I have a cold this week that I have been battling. Apparently I have lost the battle because now I have developed a sinus infection . I get a cold every fall (Sept.-Oct.). Most common colds (90-95%) are caused by viruses. The most common cause of the common cold is a group of viruses called the Rhinoviruses. There are over 200 different Rhinoviruses that are unique enough that you could get a cold every year for over 200 years. No good vaccines are in sight and common cold medicines only make you feel better temporarily but can't cure you. You will be sick from 7-10 days regardless of whether you use the medicines or not.
The common cold irritates your nasal mucosa (the cells that line your nose and sinuses that make mucus). This irritation can cause the openings to your sinuses and ears to close up. When that happens you are very likely to get a sinus infection or ear infection or both.
There is presently no cure for the common cold. Prevention is once again the only way to avoid a cold. The best way to avoid getting a cold is not to shake or hold other people's hands and to wash your hands frequently. In a previous articleI mentioned a number of ways you can keep yourself healthy. Hand washing is an excellent and inexpensive way to keep yourself from getting ill.
Enough said by me. A really wonderful web site produced by the American Society of Microbiologists (ASM) is called Operation Clean Hands. ASM is an international group of about 43,000 Microbiologists. Operation Clean Hands contains data from a study to see if people from the United States really clean their hands as much as they say they do (Men really need to clean up their act in this area). It also tells you the correct way to clean your hands and when cleaning your hands is important.
Hand washing is even important to gardeners. Barbara Martin has a good Suite 101 article on hand washing as well.
Take Care and Think Microbiologically!
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