighting against causative organisms.

That cold passed quicker, it is necessary to blow nose often

At cold it seems to the person that the nose is filled with allocations, and he aims to remove them outside to facilitate breath. Actually unpleasant feeling is connected not a lot of contents in a nose, and with severe hypostasis of a mucous membrane. Attempts to blow the nose sharply and strongly are unsafe: they push out a part of slime deep into of nasal bosoms and even the acoustical courses, infecting them and by that provoking development of antritis, sinusitis and otitis. It is necessary to clear a nose of allocations very carefully, avoiding the sharp pushing-out movements and excess concussions, each nostril separately.

All cold drops are safe

Especially persuasive myths are connected with drugs from cold. Most of people, having faced a nose congestion, immediately begins to use vasoconstrictive drops. They really give temporary relief, but their frequent use causes accustoming.

It is necessary to drip drops in a nose, having slightly cast away the head back and having turned it towards that nostril in which the drug is administered. To dig in medicine lying on spin it is not necessary: solution is not late in a nasal cavity, and at once flows down in a throat.

It is longer impossible to use vasoconstrictive drugs three days. Safer are the means on a vegetable basis containing oils (for example, Pinosol), and also solutions for washing of a nose on the basis of sea water (for example, Akvamaris).

Cold can be cured by means of warming up of a nose

Traditional medicine recommends two types of thermal influence promoting treatment of rhinitis: dry warming up (for example, by means of the linen sack attached to a nose bridge with heated salt or sand) and hot inhalations the ferry.

Dry warming up is useful only in the onset of the illness when allocations from a nose still have a watery consistence. The hot dry compress helps to lower hypostasis of mucous membranes, thereby having facilitated breath. If cold passed into the following stage, it is impossible to apply warmings up: life activity of causative organisms from it only becomes more active.

Inhalations at cold are dangerous not only creation of the warm and wet environment in which bacteria feel especially comfortably. Inhalation of hot steam is fraught with strengthening of hypostasis mucous and even its burns.

Attention! Any thermal procedures are contraindicated at the increased temperature and serious deterioration in the general state.

It is useful to dig in juice of garlic or onions in a nose

Too cruel and low-productive procedure. At cold the mucous membrane of a nose is already angry, and caustic juice of onions or garlic injures it even more.

It is much more reasonable to enter gradually these vegetables into the patient's diet, and also to place them in the cut look in its room that the emitted phytoncides disinfected air.

Chronic cold speaks about an allergy, and incidental – about cold

It's not true. Chronic rhinitis can be a symptom of an upper respiratory tract infection (for example, sinusitis). The constant feeling of a congestion of a nose pursues those who in the past incorrectly applied vasoconstrictive drops and received dependence on them.

At the same time allergic cold can completely disappear during couple of days if to exclude contact with allergen.

With age people have cold more often

In process of aging the human body accumulates the antibodies helping to reflect the attacks of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore children and teenagers catch a cold and have rhinitis much more often than the people who stepped a fifty-year boundary.

Cold is not so harmless as it seems. It not only is unpleasant, but can confirm existence of serious diseases or to become the reason of dangerous complications. Therefore you should not self-medicate, especially using doubtful methods. If cold does not pass within 3-4 days, it is necessary to see a doctor.