Pop Quiz: Cold or Flu?
If your answer to number one was “the cold” and two was “the flu,” you were right. But did you also know that there are more than 200 different viruses known to cause the 500 million colds in the U.S. each year? It’s true. Each case costs an average of $80. The most common virus, causing 35% of all colds, is called the rhinovirus (from the Greek rhin, meaning “nose”).
The flu, on the other hand, is an acute, contagious, respiratory tract infection caused by one of the influenza viruses, and does not have anything to do with an upset stomach—that’s something different.
A virus (no matter what kind) is basically a microscopic parasite. They lack the cellular machinery for self-reproduction and so can replicate only by invading and controlling other cells. What makes you feel “sick” is not the invading or replicating, but your body’s immune response to the foreign invaders after they have been detected.
Are They. . . gulp. . . “Catchy?”
Yes. Very. Here’s how:
You get a cold or flu when virus laden droplets, that have been sneezed or coughed, find their way into your body. How do they get in? Breathing droplets suspended in the air, or rubbing your eyes or nose with contaminated fingers. Touching objects the viruses may be clinging to such as food, door knobs, glasses, light switches, and Kleenex can transfer them to your hands and fingers. Bottom line—the cold and flu virus enters the body through mucus membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth.
Conditions are ripe for viruses to spread in close quarters, which explains why the highest incidence of the flu is in 5 to 14 year olds, who spend much of their time in school. They also get the most colds—six to eight a year. Why? Children typically have less mature immune systems and aren’t as capable of fighting off these viruses as adults, who average two to four colds a year.
The cold and flu “season” typically lasts from November to March. According to researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the “season” exists because people spend more time indoors spreading the viruses. Another key factor is that viruses thrive in low humidity. Less humid air also dries out the nasal lining, an important first defense and pathway a virus can then more easily penetrate.
Ever wonder why health care costs are out of control? Here is just one contributing example: According to a recent survey of families with at least one young child in out-of-home childcare, nearly all of the families knew that viruses caused colds. However, more than half thought antibiotics are needed to treat them. Also, close to two-thirds of the respondents said they’d take their child to a doctor for a cold, and close to one-quarter said they’d take their child to the emergency room, despite the fact that common colds will get better without a doctor’s visit.
So what can you do? Well, that’s a topic for a whole other crash course—Cold and Flu 102.
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