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Know the difference between cold and flu

Definition:
The common cold is also known as rhinovirus. It is defined as an acute respiratory tract infection marked by mild coryzal symptoms (cold reaching the head), rhinorrhea(dripping of the nose), nasal obstruction (blocked nose), and sneezing.
Definition:
Medically it is known as influenza virus infection. This disease is one of the most common infections and is among the most contagious airborne diseases. It is marked by an acute febrile illness (fever) and causes various systemic symptoms ranging from mild fatigue to respiratory failure. It severe cases, it can also prove to be fatal.Clinically there are two types of flu, called as influenza A, B or C infection.


Microorganism
There are a number of agents that can cause common cold though a majority of them (66-75%) of them are caused by 200 antigenically distinct viruses. Among them, the most common are rhinoviruses (25-80%), coronaviruses (10-20%), Influenza virus (10-15%), and adenovirus (5%).


Microorganism-
these can be caused due to various viruses, most common being adenoviruses, enteroviruses and paramyxoviruses.
Mode of infection-
This is a communicative disease that spreads through droplet infection and can also occur due to change in weather. The most common route is the nasal and oral cavity
Mode of infection-
this is also a communicative disease. However, this spreads faster than common cold.

  • Frequency
    – In the United States, most people have an average frequency of 1 episode in 1-2 years. Rhinoviruses cause up to 80% of this disease in the autumn months
  • Frequency-
    Flu usually takes the form of an epidemic in winter months in America. The severity depends on the pathogen involved. Within a year, millions of people can suffer from this infection.

Mortality-
Although common cold is not fatal, it accounts for 30-50 % of time lost by adults and 60- 80 % of time lost by children.
Mortality ‘
flu can prove to be fatal and in America alone, it accounts for more than 20,000 deaths annually.
Symptoms-
the incubation period for this disease is 12-72 hours. Some of the most common symptoms are-

  1. Nasal discharge which is yellow, green of white
  2. Nasal congestion
  3. Frequent sneezing
  4. Severe headache
  5. Facial and ear pressure
  6. Loss of smell
  7. Loss of taste
  8. Chest auscultation reveals ronchi (scrapping sound resembling sandpaper rub)

These symptoms usually last for 7 ‘ 11 days though 25 % of the patients may suffer from it for more than 2 weeks. In case of patients suffering from asthma and chronic pulmonary disease, the symptoms can get aggravated.
Symptoms
‘ The symptoms of flu appear from mild to severe. Severe patients appear ill with weakness while the mild ones show general symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms are:

  1. Fever- it can range from 100-104??F. As the person ages, the fever becomes more severe.
  2. Tachycardia- The heart rate increases due to hypoxia, fever or both.
  3. Throat infection- this can make talking and swallowing difficult.
  4. Reddening of the eye with watery discharge.
  5. Unlike common cold, patients usually do not have nasal discharge.
  6. Drug cough.

 

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Regular workouts ward off the common cold

Common cold is not fatal but at the same time it can affect the quality of life of the person to the extent that it can take a toll on their professional and personal life. Since being confined to the bed or walking around with a handkerchief and a dripping nose is not an option that many would opt for, it’s important to ward off the disease. Studies have shown that one of the best ways to ward off diseases is to workout regularly.Ideally, the only reason people opt for working out is to tone their body and build muscles. However, another perk of regular work outs is the ability to avoid catching common cold.  
As per the studies
 

  • People who workout for almost 5 days a week have lesser chances of suffering from common cold. Even when they do, the cold is less severe as compared to people who workout for a shorter duration.
  • Just 30 minutes of daily workout can prove to be a powerful weapon during cold season.

The researchers believe that exercising stimulates the thymus gland which increases the production of active immune cells in the body, three hours post a workout. This shows that people who workout frequently have immune cells that are always actively invading pathogens. Due to this increased production and activity, the body is protected from frequent infections.  
Study
Researchers conducted a study on 1000 people who were in the age gap of 18 to 85 for 12 weeks. The duration chosen for this study was between autumn and winter because immunity efficacy is the most affected between these seasons. The workout patterns of these people were monitored and they were made to fill a questionnaire regarding their workout regimes at the end of the study. The study was as follows:  

  • People who worked out for five days a week had suffered a shorter duration of of common cold by at least 43 to 46 % as compared to people who dint work out at all.
  • People who were the fittest suffered from 41 % less severity than people who were less fit.
  • People who were married and older had less chances of catching cold than people who were young and single. This was because the older generation has more antibodies. It could also be due to the fact that married people mingled less in the crowd thus reducing their chances of catching cold.

This is not the first case; previous studies have also proved that regular workouts helped to boost immunity and thus people could fight diseases better. It was also shown that even moderate exercising can reduce the chances of respiratory tract infection by 23 % as compared to mild exercising. Another study proved that postmenopausal women who were overweight or obese also had decreased incidences of cold after regular exercises.   All this proves that workout regimes can boost immunity and thus lower the chances of suffering from common cold.