Common Cold Treatment Specialist in Lehigh Acres, FL

If you have been exposed to someone that was showing signs and symptoms of having a cold, you could easily catch this cold-causing virus and begin to see symptoms of it around one to three days later; however, this will vary from one individual to another. Some of the symptoms that you may notice from the common cold include:
 
• Stuffy nose
• Runny nose
• Cough
• Congestion
• Mild body aches
• Mild headache
• Sneezing
• Low-grade fever
• Overall, just an unwell feeling
 
Any discharge that occurs due to your runny nose at first will start out clear and may become a lot thicker and even turn yellow or green, as the common cold continues to run its course. However, just because your runny nose starts to turn yellow and green does not mean you have a bacterial infection.
 
Bacterial infections that occur from a common cold will move into more severe conditions like pneumonia, croup, bronchitis, and strep throat.

Both the influenza virus and the common cold are categorized into respiratory tract infections as they both start off in the nose, throat, and sinuses; however, from there, they differ greatly.
 
The common cold’s symptoms often begin to build up over a 48-hour period, this is when you will begin to notice symptoms of a runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, congestion, watery eyes, coughing. These symptoms typically last from around 3 to 10 days, some may be a bit longer.
 
The influenza virus symptoms are faster to come on, and usually, the first few symptoms that anyone notices when they have contracted the influenza virus is a fever which is commonly followed by chills. Often these symptoms are followed up by aches and pain throughout the body, weakness, and fatigue. Influenza virus symptoms often last several days or few hours each day and will continue for as long as a week, some symptoms may hold on longer and linger for up to three weeks after the first onset.

The common cold virus can easily spread from one infected person to another through droplets that enter the air and through close personal contact. You can become infected through contact, or any respiratory secretions from an infected individual. This can occur through contact like shaking hands, hugging, etc., or through touching a surface that an infected individual either touched or respiratory secretions are on like doorknobs or countertop surfaces, and then go ahead and touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. Respiratory secretions are droplets that leave the body through sneezing, coughing, etc.
 
You can reduce your chances of getting sick from the cold by:
 
• Wash your hands throughout the day with soap and water. To get the full effect from the soap and water, you need to wash for up to 20 seconds. Usually, if you sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice, that averages out to 20 seconds. If you do not have soap and water available, any alcohol-based hand sanitizer will also work. Regular handwashing helps to protect you and others like children and seniors from getting sick.
 
• Try not to touch your nose, mouth, or eyes with unwashed hands. Viruses can easily enter your body by your hands if they are not consistently washed throughout the day, which can make you sick.

• Stay away from anyone that is sick or showing symptoms of being sick. Sick individuals can easily spread the common cold virus by just being within close contact with others.

It is highly recommended to visit a doctor for the common cold if you have these symptoms as an adult:
 
• Showcase symptoms that begin to worsen or are failing to improve
• Have a fever of 101.3^oF or higher and it has lasted longer than 3 days
• Fever that returns after being fever-free for some time
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Headache
• Sinus pain
• Severe sore throat
 
It is highly recommended to visit a doctor for the common cold if your child showcases these symptoms:
 
• Fever of 100.4^oF in newborns and infants up to 12 weeks of age
• Rising fever or a fever that has lasted two days in any child
• Severe symptoms that include sore throat, coughing, and headache
• Wheezing
• Difficulty breathing
• Ear pain
• Extremely fussy
• Unusual drowsiness
• Lack of appetite
 
Come to Dr. Pedro Ylisastigui, MD! Our physician is experienced and can help you to be in good health! We are conveniently located at 1150 Lee Blvd. #4 Lehigh Acres, FL 33936. We look forward to serving you! We serve patients from Lehigh Acres FL, Fort Myers FL, Buckingham FL, Cypress Lake FL, Gateway FL, Cape Coral FL, Palmona Park FL, and Alva FL.