How To Deal With Contagious Chest Cold
The common cold, also known as an upper respiratory infection can be caused by any of more than 200 viruses flowing in air. These viruses attack and multiply in the cells that line the nose and throat. Colds are often spread through touch. If you shake hands, contact or hold the hand of an infected person and then touch your eyes or nose you are likely to infect yourself with the virus. In addition you can catch a cold if you touch your eyes or nose after touching a hard nonporous surface such as telephone or doorknob, shortly after an infected person touched it. The best way to prevent a cold’s transmission is to wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. Viruses can also be transmitted in the small airborne particles produced by a cough or a sneeze but this requires very close contact. Whether or not you come down with a cold once you have been exposed to the virus depends on a variety of factors including your age, genetics, type and amount of exposure, whether or not you smoke and whether you’ve developed antibodies to that particular virus etc. Chest makes you cough a lot. It can make hard to breathe too and can cause wheezing fever, tiredness and chest pain. The disease happens when the lining of the airways in your lungs get irritated. It can be:
Chronic
It means your airways are irritated over and over. This type lasts for a few months or longer and usually comes back year after year. Things that irritate your lungs, like dust, chemicals or smoke from fire or cigarettes, usually cause it. Chronic chest isn’t contagious but it is serious health problem that requires doctor’s care.
Acute
It can last for 1 to 3 weeks. It is usually caused by cold or flu viruses. Since these viruses are contagious.
You can get acute chest infection the same way you get cold and flu viruses by getting a virus inside your body. Usually by breathing it in or passing it from your hands to your mouth, nose or eyes. Viruses get into the air and onto surfaces after someone who is sick coughs, blows their nose, sneezes or sometimes even just breathes. The flu is called chest cold. It is better to keep your mouth and noses covered and wash your hands often to avoid someone else to get sick.
Chest infection or cold is common especially during autumn and winter. Although most are mild and get better on their own, some can be serious or even life-threatening. The main signs and symptoms of chest infection include:
A persistent cough
Breathlessness or rapid and shallow breathing
Wheezing
A high temperature
A rapid heartbeat
Chest pain or tightness
Coughing up yellow phlegm
Feeling confused and disoriented
You may also experience more general symptoms of an infection, such as a headache, fatigue, sweating, loss of appetite or joint and muscle pain.
Colds are contagious from one day before you begin to experience symptoms until five to seven days after initially getting sick. You might develop secondary infection like an earache that lasts longer than contagious symptoms.
According to the National Institute of Health, colds are most contagious two to four days after original exposure (whether or not symptoms have developed), when there is plenty of virus present in nasal secretions.
Some basic information on how colds “work”: cold-causing viruses fall into three families’ rhinoviruses, corona viruses and adenoviruses. Like all viruses, those that cause cold trick cells in the body by ingesting into them and then take over the cells reproductive machinery to make new viruses. When an infected cell dies, new virus particles are released and go on to infect other cells. Some of the symptoms of a cold are caused by the action of virus. For example, destruction of cells lining the respiratory tract or throat can cause sore throat, cough and runny nose. Other symptoms are caused by the body’s immune reaction to the virus. When the body recognizes the viruses as foreign, immune cells release interferon and leukotrienes, which help mobilize the body’s defenses but also cause fever, aches and fatigue. Adults on an average have cold two to five times a year. If you do catch a cold, the general advice is to get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, avoid overmedicating yourself and stay away from cigarette smoke. Some people swear by Vitamin C. additionally, here’s some advice for specific symptoms.
Headache, body aches and fever
Take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin.
Thirst and dehydration
drink glass of water, juice or tea every hour or two while you are awake. Avoid caffeine and alcohol which can increase your congestion and dehydration.
Sore throat
take aspirin or aspirin substitutes, also gargle with ¼ teaspoon of salt or baking soda in a glass of warm water. Lozenges, hard candy and throat sprays help soothe your throat.
Cough
add moisture to the air by using a humidifier on placing a pan of water on your radiator. Cough medicines containing the suppressant dextromethorphan or throat core tea may help to ease the cough.
Congestion
Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine relieve congestion. Antihistamines, such as chlorpheniramine can alleviate runny noses. They are also combination of decongestants and antihistamines and do both. Breathing steam for ten minutes several times a day reduces congestion. Fill a bowl or sink with steaming tap water and bend your head over the bowl, placing a large towel over your head to trap the steam. Some people prefer to breathe in the steam created while showering.
It is only necessary to see a health care provider if you have any of the following symptoms of cold lasting for more than ten days, a fever of higher than 101.5 degree for more than three days, a rash , a chest pain, shortness of breath, severe dizziness, etc.
If you have any of these symptoms present, see a health care provider as soon as possible. The chest cold can be contagious but before this it would be harmful to your health. So take proper precautions to avoid it.
