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Common cold

Rhinitis acuta (nasopharyngitis) · Nachlazení (rýma)

What it is

Over 200 viruses, mostly rhinovirus; adults average 2–3 a year.

Symptoms & signs

  • Runny nose
  • sneezing
  • sore throat
  • mild cough
  • no or low fever
  • 1–2 weeks

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Breathing fast or hard, or a baby too tired to feed
  • see a doctor soon Fever over 39 °C, or any fever in a baby under 3 months
  • see a doctor soon Earache, or pain over the face with fever
  • see a doctor soon Symptoms still getting worse after 10 days

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Nothing shortens it trials support
  • Paracetamol or ibuprofen for aches, not for the cold itself mixed evidence
  • Decongestants — a small benefit for a day or two, then rebound blockage mixed evidence
  • Antibiotics — useless against a virus, and side effects in roughly 1 in 10 not confirmed in trials

Natural & lifestyle

  • Rest and fluids
  • honey for cough (better than most syrups)
  • saline nasal rinse
  • zinc lozenges within 24 h
  • steam
  • hand washing

Emerging & experimental

  • Antiviral nasal sprays
  • interferon-lambda research

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Vitamin C — taken regularly it shortens colds slightly; started after onset it does not help mixed evidence
  • Pelargonium sidoides — trials suggest faster recovery mixed evidence
  • Echinacea — trials disagree mixed evidence
  • Garlic — a small trial of fewer colds early / small studies
  • Homeopathic cold remedies — no plausible mechanism anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes