Colds Flashcards
what is the most common infection?
colds
what are colds made up of?
viruses (ex: coronavirus, influenza)
What do viruses do to our body? what role does our immune system play?
viruses destroy tissue, our immune system creates symptoms to get rid of the virus (ex: sneeze, cough)
Is there a cure for the common cold? how long does it last? what about remedies?
No. it lasts for about a week. remedies don’t get rid of a cold, but they may make us think we feel better (chicken soup)
What happened in Salisbury England?
They wanted to do a trial on humans.
- Offered participants a free vacation (not really a vacation)
- they would collect the sneeze from someone will a cold and use it as an artificial sneeze to insert into someone else
- sneezes were found to be not good spreaders of colds
What is it that spreads colds?
Mucus and touching surfaces + your face
What is mucus made of?
water with a bit of mucin
What happened with the Tristan Ca Cunha Island?
The remote island would only have cold outbreaks following a visit by boats. June, July, august is their winter so they have the worst weather and therefore no colds because no visitors
Coronavirus major and minor transmission
Major: Respiratory
Minor: surfaces
cold —– with age:
decrease
Why do you get fewer colds as you age?
You built up immunity and antibodies in your immune system. “memory” of the infection so you don’t get it again.
What are 6 different types of meds for colds?
antipyretic +anelgysic, decongestive, expectorant, antitussive, antihistamines
What is menthol’s role?
weak topical analgesic- activates nerve endings
Is menthol better in liquid form or a cough drop? why?
cough drop because it touches the surface for longer, liquid goes to the stomach
What is the best topical pain reliever?
Cepacol - spray
don’t use it all the time, will remove the sensation
descongestant - what is a popular kind
dries up a runny nose, pseudoephedrine (vasoconstrictor)
what was pseudoephedrine being made into? what was a popular decongestant before?
amphetamine - meth
nasal sprays contain which decongestant?
oxymetazoline
what does an antihistamine do? side effect?
- removes allergy symptoms, cough, nausea
- drowsiness
which antihistamine is popular for colds?
chlorpheniramine
which antihistamine is popular for allergies
dimenhydrinate
what are the 2 types of coughs?
dry + productive
what did they use in the past to stop coughs?
opium + heroine (ended up being more addictive than opium)
What is an antitussive? example?
suppresses nerve reflex to cough - for dry cough
dextromethorphan
What is an expectorant?
for a productive cough, make you cough, you want to get rid of all the mucus but it is easier to do this when it is more watery
- not clinically proven to work… drink water instead
Why are multi-symptom meds bad?
decongestants and expectorants work in opposite directions… how does that make sense
day time doesn’t include antihistamines but the nighttime does… but they both include decongestants which is a stimulant so will keep you awake anyway
which is the number one selling cold med?
cold-fx
does colf-fx work?
no, made from starch which has no antiviral properties
- ginseng root: looks like a person
- clinical trials made up their own stats
issue with gravol (ginger+ willow bark)
does ginger have an antiviral effect?
80% effective at a certain dose and what’s in the meds is 1/20th the amount that should be effective
what % of colds are due to the flu?
15
what does the H and N stand for? what do the numbers mean?
H: hemaglutinin
N: neuraminidase
# shows variation and change in the protein
What med does the prof recommend?
Sinutab - pseudoephedrine
