Read the text about the symptoms of the common cold and ways to ease them. Then, do the exercises below.

Marcin Legeżyński Keeping a Cold at Bay

Does your head ache? Are you suffering from a sore throat, runny nose, or a fever? Does your cough disturb your sleep? If the answer is yes, you are likely to be suffering from the common coldcommon coldcommon cold. But don’t panic; there are things you can do to ease your conditionease your conditionease your condition.

What is the common cold?

The common cold, or just a cold, usually signalled by a group of unpleasant symptomsunpleasant symptoms [unpleasant symptom]unpleasant symptoms, is caused by viruses and, presently, there is no cure to treat it. The average adult will catch a cold around three times a year, while children may get infected as many as six times a year. How is the common cold transmitted and how can we protect ourselves against it?

Keeping the cold away

As with most illnesses, prevention is better than cureprevention is better than cureprevention is better than cure. The common cold might attack people who have poor diet or unhealthy lifestyle. Regular exercise and a balanced diet can improve our immunity against most diseasesimmunity against most diseasesimmunity against most diseases. Our surroundings are also important. If the air in your room is fresh and not too dry, you are more likely to avoid infections. Finally, covering your mouth when coughing, washing your hands, and avoiding close contact with infected people will help you stay healthy.

Lifestyle remedies

What are the next steps if all the precaution measuresprecaution measures [precaution measure]precaution measures have failed and you caught the cold? Firstly, remember that there is no direct curedirect curedirect cure. No medications exist that could cure the common cold itself. It usually lasts for a few days before the symptoms disappear. On the other hand, certain basic means could ease the signsease the signsease the signs. One of them is plenty of rest. People suffering from the common cold should stay off work or school. This will, at the same time, protect work colleagues or schoolmates from getting sick. Another important factor is keeping your body well‑hydrated. It will make it easier to remove mucus and germsremove mucus and germsremove mucus and germs from your nose and mouth by coughing and sneezing. Just remember the cover‑your‑mouth rule!

Anti‑cold medications

On top of the lifestyle remedies,lifestyle remedies [lifestyle remedy]lifestyle remedies, you may use pharmaceutical productspharmaceutical products [pharmaceutical product]pharmaceutical products in order to get relief from common cold symptoms. There are many popular myths, some of which should be taken with a pinch of salt. Vitamins, for example such as vitamin C, have been found to have little influence on the cold, although they seem to play an important role in its prevention. Still, sore throat or headache treatment often requires pain relieverspain relievers [pain reliever]pain relievers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. These should be taken caferully, in the smallest effective dosesmallest effective dosesmallest effective dose. For a runny nose, decongestant nasal dropsdecongestant nasal dropsdecongestant nasal drops or sprays are widely offered, relieving the irritating symptomsirritating symptoms [irritating symptom]irritating symptoms. Cough syrupscough syrups [cough syrup]Cough syrups can aid in removing mucus.Some of these medications are sold over‑the‑counterover‑the‑counter (adjective)over‑the‑counter and are available in most supermarkets and shops. Others require a doctor’s prescriptiondoctor’s prescriptiondoctor’s prescription. No OTC drugsOTC drugs [OTC drug]OTC drugs should be used by children without consulting a GPGP (general practitioner)GP first.

Contracting a contagious diseasecontracting a contagious diseaseContracting a contagious disease, such as the common cold, seems inevitable and despite prevention measures, you will probably catch it. Luckily enough, the cold will rarely last for more than a couple of days and you should get sound and well in no time.

1 Źródło: Marcin Legeżyński, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.