Treating colds

Advice & tips

Treating colds

  • Advice and tips
  • Colds that keep coming back
  • Treatment

How can you treat a cold?

"I just can't shake my cold!" – many of us are familiar with this problem in winter. The fact is that our body has to fight off 350 colds on average during our life. It's not uncommon for a runny nose and cough to hang around stubbornly right through the winter. We will show you what you can do about this.

Who would have thought it? Supposedly "trivial" infections are among the most common reasons for visiting a doctor, missing days of school and absences from work in Germany. Colds are caused by a variety of viruses. Over 200 are currently known to experts.

Colds that keep coming back

The annoying thing about it is that, once we've already fought off a cold successfully, we're immune to the virus that caused that particular infection, but not to the approx. 200 others. And that's why it's possible for us to catch one cold after another, especially in winter when we're surrounded by coughing and sniffling. Once the immune system is weakened, the next viruses find it easier to make their way into the body. That's why many people end up having one cold after another in the winter. People who are plagued with colds for weeks on end sometimes get quite inventive in trying to break the vicious cycle.

The life of a cold

You've been infected!

Wherever you go, everyone around you is coughing and sniffling! You are surrounded by viruses and your immune system can't take the strain any longer. The germs move into the moist, warm mucous membranes of the nose and start to multiply.

Your nose is running

The immune system's second line of defence kicks in with increased production of nasal mucus. The point of this is to help flush out the unwanted germs more quickly. While this is going on, the invading viruses continue to multiply, and the mucous membranes in the nose and the vocal cords become inflamed.

You have a scratchy throat

You start to sneeze and your throat starts to feel scratchy. Then the coughing starts.

You have a cold!

Now the flu-like infection is full blown. You have a fever. This is a completely normal response used by the body to fight viruses. Next come aching limbs, coughing and a sore throat!

Got a cold? Take it easy!

Anything that requires effort costs your body energy – energy that is actually needed urgently to combat the viruses. So don't be afraid to take things a bit easier: get rest and plenty of sleep, avoid stress as well as strenuous physical activity – this will allow your body to focus fully on fighting the viruses.

Boost your energy!

Fighting off infections is hard work for the body – and hard workers need a lot of energy. So make sure you get a plentiful supply in the form of vitamin-rich, light foods. Your diet should include a lot of fruit, vegetables and salad. On the other hand, you should avoid heavy, fatty meals, because your body has to use a lot of energy just to digest them.

Antibiotics

Cold? Runny nose? Flu? Antibiotics? According to the WHO, 65% of all people still believe that antibiotics help with a cold. Yet 90% of all colds are caused by viruses. Antibiotics combat bacteria and are no help against viral infections.

So taking them is not only unnecessary, but can even be dangerous because of the risks of resistance and side effects. Taking an antibiotic only makes sense if your doctor establishes that you have a bacterial infection.

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