Cold Symptoms
What is this mysterious disease that leaves children without sleep, parents without work, and a doctor besieging with phone calls?
Cold , in the medical community referred to as acute respiratory diseases, inflammation or infection of the upper respiratory tract, as well as an acute respiratory viral infection, is caused by a number of pathogens from both viruses and bacteria.
These microbes cause inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract: nose, sinuses of the nose, ears, throat and intrapulmonary bronchi. Quietly settling on this wet shell, the microbes multiply. Mucous reacts to the invasion by swelling and mucus production, which causes noisy breathing, characteristic of the common cold. Mucus continues to be intensively developed, and the child flows from the nose - now everything is clear. Mucus also swims in, dripping from the nasopharynx, causing a tickling sensation in the throat, jarring sounds and coughing.
If the pathogens move further into the caverns of the respiratory tunnels, exactly the same swelling and congestion of mucus is formed in the sinuses of the nose and in the ears. Eventually these microbes make their way into the very depths, into the intra-pulmonary bronchi, where the respiratory tract narrowing because of the swelling of the mucous membrane, and the breathing becomes noisy, hoarse.
By this time the body is burning with readiness to defend its positions. Reflexes of the respiratory tract include coughing and sneezing - the cannon of the body to dislodge unnecessary mucus outwards. Usually, after coughing, sneezing and digging in the mucus for three to four days, the body gains victory in the war, the cold recedes, and everyone in the house can again sleep peacefully. But sometimes these microbes do not want to leave without fighting, and the body mobilizes troops with more powerful weapons, and an even more fierce battle begins. White blood cells, the orderlies of the body, go on stage and attack floundering microbes in slime. A by-product of this battle is a five-letter word that will infuriate your child and make you lose sleep and forget about work. In the medical language, this is called mucopurulent discharge;in the parent language it is snot.
Now the problem arises, since the snot is not as easily pushed as its predecessor, liquid, watery mucus. They do not move, blocking the airways. Then they thicken and change color - to green. When the green flag rises, it means that other microbes have decided to take advantage of this dense mess - an excellent breeding ground for the breeding and reproduction of microbes.
As weeds, bacteria grow in this sticky mash, and the infection raises a yellow-green flag: green snot from the nose and yellow discharge from the eyes. Signing that the body is mobilizing its largest immune tools, the temperature rises. At this stage, a turning point occurs in the battle. The body's defense system and home remedies can win without help, and in the next three to four days the cold will leave the battlefield, leaving behind only a residual runny nose and cough. Or the disease can prevail, and then the child will feel worse.
General Mama, accompanied by the Pope, will go for reinforcements. Here the doctor prescribes an antibiotic, which falls directly into the target and kills germs. When this great fighter manages his work, the discharge from the nose becomes watery, the swollen mucous in the airways narrows, and the baby again breathes great, like his parents. This ends the story of the common cold.
How to catch colds
The phrase "catch a cold" from a medical point of view is correct, although it would be more accurate to say that the cold caught you. The microbes that cause acute respiratory infections are transmitted by airborne droplets, which means the following: they travel on microscopic waterballs that are ejected into the air by coughing or sneezing so that they can be inhaled by another person who is close enough to transmit catarrhal diseases. These droplets and their micro passengers also travel from hand to hand. Therefore, we can not only pick up a cold, but also literally catch it.
Babe A rubs his snotty nose with his hands and then takes with his sticky hand the baby's hand B, which then rubs his nose, and now the microbes have found a new home in their noses to start another invasion, on new airways. That's why a wise grandmother always insisted that a child who runs from the nose wash his hands and cover his nose and mouth with a handkerchief when he coughs and sneezes. But my grandmother made mistakes when she claimed that a cold happens because of drafts, frozen feet, uncovered head, or because the child does not eat vegetables.
About the cold more
If yesterday your child played with a sneezing friend, and today began to cough, it is mistaken to think that he was infected by this friend. Most microbes that cause colds require at least two to four days from entering the body to symptoms;this is the incubation period. Remember where your child played three or four days ago.
After six or eight catarrhal diseases, transferred in the first two years, the immunity of the child becomes stronger, and visits to the doctor and missed working days are less and less. Be prepared for the fact that in winter acute respiratory diseases become more frequent, from November to February. Scold the cold weather is not worth it. A more plausible explanation of this fact is that children accumulate in small rooms in winter, closer to each other, and remain in the premises longer, and the air here is drier and stagnant in winter( especially with central heating).And maybe, the cold-causing microbes like to run into the houses warm from the street.
In addition to the common cold, in some cases the common cold is accompanied by a slight increase in body temperature, generalized pain( when the whole body is aching), lacrimation, diarrhea and poor overall health. Most viruses politely leave in three or four days, leaving behind only a small runny nose and a fun running kid. Sometimes, however, the cold turns into more severe inflammatory processes that require more intensive treatment.
Treatment of the common cold
For the most part, discomfort due to colds is caused by thick mucus overlapping narrow airways. Just like the water in the pond stagnates and becomes a nutrient medium for all kinds of organisms, as well as mucus discharge in children. The secret, secreted by the mucous membrane, caught in the sinuses of the nose and into the middle ear, becomes a nutrient medium that attracts bacteria that multiply here and cause inflammation of a bacterial nature. Treatment, therefore, is aimed at promoting excreta.
Popular recipes
1. Siberian elder:
a) a tablespoon of dried flowers brew a glass of boiling water, insist 20 minutes, drain. Infusion take 1/4 cup( preferably with honey) 3-4 times a day for 15 minutes before meals for colds.
For colds, to intensify sweating use fees:
b) elder flowers, lime blossom, chamomile flowers, mullein flowers, blackthorn flowers, willow bark( all equally).A tablespoon of the ground raw material is brewed with a glass of boiling water. Insist 15 minutes, drain. Infusion of drinking hot 2-3 glasses daily;
c) elder flowers, flowers of chamomile pharmacy( equally).Method of preparation - as in the previous recipe;
d) elderberry flowers, chamomile flowers, lime blossom, peppermint leaf( all equally).Method of preparation, as in the previous recipe;E) elderberry flowers - 2 parts, lime flower - 2 parts, willow bark - 3 parts, peony flowers - 1 part, licorice root - 1 part, chamomile flowers - 1 part.2 tablespoons chopped collection brew 0.5 liters of boiling water, insist 15 minutes, strain. Infuse warm during the day;
f) elderberry flowers - 1 part, fenugreek seeds - 1 part, fennel fruits - 1 part, lime flower - 2 parts, tri-colored violet grass - 2 parts. Tear a tablespoon of the crushed collection in a glass of cold water for 2 hours, cook for a few minutes and drain after cooling. Decoction to drink warm in several receptions in one day with tracheobronchitis, chronic bronchitis, coughing.
2. Mustard mustard. Make foot baths with mustard powder for 10 minutes. Effective in the first two hours of the disease.
3. Kalina ordinary. Broth of fruits with honey gives good effect for colds with severe headaches, coughing and loss of voice;it is useful for hypertension, heart disease, diarrhea( pour 1 liter of hot water, boil for 10 minutes, strain, add 3 tablespoons of honey.) Drink 1/3 cup 3-4 times a day).
Decoction of flowers is used as an expectorant and sweatshop( boil a tablespoon of flowers with a glass of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes on low heat, drink on a tablespoon 3 times a day).
4. Potatoes. Do inhalation. In a pot of water put the potato peel, boil and breathe in pairs for 10 minutes.
5. Radish seed. For colds, use juice with honey( cut in the radish groove, fill with honey and cover with a piece of radish, insist 4 hours in a warm place, get the juice to drain. Take on a tablespoon, children - a teaspoon 3 times a day).
6. Kerosene. With catarrhal diseases it is useful and effective to wipe the body with kerosene and wrap the body with a newspaper( in two layers).Warm your clothes and go to bed. Do not shoot the newspaper before 2-3 days.
7. The tripartite sequence. 7.5 g pour a glass of boiling water, insist 10 minutes, filter and pour into the bath. The same solution is taken and inside 1 tablespoon in the morning and evening to provide a diaphoretic and diuretic action for colds.