Common cold, uncommon facts

Sniffly red nose, incessant sneezing, a hoarse voice and an occasional fever and headaches—even the healthiest amongst us have experienced these annoying symptoms of the common cold. Scientists believe that humans have endured this disease for thousands of years, as many ancient civilizations have records of cold-like symptoms and approaches to treat them, some of which are now debunked by medical science. Yet, even to this day, there’s no known medicine or vaccine to treat this bothersome malady. You’ll have to wait for about a week, and you’ll be back in good shape. 

Unlike most diseases, the ‘common cold’ isn’t caused by one pathogen but by any of the 200 viruses known. These include rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, coronaviruses and influenza viruses. Hence, taking antibiotics—which are drugs designed to fight bacteria and do nothing to viruses—is ineffective in treating a common cold. Despite humanity’s long association with the disease, the causative viruses were identified only in the 1950s—less than a century ago. 

Contrary to common misconception, cold weather or eating something cold has little to do with causing a common cold. While some of the causative viruses thrive in the winter, a common cold spreads through inhaling cough and sneezing droplets from an infected person. So why is it called a ‘cold’? Perhaps because being out in the cold for a long time makes the nose runny! Or, back in the day, when people cooped up in a room during winter, the disease spread easily. 

A common cold may not hurt our bodies much, but can certainly dent the economy. In the US—one of the few countries where such data exists—patients with the common cold spend over $7.7 billion each year to visit doctors and nearly $3 million for drugs, although nothing in the market can fight the virus. Experts estimate that the economic cost of the common cold to the US economy is over $20 billion per year. Ahem!