Exterminating the Cold Bug

 

You might not be aware of it, but you’re fighting for you life right now.  You may feel fine today, but tomorrow morning your headache, sore throat, cough, and fever will prove that you’ve fallen victim to the forces of “The Spring Cold Bug” (da da dum....)!  Assuming that knowledge is power, here’s the dirt on the common cold and what you can do to fight it.

The cold that’s sending you back to bed with the sniffles could be caused by any of approx. 200 different viruses.  The symptoms differ a bit depending on which virus beat your body’s defenses, but in general a cold virus will cause headaches, muscle aches,  a sore throat, a low grade fever (under 100 degrees F), a cough, and a runny nose.

When a virus attacks your body, it burrows through the mucus layer that protects your throat.  Then it punches a hole in a nearby cell and injects its own genetic material into you.  Pretty soon your cell gives up the fight and starts working for the virus, producing more viral invaders.

Think of it like an action movie or a grainy old war film.  The evil virus sweeps into your body, attacks thousands of innocent cells, and forces those cells to work for the enemy.  However, those cells aren’t helpless.  Damaged cells send out chemical distress signals that attract the attention of specially designed “killer” white blood cells (monocytes and lymphocytes, for all you Bio Grrls out there).  The blood vessels around the invaded cells stretch to allow easier access to the point of infection, causing swelling; and your fever is actually an attempt by your body to drive out the invaders using heat. 

Sad but true, your symptoms aren’t caused by your cold, they’re caused by your own body.  Antibiotics don’t work on viruses, so unless your fever spikes above 100 degrees or you start feeling really rotten, your doctor wont be able to do much.  In fact, many doctors feel that you shouldn’t medicate a cold at all since the fever and cough are actually working on your side to get rid of the invasion.

However, there are plenty of things you can do to feel better! 

If your nose is running, splurge a little for those nice, soft, tissues.  A runny nose is bad, a painful runny nose is worse. 

Take naps (you don’t really need encouragement on this, do you?), your body is working hard to fight off the invasion, so take things slow.  This wouldn’t be a good time to start an exercise program, for example.

When you’re not napping, DRINK!  Drink, drink, and then drink some more.  Plain old water is good, as is juice.  Hot liquids like tea or soup are even better since they increase your body’s temperature and soothe your throat at the same time. 

Drugs are not really your friend when you have a cold.  Smoking irritates your throat and can make your cold last longer.  Alcohol increases mucus production (as in, you’ll cough more and feel worse).  And over the counter remedies that target a whole list of symptoms are usually overkill.  Stick with aspirin, if you need to bring that fever down a little, and try hard candies for the sore throat.

Just remember, a cold shouldn’t last more than a week, so break out the chicken soup, wrap yourself up in a blanket, and relax!  After all, staying home with the flu will give you more time to read the zine!

Tracy Madison  grrl-e-grrl.com contributor