Asked by: Anonymous
Most of the symptoms of a cold are not signs that the body is fighting off the infection so much as responses engineered by the virus to help ensure its spread. Runny nose, streaming eyes, coughing and sneezing are all ways to get virus particles outside your body and spread them as widely as possible.
The only symptom that could be considered part of the immune response is fever. This is more usually a sign that you have flu, rather than one of the upper respiratory tract infections lumped together as ‘a cold’.
Fever has been shown to make the body a less favourable environment for some pathogens and also to increase the proliferation of white blood cells. But evidence that using drugs to reduce the fever prolongs flu or a cold is much less conclusive.
Virtually every alternative and conventional medicine (with the exception of anti-virals for flu) appears to have no significant impact on a cold’s duration.
Read more:
- Why do I feel cold and shiver when I have a fever?
- Is it possible to have the flu and a cold at the same time?
Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.
