Treatment for a common cold

A common cold is an infectuous disease that many people have to deal with on a regular basis. Common symptoms include a blocked nose, a headache, coughing and sometimes a fever. There is a variety of treatments, such as cough syrups and nose spray, that can help relieve the symptoms of your cold .

Everyone has had a common cold at least once: a blocked nose, coughing, a headache and possibly a fever. Fortunately, a cold is not a serious illness, but it can be quite bothersome. In general you do not feel ill enough to stay in bed all day, but the complaints do interfere with your daily routines.

The common cold is a viral infectionious disease of the upper respiratory system. There is no method to stop viruses from spreading, therefore the treatment of the common cold consists of relieving the symptoms. That is why you will find fever-reducing medication, nose sprays and cough syrups in many medicine cabinets .
 

Cough medications

A coughing fit occurs when the respiratory system becomes irritated. The primary function of coughing is to keep the throat and airways clear from dust particles, food and fish bones. Also, through coughing you can discharge the mucus that blocks the lung tissue and airways. Coughing has a useful function and we should not stop it but rather promote it. There are treatments that ease and soften the cough.

Cough suppressants

Medicines containing opium or opium-derived substances soothe the respiratory centre and through that the coughing centre. Examples of such medicines are codeine and noscapine. Both have many common side-effects such as constipation. Noscapine is often preferred above codeine because is has slightly less side-effects.

Expectorants

Expectorants are medications that promote the discharge of mucus. Expectorants stimulate the bronchi by causing a reflex to produce more mucus. This thins the thick mucus and facilitates the clearing of it through coughing. The operation and effectiveness of expectorants have never been scientifically proven.

Mucolytic agents

Mucolytic agents have been researched and their effectiveness has been proven. Mucolytic agents break down the mucus in the bronchi which reduces its thickness or viscosity and makes it easier to cough it up. Examples of these types of agents are bromhexine, carbocisteine, acetylcysteine and mercapto ethane sulfonic acid.

Emollients

Emollients, which do not really have a pharmacological effect, provide relief. These remedies have a slimy composition and lay a sort of film overthe irritated mucus membranes. A steam bath has the same effect as emollients because inhaling steam dilutes the mucus so it can be coughed up more easily. Certain stimulating substances are added to the steam bath, such as anise oil, eucalyptol and menthol.

Nose drops and nasal spray

A cold often starts in the nasal cavity. The nose has an excellent mechanism to keep out harmful substances. For instance, when you get a runny nose you have to blow your nose, causing the viruses and bacteria to end up in the handkerchief

Sometimes a blocked nose is referred to as a swollen nasal mucosa. Decongestant is a type of drug that diminishes the mucosa.

These remedies are derived from alpha-sympaticomimetics like oxymetazoline (a component of Nasolin) xylometazoline (a component of Otrivin).

Sources: www.todio.nl