The Common Cold Deconstructed
Nov 29 2012.
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I was out with the flu over the weekend and as I was lying in bed and staring at my ceiling, bored out of my mind when quite a number of questions started popping into my head.
So I decided that I should clear them up by talking to an expert, which is exactly what I did when I visited my family physician Dr. S. L Deniyage (M.M.B.S, DFM, MRGCP, (Int. UK)) who’s been my doctor for the last 20 years.
Also the director of the Anti-Malaria Campaign Sri Lanka, he has always been keen on answering all the annoying little questions I have every time I fall sick.
Q: My first question was on something that has always confused me. What’s the difference between a cough, cold and flu?
A: Cough maybe due to various things; Viral, bacterial or allergic. What we mostly see in Sri Lanka are coughs caused by allergies and asthma. Whenever the respiratory track is infected it may cause a cough.
A cold is usually what we refer to as a runny nose and throat irritations….which is also mostly due to viruses and bacterial infections. If a cough or cold is not treated properly or not taken seriously it may lead to serious lung diseases.
Flu on the other hand is basically a virus that can lead to a cough or a running nose. It usually gives you a fever unlike an allergy as a result of your body fighting off the virus.
Q: Why are we told to avoid certain types of food like green gram etc?
A: That’s mainly to avoid allergies….if you are allergic to a certain type of food it may cause irritations and cause all the glands in your respiratory tract to secrete fluids. But this depends on person to person and whether you are allergic to that particular food. So if you are not allergic to a particular food then it’s completely fine.
Q: Why is it a bad idea to get wet in the rain or stay out in the cold?
A: This is basically because your defense systems and immunity is lowered making it more likely to catch a flu virus.
Q: What can you do to increase your immunity?
A: Your immunity can be easily compromised if you’re pregnant or you have a medical condition like diabetes. You can strengthen your immunity by exercising regularly and drinking
plenty of water.
Q: How does medicine control your condition?
A: Medicine only treats the symptoms. Something like a virus or an allergy can’t be treated directly but the symptoms can be controlled. An average virus lasts 5 to 7 days but it really
depends on the person’s immunity and the strength of the virus.
Q: What type of precautions can you take to avoid falling sick?
A: You need to mainly avoid the factors that cause you to be allergic or lower your immunity and also be careful when interacting with someone who has caught a virus. It basically transmits through touch and fluid. So be careful, keep your hands clean, exercise regularly and drink plenty of water.
Those were the only questions that popped into my head through the haze of my fever, but if you have any more questions, please feel free to comment below and I can forward them to Dr. Deniyage. Being informed is the first step of prevention. So stay smart and stay healthy.
By Maleen Jayasuriya
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