A cold can happen at any time and is accompanied by some signs such as an itchy throat, runny nose and constant sneezing. Therefore, you should pocket the tips on how to treat colds for adults, and learn in detail through the article below to find more simple ways that can be applied at home!
Quick understanding of colds
A cold is a common disease, often found in everyone from children to the elderly. This is a disease related to the respiratory tract, caused by a viral infection. However, the severity of the disease is not as severe as the flu but still makes the patient feel tired and lacking energy for daily activities.
The disease often appears when it is cold and rainy, or there can be sudden changes in weather. The cause of colds is caused by viruses, most commonly viruses of the Rhinovirus family, or Enterovirus. The main way for viruses to enter the human body is through the eyes, nose, mouth or possibly through droplets in the air when coming into contact with an infected person who coughs or sneezes.
Common symptoms of a cold include stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, cough, headache, mild fever or feeling tired. Moreover, this disease can go away on its own after 1 week. If your condition becomes serious, go to the hospital for examination and ask a doctor for help for timely treatment.
When to go to the hospital for treatment
For adults, you need to contact your doctor or go to the hospital if you still have the following symptoms after drug treatment:
- High fever above 38 degrees Celsius for 5 days or more or sudden fever after a period of stopping fever;
- Frequent difficulty breathing, or wheezing;
- Severe and prolonged sore throat and headaches.
- Severe sinus problems.
On the contrary, for children with colds, you need to pay attention to their health more often, because the disease in children will be more dangerous than in adults. If not treated promptly, it can lead to pneumonia or bronchitis in children. So, let’sTake your child to a medical facility as soon as the following symptoms appear:
- Children 1 – 4 months old with fever over 38 degrees Celsius;
- Fever increases and lasts more than 2 days;
- The child’s symptoms show no signs of improving or are getting worse;
- Children have symptoms of difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, and prolonged fatigue;
- Unusual drowsiness or disturbance of consciousness.
Secrets on how to cure colds for adults
A cold is an uncomplicated illness. Instead, focus on the symptoms of the disease by using pain relievers, fever reducers, and throat sprays. In addition, you should also let your body rest in the following ways:
Rest and avoid stress
Mental health will affect the process of curing a cold. When you’re overworked, it’s easy to have negative feelings like sadness or anger. This can increase cortisol levels – a hormone that inhibits the activity of immune cells. On the other hand, mental stress also reduces the number of white blood cells, thereby creating conditions for cold viruses to easily attack the body.
Therefore, you need to listen to your body, especially when you are sick and need time for your mind to rest. You can listen to music, meditate or do simple exercises.
Drink plenty of water
One of the most common symptoms of a cold is fever, which causes the body to become significantly dehydrated. Therefore, fever will cause significant consequences that will help soothe the throat.
Therefore, experts always encourage patients to drink lots of water when they have a cold.
Drink warm tea with honey
The warm temperature from the tea can relieve symptoms of nasal congestion. At the same time, soothes unpleasant sore throats. In addition, warm honey tea can help you reduce the intensity and frequency of coughing.
However, you also need to note thatDo not apply to children under 1 year old, because they can make the baby’s condition worse.
Lemon juice
Lemon juice contains a large amount of vitamin C, which will help the body replenish water. At the same time, quickly treat colds such as stuffy nose and difficulty breathing. In addition, this is also one of the suitable drinks.
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is considered a reasonable and effective choice if you don’t know what to eat to heal a cold quickly. Furthermore, chicken soup contains many nutrients that are good for the body such as protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, chicken soup is also considered an extremely good electrolyte and fluid with two important substances in hydration.
Chicken soup contains many substances that help break down mucus, have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and antioxidant properties. Thanks to that, it reduces symptoms of colds such as stuffy nose, cough, etc.
How to prevent colds
In fact, the best way to cure colds is by preventing them. disease. You may have a lot of choices to make, such as:
Wash your hands frequently
Wash your hands with soap and clean water for about 20 seconds to remove harmful bacteria on the surface of your hands. In addition, you should pay close attention to cleaning thoroughly between your fingers and the area under your nails. After washing, use a clean towel to dry your hands.
In cases where clean water or soap is not available, you can use an alcohol-based sanitizer instead.
Limit smoking
The active ingredients in cigarettes are one of the risks that irritate and damage your throat and lungs. On the other hand, some recent studies show that the immune system’s ability to cope with viruses in people with the habit of smoking is many times worse than in people without this bad habit.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
A balanced diet, full of nutrients will help giving the body stronger resistance, thereby minimizing the risk of viruses entering and causing disease. In addition, you should also regularly exercise and get enough sleep to maintain good health.
Kim Dung
