A Silver Lining to the Common Cold

That's an unlikely post title, no?

I know this is my PUPPPs blog, but I'm living with the itch AND a cold right now, so I may as well tell you about it. 

It's a little crazy, but the fever, aches, sore throat, and completely plugged sinuses have taken my mind off the itching! I'm rather miserable, but less itching is definitely a silver lining.

So, here I am in the middle of summer, hunkered in my hoodie and fleece jammies...researching the common cold. Ironic.

Now, let's be logical, if you're reading this because you have PUPPPs, you are about to or already do have children in the house. Children, the little germ factories, are the main way adults get infected. They're worth it, trust me. But with children in the house, you are going to become quite accustomed to colds, so you might as well buff up on your sniffly knowledge. 

I came across a fascinating webpage all about the common cold from Cardiff University in the UK. Here's a link to the article: link

Here's the run down in case you'd rather skip reading the full article. 

• Incubation period for the common cold is 2 days. Super short!
• You are most contagious when you have the early symptoms (sneezing, coughing, runny nose).
• The virus is commonly present in your nose and throat, but it doesn't take root unless your immune system takes a dive (like if you get stressed). 
• Your mother was right! Getting chilled can give you a cold! A study took roughly a hundred college kids and chilled their feet in ice water for a while. Compared to the control group, they were statistically way more likely to get a cold! Researchers believe the chilling of the feet constricts the blood vessels in the nose and throat, thereby lowering your immune reponse (due to the lack of immune system cells that would normally be present with the blood in that area!) The gist? You get cold, you're more likely to get a cold. This is also probably the reason colds are more common in fall and winter. 
• There are roughly 200 different viruses that causes common cold symptoms. Awesome. This means you can get one cold right after another. Your body will be immune the first cold, but not prepared to fight off the second one. 
• Symptoms usually last 7-14 days. 
• You'll first feel sick where the first viruses attach themselves. If it's in your nose, you'll probably get a runny nose first. If it's in your throat, you'll get a dry scratchy throat. 
• Many infections don't cause symptoms. The virus takes root, but your body fights it off before you start to feel sick. Come on, body! Why didn't we do that this time?! 
• You can't tell the difference between a cold and a flu based on the symptoms. They can act very similar. A flu is often worse than a cold. There are some laboratory tests for the flu. 
• Your nose doesn't actually get blocked with snot. It gets plugged up, because the blood vessels in your nose swell up. It gets all inflamed in there, and then the tiniest amount of mucous blocks the rest. Lovely. 

(Image from the Cardiff University website for common cold info)

Well, after all that, I'd say our trip to the beach was our downfall. We all got chilly in that blissfully cool air. And then we all got sick. It sure felt good! Next time, I'll bundle up better.