Causes of a cold. why often there are orvi? Causes of frequent colds and methods of dealing with them

Normally, an adult should not have a cold more than twice a year during a seasonal SARS epidemic. If a cough, runny nose, sore throat, rashes on the lips, fever and other symptoms of a cold occur six times a year, then such an adult is considered often ill. What are the causes of frequent colds in adults? This is what we will try to find out.

Not all people have good immunity. Residents of cities most often suffer from influenza diseases. According to statistics, the city dweller, on average, has a cold up to four times a year. Almost a month later in the autumn-winter period, and this is due to several reasons.

Why do adults get very frequent colds? First of all, this is due to the large crowds of people: transport, shops, especially pharmacies, where the premises are not ventilated, and people with SARS stand in line for medicines along with those who are still healthy. A person with a weakened immune system - and most of them in cities - is constantly at risk, so he often has a cold and is forced to take medicines.

What is immunity

Immunity is a biological barrier that prevents a wide variety of foreign harmful agents that exist in the environment from entering the body.

There are other cells, blood proteins, immunoglobulins that neutralize various chemically active molecules.

When, nevertheless, a foreign agent gets inside any cell of the body, then in response the human body begins to resist, producing a specific cellular protein, interferon, in order to put an end to the threat. At this point, the person's temperature rises. This is an additional protection, because many viruses and bacteria are not able to withstand even a slight increase in the temperature of the environment in which they enter.

The body also has an external protective barrier, the so-called nonspecific immunity. This is our primary defense - beneficial bacteria on the skin, mucous membranes and in the intestines, which kill and prevent disease-causing organisms from multiplying. Specific substances, enzymes are like a “chemical weapon” that guards human health.

However, these defenses of the body today do not “work” well enough for many people, and there are reasons for this. Frequent colds on the lips in adults, colds and other diseases are all due to weakened immunity.

Why does the body weaken its protective functions

Immunity can be reduced due to many factors, such as unfavorable environmental conditions, unhealthy lifestyle, congenital or acquired chronic diseases, malnutrition, bad habits - alcohol and smoking, physical inactivity, stress.

Unfavorable ecological situation

Car exhaust gases contain up to 200 substances that are harmful or even deadly to human health. Today, large cities suffer from an overabundance of road transport. Often, not all cars have new, high-quality engines installed. Many drivers do not even think about catalysts and neutralizers for automotive emissions. The quality of fuel at conventional gas stations leaves much to be desired.

If we add here the emissions of industrial enterprises, then the city air turns into a “cocktail”, which simply becomes difficult to breathe.

Polluted air irritates the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, so to speak, "preparing the ground" for pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Since the first protective barrier of the human body, nonspecific immunity, is largely reduced.

Therefore, diseases such as rhinitis, rashes on the lips, cough are often manifested, which are not accompanied by fever, but can last for months.

Another serious environmental factor is electromagnetic pollution. Electronics - computers, smartphones, TV monitors, microwave ovens - that constantly surrounds us, and without which a modern person can no longer imagine life, negatively affects his body. Naturally, immunity decreases.

Wrong way of life

To the unfavorable ecological situation that prevails in cities, you need to add the wrong way of life - bad habits.

For example, smoking exacerbates the situation in many ways, because tobacco smoke contains more than 4 thousand harmful substances, and not just nicotine. These are deadly poisons, for example, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, polonium-210. All these chemical reagents penetrate the human body, poison it for years, "distracting" the body's immune forces to fight these substances in the first place. The immune response to the invasion of external foreign agents is weak. This can cause frequent coughing in an adult without signs of a cold.

Hypodynamia

Long sitting at the computer in the workplace and at home affects not only the posture and weakening of vision. The immune system suffers the most. After all, the human body is designed for constant movement. When the muscles are in constant relaxation, they simply begin to atrophy. There is stagnation of blood, lymph, organs stop working well, and the heart, on the contrary, experiences a stronger load. The respiratory organs are especially affected. The volume of the lungs is reduced, the bronchi become "flabby". Therefore, slight hypothermia can cause disease. And if we add here the unfavorable ecological environment and smoking, then the result is obvious.

Improper nutrition

A city dweller is always in a hurry somewhere, so he simply has no time to eat properly, fully. Cheap and unhealthy products from the fast food industry are used. And this is often fried food, which is usually washed down with sweet drinks, eaten with chocolate bars, etc.

These fatty, refined foods harm the body. They do not contain essential vitamins and minerals. The balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is disturbed. Such products are poorly absorbed by the body. He spends too much energy to digest them and deal with the consequences of such nutrition. Accordingly, people who consume such food, especially in large quantities, suffer from chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

All this weakens the body so much that the immune defense simply cannot cope.

Stress, fatigue

It is no secret that life is not easy now, constant stress accompanies modern man everywhere. It can also cause frequent colds in adults. The inability to relax, calm down, chronic lack of sleep, fatigue, exhaustion - the body's forces are spent excessively.

A person, on the other hand, sometimes just needs to get enough sleep, fully rest, so as not to injure his health and boost immunity.

Research by scientists has shown that a positive-minded person is less likely to get colds.

How to strengthen the immune system and stop getting sick with a cold?

In a situation where a person often suffers from colds, an integrated approach is needed. Powerful immunity consists of many components, so it is necessary not only to temporarily apply immunomodulators, but to seriously change your lifestyle.

Daily regime

The causes of frequent colds in adults lie in an improperly constructed daily routine. It is necessary to develop a certain regimen in order to have a good rest, to eat on time. When a person lives "according to the schedule", in a certain rhythm, it is easier for him to endure stress. Moreover, he eliminates many stressful situations, he is not late for anything, he is not in a hurry, he is not overloaded with work. This way of life forms favorable positive thinking.

Proper nutrition

The causes of frequent colds in adults also lie in junk food. A healthy diet involves the presence in the diet of a balanced combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Food should be rich in minerals and vitamins of different groups - A, B, C, D, E, PP.

It is necessary to use natural products, exclude semi-finished products from the diet and do not buy fast food. If you buy products in a supermarket, you need to carefully read what is written on the packaging, whether there are artificial components - preservatives, dyes, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers. Do not eat this.

Only under such conditions, the immune system works fully, which means that your body will cope well with colds.

Vitamin A is present in vegetables and fruits of bright yellow, orange, red colors - carrots, pumpkins, apricots, tomatoes, bell peppers. This vitamin is also rich in animal products - liver, chicken eggs, butter.

B vitamins are found in nuts, seeds, bran and wholemeal flour, eggs, liver, meat, and dairy products.

Vitamin C can be obtained from a decoction of wild rose, cranberries, sauerkraut, citrus fruits.

Vitamin E is found in abundance in unrefined vegetable oil, wheat germ and oats.

Hardening and gymnastics

If adults have frequent colds, what should I do? You need to do hardening and gymnastics.

It is better to start hardening procedures with special preparation. First, in the morning, pour lukewarm water on the feet and rub them with a terry towel. Then, after a few weeks, move on to dousing the shins and feet, and so gradually move up. In the end - start pouring yourself entirely with cool water at room temperature.

The gymnastic complex should be selected according to age and physical data. Hatha yoga or various Chinese gymnastics complexes with smooth movements and gradually increasing load are especially well suited for a weakened body.

For those who often suffer from colds, breathing exercises are very important, which help to train the lungs and bronchi. For example, Strelnikova's gymnastic complex or yoga pranayama.

Daily jogging, regular visits to the pool, ice rink, skiing and cycling in the fresh air will benefit.

Once a week, you need to go out of town to breathe clean air and clear your lungs.

Immunomodulators

Every three months, immunomodulators made from plant materials should be taken. These are various preparations from aloe, ginseng (it is better not to use for hypertensive patients), echinacea, mummy.

You can resort to traditional medicine, prepare teas, infusions of healthy herbs, make delicious and rich vitamin mixtures from honey with nuts, lemon, cranberries, dried fruits.

Eat onion and garlic.

Treatment of a common cold in adults with medicines should take place exclusively under the supervision of a doctor. Only he will be able to establish a diagnosis and prescribe exactly those drugs that are needed.

cough recipe

You will need one large onion, which needs to be finely chopped. Then, with a wooden spoon or pestle, crush the chopped onion a little so that the juice comes out. Pour the resulting slurry with honey and leave for a day. Consume 1 teaspoon 3-5 times a day between meals.

Treatment of common colds on the lips in adults

In order for the rashes on the lips to pass faster, you need to prepare a decoction of chamomile, mint or celandine.

A tablespoon of dry grass is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for an hour in a sealed container. Then, a cotton swab gently moistened with the infusion is applied every 2 hours.

Chamomile tea is also good to use internally.

Doctors often hear from patients the complaint: "I often get colds." Colds are a big problem for modern man. People who catch a cold more than five times a year fall into the category prone to acute respiratory infections.

To cope with a cold, you need to know what factor provoked it. Only a medical specialist can determine the cause of the disease.

How the human immune system works

Frequent colds are the result of a decrease in immunity due to the impact on the body of a negative factor.

To get rid of ARI, you need to strengthen the immune system. The immune system functions as a shield in the human body.

It does not allow viruses, pathogenic bacteria and fungi to capture the tissues of the human body, and also prevents the division of malignant cells.

When an infection enters the body, the immune system immediately begins to actively synthesize antibodies. These antibodies are engaged in the capture and destruction of infectious agents.

Humoral immunity is secreted in the human body. The basis of this type of immunity is antibodies dissolved in the blood and other body fluids. These proteinaceous antibodies are called immunoglobulins.

There is also non-specific immunity. These are the body's innate defenses.

In this case, the mucous and skin integuments, as well as immune cells in the blood plasma, act as a shield from harmful microbes: neutrophils, macrophages, eosinophils.

If the infection manages to enter the body, then the immune system instantly responds to this attack by producing interferon protein. This leads to an increase in body temperature.

Causes of too frequent colds

Cold provocateurs can be various factors, both frivolous and extremely dangerous. In most cases, the causes of frequent colds are:

Frequent colds due to constant virus attacks

The causative agents of SARS are rhinoviruses. These viruses thrive in cold weather conditions.

Having penetrated into the body, they actively multiply if the body temperature is 33-35°C.

Therefore, infection with rhinovirus infection occurs mainly when the body is overcooled.

In rare cases, the causative agents of the common cold are coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus.

Low body temperature

In people with weak immunity and metabolic disorders, body temperature ranges from 34.5 to 36.5 ° C. At this temperature, colds recur very often.

Unfavorable environment

Environmental conditions have a strong influence on human health.

The combination of moisture and dampness is the most harmful environment for a person prone to colds.

Wrong diet

To increase immunity and protect yourself from colds, you need to eat right.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, there are "cold" foods that provide little energy, and "hot" foods that warm up the body.

“Cold” foods include citrus fruits, green vegetables, dairy products, and some cereals. A "hot" food can be considered cinnamon, garlic, ginger, meat, fatty fish.

People who are prone to colds are not recommended to include "cold" foods in the menu during the cold season. After all, it seems to a person that he uses healthy and vitamin-rich food, but in reality he cools his own body, reduces the tone of the body.

hypoglycemia

With low blood sugar levels, the body often becomes cold.

But this does not mean that a person prone to colds should consume a lot of sweets.

Hypoglycemia does not occur because a person eats little sugar, but because their body cannot maintain optimal blood sugar levels.

Hypoglycemia has many causes and requires immediate treatment. When the disease is eliminated, the tendency to catch colds disappears.

Allergy

Sometimes body temperature drops after eating a product that is an allergen.

Food allergies can be accompanied by a drop in blood sugar, a weakening of the body's tone, and drowsiness.

Every allergy sufferer should have a list of foods that should not be consumed.

If you refuse these products, the temperature and energy indicators of the body are normalized, as a result of which the likelihood of colds is minimized.

Weakened immunity

A weak immune system loses its ability to fight harmful and dangerous agents: viruses, pathogenic bacteria and fungi, toxic substances, allergens, malignant cells.

In the body of a healthy person, infectious agents and toxins immediately encounter antibodies and are successfully destroyed.

But in some people, the immune system does not work properly, producing an insufficient amount of antibodies to prevent pathologies. Violation of the functioning of the immune system is hereditary, and sometimes acquired, associated with malnutrition, deficiency in the body of vitamins and trace elements.

It should be noted that immunity weakens with age. This is a natural process. Therefore, older people catch colds more often than young people.

Poor hygiene

The skin of human hands is constantly in contact with a huge number of microbes. If a person does not observe hygiene, does not wash his hands before eating, touches his face with dirty fingers, then he may well catch a viral or bacterial infection.

Thorough hand washing with soap is a simple hygiene rule that allows you to maintain health and avoid infection with viruses and pathogenic bacteria.

It is advisable to use antibacterial soap.

Furniture, door and window handles, telephone, computer and other electronic devices should be periodically cleaned of dust and dirt. People prone to colds should wash their hands with soap in the following cases:

Colds in diseases of the oral cavity

The oral cavity is a reflection of the state of the body, because a large number of both harmless and dangerous microbes accumulate in the mouth. In a healthy person, the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, gums and teeth are maintained as a result of the active work of the immune system.

With regular brushing of teeth with paste, the use of dental floss and mouthwash, pathogenic microflora cannot multiply in such a way as to cause inflammation.

But if a person does not follow oral hygiene, then neglected pathologies of teeth and gums can lead to serious complications:

Hypothyroidism

This is the name for an underactive thyroid gland.

Hypothyroidism is a common disease, but it is difficult to diagnose due to the variety of symptoms. Therefore, many people complain of feeling unwell, but do not even suspect that their thyroid gland is sick.

Hypothyroidism is manifested by a huge number of symptoms:

tired adrenal syndrome

This disease is very similar in symptoms to hypothyroidism, although there are differences.

Hypothyroidism varies from person to person, but there are a few consistent symptoms.

But adrenal fatigue in all people manifests itself individually, there are no general symptoms. This is due to the fact that metabolism depends on the work of the adrenal glands, so pathology can affect any organs and systems. You can note the symptoms of the disease, which are recorded most often:

• prone to colds;
• loss of appetite, addiction to sweets and pickles;
• periodic decrease in blood sugar;
• insomnia;
• anxiety, phobias;
• tachycardia, pain in the heart;
• prostration;
• intolerance to loud sounds;
• thinning of the nail plates.

Symptoms of weakened immunity

You can understand that the immune system has weakened by the following symptoms:

There are many ways to boost immunity. These methods are divided into two categories: physiological and.

Physiological ways to strengthen the immune system

If a person does not eat well, then his immune system ceases to function normally.

To maintain normal immunity, you need to include in the menu plant and animal products rich in proteins, minerals, ascorbic acid, retinol, tocopherol, B vitamins.

Proteins are saturated with legumes, meat, seafood, eggs, nuts.

B vitamins are found in sufficient quantities in dairy products, nuts and seeds, meat and liver, bran bread. Vegetable oils are rich in tocopherol.

And excellent sources of ascorbic acid are citrus fruits, bell peppers, sour berries, sauerkraut, rose hips.

If you often get sick, it is recommended to observe the daily routine.

In order for the body to function normally and successfully resist pathogenic microbes, it is necessary to exercise daily, sleep at least eight hours a day, walk in the fresh air, lead an active lifestyle, stay awake during the day and rest at night.

Living quarters need to be ventilated several times a day; in the hot season of the year, it is recommended to leave an open window in the bedroom at night.

To increase immunity, you can swim in open water in the summer, skiing in the winter. But the best way to get rid of the tendency to colds is hardening.

You can wipe yourself with a damp towel, douse yourself with cold water, or take cool baths. However, hardening must come gradually so as not to harm the body. It is recommended to start with dousing with cool water in the summer, and then lower the water temperature monthly.

Medical ways to strengthen the immune system

If frequent colds are the result of constant stress, then it is useful to drink a decoction of lemon balm or motherwort at night.

The best and immunostimulating drugs prescribed for the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory viral infections are:

• Viferon;
• Panavir;
• Genferon;
• Oksolin.

If a cold is easy, passes quickly, then pharmaceuticals should not be used, because they give a lot of side effects.

Attention, only TODAY!

Let's start with terminology so that there is no confusion in terms. ARI is an acute respiratory disease. “Respiratory” means that the respiratory (respiratory) tract is affected, which includes a number of organs through which air passes when a person breathes. These are the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx with vocal cords, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli of the lungs. Sometimes the term ARVI is used - an acute respiratory viral infection - a particular and most frequent case of acute respiratory infections, since most acute respiratory infections, at least at the beginning of the disease, are caused by airborne viruses. With a detailed formulation of the diagnosis, it is customary to specify the organs that are predominantly affected in each specific case. For example, if a patient has an acute respiratory disease with a runny nose, sore throat, then the doctor will most likely diagnose him with ARVI; rhinopharyngitis, and if this patient also has a dry cough, but the doctor did not listen to the pathology in the lungs (typical for inflammation of the trachea), the most likely diagnosis is SARS, rhinopharyngotracheitis (the suffix "-it" means inflammation). If the doctor has official information from the anti-epidemic service that in this area at that time, for example, adenovirus was sown in patients with similar symptoms, then the doctor has the right to make a full academic diagnosis: SARS caused by adenovirus, rhinopharyngotracheitis. With a banal ARVI, specific studies to determine the causative virus are not carried out for all patients, since the result is ready after the patient has recovered and is no longer of practical importance. There are a lot of viruses and bacteria that cause acute respiratory infections, and they are still constantly mutating. Separately, among acute respiratory infections, influenza is distinguished due to its relatively severe course and a higher likelihood of complications. There are still features in the diagnosis: influenza often begins not with inflammation of the respiratory tract, as in most acute respiratory viral infections, but with a syndrome of general infectious intoxication (high temperature, headache, general malaise) and only then catarrhal (a type of inflammation of the mucous membranes) joins predominantly trachea. Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), although on formal grounds they belong to acute respiratory infections, they also stand apart and are considered, nevertheless, more often as a complication of acute respiratory infections, although there are viral, primary pneumonias, for example, atypical pneumonia that frightened the whole world through the media (synonyms: severe acute respiratory syndrome - SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - SARS). I would also like to disassemble the term "cold". The common cold is the common name for the common cold. I caught a cold - more often it means - I was in the cold, in a draft and fell ill with acute respiratory infections. It is important to understand that any acute respiratory disease (cold) always has an infectious nature. A person either receives a virus from the environment, or by hypothermia provokes a malfunction of the immune system and becomes ill with an activated infection that he had previously carried on his mucous membranes, but the virus until the moment of hypothermia of the human body did not have enough virulent properties to overcome a healthy immune system, to infiltrate cells and multiply. At the same time, such reflex phenomena as coughing when inhaling cold air or when cooling the feet, chills in the cold in a healthy person should be distinguished from the signs of acute respiratory infections, but they must be considered harbingers of the disease and signals from the body about the need to warm up or eliminate the draft. The next question that probably worries readers is “why exactly are respiratory diseases the most common among all infectious ones?”. Everything is simple here: to avoid an intestinal infection, it is enough to wash your hands before eating, monitor the freshness of food, water quality, etc., in general, we can quite effectively prevent the entry of an infectious agent into the body. To effectively reduce the likelihood of acute respiratory infections, you need to ... not breathe, which is incompatible with life. The first barrier to a respiratory infection is the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract - it is also the target for the attack of respiratory viruses. Another reason for frequent acute respiratory infections is globalization and life in a metropolis. Now it is worth somewhere in Australia to sneeze someone with a new strain of the virus - in a few days this infection is already in Moscow and vice versa.

Enough theory, let's move on to practice. So what to do to get sick with ARI less often? The first group of measures is specific and non-specific prevention. It is unlikely that you are unfamiliar with it. Non-specific prevention: compliance with the regime of work and rest, proper nutrition, including fortification, hardening, physical education and sports, avoidance of hypothermia and drafts (including dressing according to the weather, do not neglect hats in the cold), contact with people with acute respiratory infections, etc. P. Specific prevention is vaccination against the most severe forms of acute respiratory infections (flu), compliance with the national vaccination schedule, which, for example, includes vaccinations against such serious airborne diseases as diphtheria and whooping cough. Now I consider it my task to correctly place the accents in the well-known preventive measures - to reveal the role of observing the regime of work and rest and proper nutrition - I did not accidentally put them in the first place, the rest of the measures have been noticed by the people for a long time: since childhood, grandparents, fathers and mothers teach the younger generation does not catch a cold. So, the mode of work and rest. The work of the body systems is built in such a way that under conditions of extreme stress (constant sleep deprivation and growing problems of everyday life, typical for a significant number of workers and students), all of them cannot receive the same and sufficient amount of resources for normal work. For example, if we run cross-country, our cardiovascular and respiratory systems work in submaximal mode, but the gastrointestinal tract cannot work even in normal mode during this period. Therefore, if you have eaten well and ran 10 km, do not be surprised if, after a couple of kilometers of running, you will, excuse me, vomit. Studies have shown that the main "victims" of the body in conditions of chronic stress are the immune system and the gastrointestinal tract. Scientists have proven that one sleepless night leads a person to pathological deviations in the work of such finely structured systems as the endocrine and immune, on average, for eleven (!) days. And if a boy or girl studies all day, then works, then hangs out in some nightclub, only sometimes sleeps, and so on for months and years, then the youngest, most perfect and with deep compensatory capabilities, the body will fail sooner or later, and such a person will often get sick. Rest should be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. Working without breaks, weekends and holidays is becoming something common these days. The same goes for nutrition. If an individual eats exclusively refined foods that are not found in nature, then there is nothing surprising in the fact that the absorption of such highly concentrated carbohydrates, fats and proteins, which require the body to synthesize a huge, unnatural amount of insulin, digestive enzymes, is a stress for the body equal to chronic lack of sleep. All this is terror against itself.

I want to protect you, dear readers, from one, quite common course of action of a person who was visited by the thought “something I often get sick, probably, I have something with immunity ...”. Then this person goes to a doctor, for example, to a private clinic. In the clinic, of course, they say to this person “Hello! We are very glad to see you! Of course, you need to check your immunity - it costs so much, but discounts are provided for you ... ”and away we go ... As a result, often, having not received a result and left without money, a person, having previously become disillusioned with public medicine, is disappointed in both private and in all doctors, ceases to trust in medicine in general, gives up periodic examinations, and after a few years misses some terrible diagnosis, turns late and for the rest of his life, together with the attending physicians, catches up with the outgoing train of health. To understand what a real failure of immunity is, open any medical site about the course of AIDS, a viral disease that destroys the immune system. Then analyze whether you are doing all of the above measures for the normal functioning of your immune system, the prevention of acute respiratory infections. Try to eliminate the factors that can reduce your immunity as much as possible. If after these events you still consider yourself frequently ill, this is already a reason for an examination (especially if you, in principle, have not undergone at least a standard medical examination for a long time).

When examining, pay attention to the following points:

1. We are all different - we have different height, hair color, physical strength, endurance. Similarly, we all have a genetically different level of protection against infections. In any team, under equal conditions, someone will get sick more often, someone less often. Some will easily carry the same infection. Others - with complications. Relatively frequent acute respiratory infections are not always a sign of the pathology of your immune system. This may be an individual normal immune status inherited by you, which is weaker than that of a person you know who gets sick less often. The individually conditioned different tolerance of individual climatic zones also plays a certain role.
2. With proper examination and treatment, you will need to focus on finding and eliminating hidden chronic foci of infection, which very often cause a decrease in the level of immunity due to a constant pathological effect on it. The source of this infection can be problematic teeth (dental granulomas), tonsils (chronic tonsillitis), genitourinary infections (chlamydia, etc.), pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, and much more.
3. At what stage (before or after the general examination) and the feasibility of studying the immune system directly will be determined by your attending physician - do not hesitate to ask him questions about the validity, meaning and significance of this or that analysis, especially if the examination takes place at your expense. I believe that if a doctor cannot explain to the patient the meaning of a particular medical event in an accessible language, then most likely he himself does not fully understand this meaning. If the patient stubbornly refuses or cannot understand a well-written and deciphered plan of examination and treatment, then mutual understanding and trust in this case has not been achieved - and this is the main condition for the success of treatment. In this case, the patient should just believe his doctor - take a step forward.
4. Standard research of the immune status includes an assessment of cellular immunity, humoral immunity, an assessment of the interferon status. Also interesting from a practical point of view, the study is the determination of individual sensitivity to drugs - immunomodulators, interferon inducers, which allows you to find out which drugs make sense to use in the first hours of SARS or for prevention in an epidemic (Kagocel, Cycloferon, Amixin, Immunal, Likopid, Polyoxidonium etc.), and which drugs will simply be money thrown to the wind. The last study is done more than one day and is relevant for subsequent cases or risks of the disease, and not for acute respiratory infections that happened at the time of treatment.

And the last thing: if you are already ill with acute respiratory infections - do not interfere with the body to fight the virus - stay at home, let the immune system work at full strength - otherwise there will be a complication and total labor losses will be greater. In addition, think about those around you - if you go to work sick, you infect them. Separately, I would like to dwell on sports against the background of an acute respiratory disease. It is very dangerous. If a professional athlete with a temperature enters the start of the final of the Olympic Games, this can still be understood. He is well aware that he can get a complication in the heart or kidneys, which will make him disabled. But the stakes are very high - this is the fulfillment of cherished desires, big money and so on. If a sick amateur athlete comes to the start, this is hard to justify. The most frequent question of an amateur athlete before a competition or training is: “I seem to be getting sick, but I really want to train (competition), what should I do?” I, as a doctor, have developed such a criterion when answering this question: if there are minor catarrhal phenomena (a runny nose, sore throat began), but there is no syndrome of general infectious intoxication (fever, general malaise, weakness, etc.), then I regard this condition as a harbinger of acute respiratory infections, I place responsibility for the decision on the applicant himself, having told about the health risks, I try to convince the sick person to stay at home. If the syndrome of general infectious intoxication is already evident (it is enough for me that the temperature is 37 and above), I categorically insist on canceling the training for this amateur athlete. If an official conclusion on admission to the competition is required from me, not a single sick or almost sick person will be admitted to the competition by me.

Thus, if you think that you suffer from acute respiratory infections more often than others, pay attention to your lifestyle: are you doing everything for prevention that depends on you. If, after correcting your lifestyle, you still often get sick, contact your doctor, but ask for justification and explanation of your examination and treatment plan, actively participate in this process, achieve mutual understanding and trust with your doctor - this is the key to success. If you get sick - do not carry the infection on your legs - by doing this you only harm yourself and others.

Frequent colds depress the immune system and worsen not only the physical condition of a person, but also his psychological health. They also interfere with professional implementation.

Often, patients ask the doctor: “Why do I get a cold every month?” This question can only be answered after a comprehensive examination.

The most common causes of frequent colds and SARS are the following diseases and conditions:

• Foci of chronic infection.
• Unfavorable working conditions.
• Iron-deficiency anemia.
• Hypothyroidism.
• Immunodeficiencies of various origins.

Foci of chronic infection

If in young children frequent acute respiratory infections are the norm due to encounters with new viruses, then this should not be the case in adults. Their body has a sufficient amount of antibodies that have been developed during previous contacts with pathogens.

As a rule, during normal functioning of the immune system, an adult suffers from a cold no more than three to four times a year, and this usually happens during an influenza or SARS epidemic.

If diseases occur more often, first of all, sanitation of foci of chronic infection is necessary. To do this, you should visit an otolaryngologist and a dentist.

Diseases of the oral cavity and pharynx most often lead to the reactivation of opportunistic microflora under the influence of external factors. If a person has chronic rhinitis (runny nose), pharyngitis, tonsillitis or otitis media, they will worsen after hypothermia, strong winds, and a viral infection. Caries can also act as a provoking factor.

For adequate sanitation of such foci, bakposev from the oropharynx and nasal cavity is necessary to determine the sensitivity of the flora to antibiotics.

If remission of chronic diseases can be achieved, the frequency of colds is usually significantly reduced.

Unfavorable working conditions

Unfavorable working conditions are the most significant provoking factor. These include:

1. Monotonous work in a room with high humidity and low air temperature.
2. Outdoor activities, especially during the cold season and windy weather.
3. Staying in a draft.
4. Constant contact with people during the SARS epidemic.

Frequent illnesses depress the immune system and provoke repeated exacerbations. Often, patients return to work without having recovered and catch a cold again. In this case, the disease is already more severe. What to do in such a situation?

Changing working conditions to more favorable ones leads to the normalization of the state of human health.

Iron-deficiency anemia

Iron deficiency in the body is a common cause of persistent colds. But even doctors sometimes forget about this relationship.

However, the normalization of blood iron levels very quickly restores immunity and the patient's resistance to infections increases significantly.

At a young age, iron deficiency anemia is more common in women and is associated with the following factors:

• profuse menstruation;
• pregnancies, especially frequent.
• blood loss during childbirth.

In men, anemia is caused by chronic hemorrhages - with stomach ulcers, hemorrhoids. This disease requires a thorough examination to determine the source of blood loss. In old age, anemia often accompanies oncopathology.

Iron deficiency is not always obvious - with a decrease in the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin. In some situations, these indicators are at the lower limit of the norm, but when determining the level of serum iron in the blood, its deficiency is detected.

Patients with frequent colds necessarily require the exclusion of anemia or latent iron deficiency.

This pathology also contributes to a protracted course of illness and often a cold can proceed in waves, for several weeks or a month.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism refers to an underactive thyroid gland. It is an organ of the endocrine system that regulates hormonal and general metabolism in the body. The thyroid gland also affects the state of immunity.

With insufficient production of its hormones, the defenses weaken, and resistance to colds falls. The patient often recurs acute respiratory infections, they can also be complicated. This further depresses the immune system, and without restoring thyroid function, it can be difficult to get out of this circle.

If the patient has had a cold for a month or more, he should be advised to determine the thyroid-stimulating hormone. Hypothyroidism requires long-term, sometimes lifelong, thyroxine (thyroid hormone) replacement therapy.

Immunodeficiencies

Frequent colds are often observed with immunodeficiencies of various etiologies. They may be related to:

• Congenital deficiency of any part of the immune system.
• Immune suppression by influenza virus, Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus infection.
• Oncopathology.
• Reception of cytostatics and steroid hormones.
• Radiation treatment and chemotherapy.
• HIV infection.

Immunodeficiencies are either primary or secondary. They are manifested by frequent viral or bacterial diseases - depending on the level of damage.

After the flu, immunity can recover on its own after a few weeks. Sometimes an additional vitamin is required.

If frequent illnesses are associated with HIV, primary immunodeficiencies, a consultation of related specialists is indicated - an infectious disease specialist and an immunologist.

In a situation where the defenses are suppressed by the use of immunosuppressive drugs (hormones, cytostatics), correction of therapy will help.

Frequent and prolonged colds in adults are a sign of trouble in the body. You should definitely see a doctor and undergo a detailed examination to establish an accurate diagnosis.

Statistics do not lie, especially when it comes to diseases, not politics. Colds are the most common in the world and account for 90% of all other infectious diseases. Every urban person has a cold several times a year.

It is worth explaining what a cold is. The mucous membrane of the nasopharynx is a sensitive organ that reacts to any change in the usual temperature. When we go out into the cold, she reacts with mild swelling to prevent hypothermia. But if a person is in the cold for a long time, the swelling increases, and there may be a sore throat, nasal discharge. This is the beginning of the cold process.

Naturally, a significantly cooled body is more vulnerable to viruses. The person caught a cold, and the next morning - a headache, fever, cough, runny nose. Viruses have already tried here. Therefore, a cold is considered globally, as part of SARS. Among the viruses there are adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, the well-known influenza and many others.

Quite often, a viral infection provokes the development of a bacterial infection. In this case, they speak of a complication of a viral disease. The body is weakened, the immune system is no longer enough to fight, and bacteria easily penetrate the body. In addition, dormant bacteria already present in the body wake up and begin their work.

Many people do not understand the difference between ARVI and ARI - an acute respiratory disease. In fact, there is not much difference. It's just that doctors prefer to diagnose SARS when they are sure that the original causative agent of the infection is a virus. ARI is diagnosed when there is no certainty that the virus is to blame, and there is a suspicion of bacterial infection 1.

Causes of colds in adults

The source of the disease is a sick person who spreads the infection further. In this case, the ways of infection are different. The most common route is airborne 2 . Next comes tactile infection, since viruses can remain on any object that the infected person has touched.

It is worth noting that viruses tend to concentrate. This means that it is much easier for a healthy person to get infected indoors, rather than standing with a sick person “in the middle of the field”. Viruses confidently remain viable for several days, especially in an unventilated room 2 .

Once in the body, the virus begins to actively multiply, moving deeper and deeper. The person himself becomes a source of infection for other people. Especially for those who have problems with immunity, for the elderly, for children, for those with a cold or other diseases 2.

How exactly does the virus manifest itself, and what stages does the disease go through? Four main phases of infectious respiratory infection are determined:

• The pathogen enters the body through the respiratory system and is fixed on the cells of the mucous membranes. The person at this stage does not notice anything.
• The pathogen enters the blood. The body feels the invasion, the immune system begins to work, symptoms of intoxication appear in the body - weakness, malaise, temperature, and so on.
• The virus finds a place in the body in which it will be most comfortable, and creates a focus of inflammation. At this stage, a person begins to cough, sore throat, severe runny nose and other signs.
• The fourth stage marks the end. Either the source of infection turns into a complication and another form of the disease, or the body copes with the virus. Recovery is coming.

cold symptoms in adults

There are a lot of symptoms for each individual viral and bacterial infection. But there are common symptoms of a cold in adults, which can be used to judge the onset of the disease:

• Runny nose. Everyone knows a runny nose, in which it is difficult to breathe through the nose, abundant discharge flows. Often the cause lies in a viral disease, but a bacterial infection is also possible against the background of a general weakening of the body. With a runny nose, rhinitis, sinusitis, or their various complications are diagnosed.
• Cough. Also a familiar state. Cough is dry or wet, heavy or light, accompanied by pain or perspiration. This is an extremely diverse symptom in which laryngitis, bronchitis, tracheitis and other diseases of the larynx, trachea or bronchi can be diagnosed.
• Temperature rise. Mild colds can pass without fever, but this is not always a good thing. The temperature shows that the immune system is fighting off the invaders. But temperatures above 38ºC require close attention from the patient and doctors. High temperatures are characteristic of influenza viruses.
• General weakness and headache. They enter the process of intoxication of the body, which is considered quite normal for a cold.

Viruses tend to capture a specific place in the body, and develop there. The initial focus of infection may be in the mucous membrane of the nose or throat. It is from here that specific respiratory diseases originate - sinusitis, rhinitis, tracheitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis and others 1.

Poor immunity is the main cause of the common cold

The question remains, why does one person fall ill, while his neighbor in a desk or a seat in public transport remains healthy? It's all about immunity, its condition, readiness and performance.

Three conditions are sufficient for the development of a viral disease:

• A virus of sufficient strength
• Penetration into the body in one way or another
• The inability of the immune system to cope with it

The immune system is the main protective barrier. It must prevent the penetration of viruses and bacteria, and when they penetrate, it must successfully cope on its own, without outside help. If this does not happen, the disease visits the person too often. So the immune system needs support.

Treatment of colds in adults

Often, with a cold, there is a possibility of complications. That is why the diagnosis of a cold is necessary. Usually, complex treatment is prescribed, which includes drug therapy.

In the first days after the disease, bed rest is recommended. It is important to ventilate the room more often and lower the ambient temperature so as not to infect healthy people who are also forced to be there. With any virus, you need to drink plenty of fluids. If the immune system is in order, then he himself is able to cope with the disease, the main thing is not to interfere 1.

In case of complications or dangerous viruses, such as influenza, the body needs to be supported with medicines:

• Cough, sore throat are treated by rinsing with special solutions, expectorants and emollients.
• At high temperature, analgesics and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are prescribed
• Antiviral drugs are used to fight viruses.
• Immunostimulants are prescribed to help the immune system
• In case of bacterial infection, antibacterial drugs are used
• For nasal congestion, vasoconstrictor drugs and sea water preparations are recommended.
• In severe cases, antibiotics are prescribed 2

How to treat a cold in adults

Colds can be treated in a variety of ways. But do not forget about immunity. To activate local immunity, the IRS ® 19 preparation containing bacterial lysates 3 can be used.

IRS ® 19 has been used for many years in the treatment of colds, acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections. Bacterial lysates activate local immunity, thereby suppressing microorganisms on the mucous membranes of the respiratory system. It becomes harder for new viruses and bacteria to enter the body. The terms of treatment of colds with the use of IRS ® 19 are reduced 4 .

Cold prevention in adults

Prevention is easier than cure - this expression is especially true for colds. It is possible to leave the list of frequently ill people. To do this, it is necessary to keep the immune system in good shape, and then it will be possible to calmly smile at every coughing counter.

For the prevention of colds, it is worth following the unchanged therapeutic recommendations:

• Strengthen immunity through exercise and hardening
• Maintain your weight
• Always observe hygiene: washing hands after the street has not been canceled
• Ventilate rooms as often as possible and maintain a comfortable, slightly cool temperature

An additional tool in maintaining immunity and protecting against colds can be a medicine - nasal spray IRS ® 19. Bacterial lysates, which are part of it, stimulate the immune system to resist respiratory infections 3 .