Overview

The common cold is a set of symptoms that are caused by virus infection in the upper respiratory tract. Common cold can be attributed to more than 300 viruses. The most common virus is the rhinovirus which causes about 40% of colds. You catch the virus from a person with a virus infection. This takes place by touching a surface infected with cold germs and after that your nose or mouth. The cold virus enters your body via nose or mouth and even a simple touch can spread it. Sneezing, irritating throat and running nose are signs of a common cold.

Flu is a severe respiratory infection that occurs due to many flu viruses. Flu symptoms are more acute as compared to cold symptoms. The symptoms of flu are sore throat, headache, and fever. Muscle pains, tenderness, blockage, and cough. Many influenza viruses can cause flu.
Symptoms of common cold

The symptoms of common cold are:

Sore throat that subsides in about two days.

• Runny nose
• Congestion accompanied by cough
• Fever is accompanied with cold in children
• The nasal secretions are watery in first few days. If they become thicker and darker on fourth and fifth day, it implies that you have developed a bacterial infection.

Symptoms of flu

The onset of flu symptoms is quite sudden. The symptoms of flu are:

• High fever 
• Very high grade fever(104 degrees) in children accompanied by chills
• Extreme pain in the body muscles and  joints
• Weakness
• Sick look with red and watery eyes
• Severe headache
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose

Causes of cold and flu

Common cold and flu are caused by viruses. The rhinovirus is attributed to causing 20-50% cases of cold. The coronaviruses causes about 15% cases of colds and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes 5-10% of colds.

The rhinovirus moves in the body via your nose or mouth. It spreads if you touch common things like the computer keyboard, the phone or a utensil. You can easily spread the common cold to anyone who comes in contact with you. You are more prone to common cold if you are tired, have emotional suffering, or are allergic.

Similar to cold viruses, flu viruses come into your body via the mucous membranes of eyes, nose or mouth.

Diagnosis and Tests

In many cases, a doctor can diagnose cold and flu based on symptoms.
The doctor might like to do an influenza rapid diagnostic test in order to confirm that the influenza virus is accountable for your symptoms and to rule out any other health ailment. The doctor can discriminate the flu virus from any other viral infections. The doctor can recommend antiviral drugs early in the problem when they are very helpful. Early diagnosis especially within 48 hours of flu symptoms can help to improve the acuteness of the symptoms. After 2 days, the drugs might not be very effective. Additionally, a flu test might decrease the inappropriate intake of antibiotics for the flu virus.

Treatment

There are numerous cold medicines and treatments to pacify the cold symptoms but there is nothing to cure a cold.  There is no medicine to attack cold or flu viruses. You can take different medication according to your symptoms.

• If you have nasal or sinus congestion, you should go for a decongestant cold medicine. They are used to soften the blocked mucous membranes of the nose. Prolonged usage of decongestants can lead to return of symptoms.
• Some decongestants like pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine can augment your blood pressure so they should be taken under medical supervision.
• In case of a runny nose or persistent sneezing, an antihistamine tablet can relieve you.
• Nasal decongestants act to unblock the breathing passages. But persistent usage can end up in making you more congested. Saline sprays are now becoming more famous.

Complications

Common cold complications can be quite serious like sinusitis, asthma attacks, bronchitis, or ear infections that can make you sick. Here the antibiotics or medications are indicated.

Sinus Infection (Sinusitis): A sinus infection is a swelling of mucous membranes present in the sinus cavities. This makes the mucous glands to produce mucus. The blockage of sinus passages will produce pressure and your nose will feel blocked. After some time, you’ll have pain in the sinus region, headaches, thick yellow cough and extreme tooth pain.

Asthma Attack: For an asthmatic person, a cold can make you congested and you’ll push out mucus from the throat. The asthma attack will start and might get severe with symptoms of short of breath, chest congestion and coughing.

Bronchitis (Chest Cold): Acute bronchitis is swelling and tenderness of the airways that occurs due to a bacterial or viral infection. It can lead to a cough with mucus production that can be marked with blood at times. Depending on the severity of symptoms, you may or may not require medical treatment
The complications of flu are bacterial pneumonia, sinus infections, infection in ear, lack of moisture, and deterioration of chronic ailments like heart problem, asthma or diabetes.

Home Remedies

You should drink a lot of fluids to do away with congestion. At least 8-10 glasses of water are required. Other fluids like water, herbal teas, and ginger mix or fruit juices are also recommended.

• Inhale steam to do away with congestion. You should breathe in the steam through your nose. The moisture from a hot shower or a saline nasal spray is also useful.
• You must blow your nose rather than taking the mucus back into your head. But if you apply pressure, it can cause the germ-carrying phlegm to move into your ear passages resulting in ear pain. The best manner to blow your nose is to keep a finger on one nostril and clear the other.
• You should stay warm and remain rested. It’ll direct the energy of your body toward the immune battle.
• Gargling is used to humidify an irritating throat and bring some relief. Gargle with a teaspoon of salt mixed in warm water at least four times daily. You can also use tea containing tannin to gargle.

Diet

A cold remedy is to eat foods with high levels of antioxidants that are beta-carotene and vitamins C and E .These foods contain antioxidants that protect your body and provide a protection system to the body. They neutralize free radicals which interfere with normal functioning of the cells. They aid in quick recovery. Raw fruits and vegetables are best method to take antioxidants.

The foods with high quantity of beta-carotene and other carotenoids include apricots, beets, and asparagus. broccoli, corn, cantaloupe, carrots, guava, mustard and , mangoes, nectarines, pink grapefruit, peaches, pumpkin and tomatoes  The food containing vitamin C include cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, kiwi, orange juice, cantaloupe, papaya and strawberries.
The foods having vitamin E are cod-liver oil, hazelnuts, almonds, corn oil, lobster, peanut butter, and safflower oil.

It is proven that foods rich in bioflavonoid will help in quick recovery from cold. They increase immune system immunity and functioning. The bioflavonoids are found in citrus fruits, lemons, oranges, limes, onions and cherries.