The Common Cold: Children's Leading Source of Discomfort

Our body is always prone to different infections, sickness, and illnesses that may harm our health. It is necessary for each person to take enough vitamins and minerals to increase our body's protection from harmful bacteria and viruses that cause illness. Vitamin supplements are usually given to children who need more protection against illnesses. A change in the weather, how they go about their outdoor playtime activities, and what they eat and drink affect chilren's state of health.
Among the many illnesses contracted by children, perhaps there is none more common that the common cold. The common cold is a highly contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. It is one of the most common reasons why children visit doctors and become absent from school. From having headaches to sniffles and sneezes, to a sore throat and irritating cough, having this particular infection usually catches up with us or our children when our body's immune system is no longer able to stave off viral attacks.
The first few symptoms of a common cold are often felt in the throat, a symptom that is characterized by a somewhat tickling sensation. A runny or stuffy nose can also occur when dealing with the common cold, which also includes the annoying sneeze. Children with colds may also experience sore throat, cough, headache, mild fever, muscle aches, fatigue, and loss of appetite. A child that is sick with the common cold is likely to have a watery to thick yellow or green discharge from their nose.
How do we get the cold virus? Rhino viruses are invisible droplets in the air we breathe or on things we touch. This specific virus is the main cause of a common cold, and can penetrate through the protective lining of a child's nose and throat, provoking an immune system reaction which are really shown as cold symptoms. A common cold is most contagious during the first two to four days after symptoms appear, and can still be contagious for up to three weeks. Catching a cold is easy, since this can be done through contact with another person, or by breathing in virus particles that were spread in the air through sneezing or coughing. Touching the mouth or nose after touching another surface that is contaminated with the rhino virus can also spread the disease. The whole duration of this kind of infection depends on the treatment or the child himself. Common cold symptoms generally appear two or three days after exposure to the said infection. Most of the colds that we experience lasts for up to one week, but some clears up in as early as two weeks.
In order to prevent your children from getting this common infection, it is advisable to stay away from anyone who smokes or is currently having colds, since its virus particles can reach up to twelve feet when someones sneezes or coughs. After blowing their noses, it is good if children wash their hands thoroughly and frequently. It is also good to teach them how to cover their noses or mouths when coughing or sneezing to prevent the infection from spreading out. Since the virus from a common cold is contagious, it is better for people, especially the children, to not use or share towels, eating utensils, and drinking glass. As they always say, prevention is better than cure.