What should I do if I feel miserable with a cold?

Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
Updated on November 11, 2024
00:00
00:00

First, it is important to correctly understand the common cold and not to be overly stressed mentally or emotionally. The common cold is a respiratory infectious disease caused by viral infection, leading to symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, dry throat, cough, headache, dizziness, fever, and fatigue. Appropriate symptomatic treatment medications should be primarily used. For instance, antipyretic analgesics can be taken for fever, and it is also advisable to drink plenty of water, avoid staying up late, and eat more vegetables and fruits. If nasal congestion and runny nose are severe, medications that suppress gland secretion can be taken for symptomatic treatment.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
45sec home-news-image

Yellow nasal discharge is what kind of cold?

Yellow nasal discharge is not a symptom of a cold. A cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, typically presents with clear nasal discharge, indicating a viral infection. The appearance of yellow nasal discharge could suggest two possibilities: it could either be a symptom of sinusitis or it could indicate a secondary bacterial infection following a cold, especially in the later stages of a cold, manifesting symptoms similar to sinusitis. Therefore, yellow or yellow-purulent nasal discharge is definitively not a cold; it might be a symptom of sinusitis occurring late in the course of a cold or as the cold is resolving. In conclusion, yellow nasal discharge is not indicative of a cold.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
48sec home-news-image

Can you eat watermelon if you have a cold from catching a chill?

In clinical practice, there are cases of colds classified as "hot" or "cold" types. Even patients suffering from a "hot" type cold can experience nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and fever when they catch a chill. For some patients who catch a cold in summer due to being chilled, it is appropriate to eat some watermelon, as watermelon is a cooling fruit. It can somewhat relieve the heat for patients suffering from a "hot" type cold. Therefore, for patients experiencing nasal congestion, sore throat, or even coughing due to a "hot" type cold, eating watermelon can help adjust and soothe, although it is not recommended to eat frozen watermelon.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Yong
Traditional Chinese Medicine
48sec home-news-image

Should you cover yourself with a thick blanket if you have a cold caused by wind-heat?

Generally, it is not advisable to cover oneself with heavy blankets when suffering from a wind-heat cold, as this type of cold is caused by externally contracted wind-heat, commonly occurring in the summer. Covering with heavy blankets after contracting a wind-heat cold may hinder the body's ability to dissipate heat, which is not conducive to the dispersion of body heat. If a wind-heat cold occurs during the autumn or winter seasons, it is acceptable to use blankets, otherwise, it may lead to the invasion of wind-cold, exacerbating the cold's condition and adversely affecting the treatment of the wind-heat cold. In daily life, one should pay attention to resting more and avoid eating raw, greasy, or strongly spicy foods; drinking more water; and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Shu Kun
Traditional Chinese Medicine
38sec home-news-image

Is vomiting a symptom of a cold caused by wind-cold or wind-heat?

In cases of vomiting, whether it is due to a cold caused by wind-cold or wind-heat, both can lead to the occurrence of vomiting. Therefore, vomiting alone cannot be used to determine the specific type of cold causing it. It still requires the identification through other symptoms. For example, a wind-cold is mainly caused by exposure to cold, while wind-heat is due to excessive heat turning into fire. There are also differences in the treatment of the two, and they cannot be treated in the same way. For a wind-cold, treatment mainly involves warm-natured medicines, while for wind-heat, cool-natured medicines are primarily used.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yuan Qing
Pulmonology
53sec home-news-image

There are several types of common cold.

Traditional Chinese medicine classifies the common cold based on the different external pathogenic factors a patient encounters, which can be categorized into cold-induced common cold and heat-induced common cold. A cold-induced common cold occurs when a patient is invaded by cold pathogens, while a heat-induced common cold is when a cold is contracted after exposure to external heat pathogens. In modern medicine, also known as Western medicine, the common cold is further classified into the ordinary common cold, primarily caused by viruses, bacteria, and mycoplasma infections, and the epidemic influenza, mainly caused by the influenza virus. Generally speaking, both Chinese and Western medicine employ different treatment methods and medications specific to the pathogens involved in the cold, and both approaches can be very effective in treating the condition.