How to quickly cure a cold in an adult at home
You can catch a cold at any time of the year. If you don’t want to go to the hospital, but you need to get on your feet, you should start treatment at home immediately. We will tell you how to quickly cure a cold in an adult at home

The events of recent years in the world have shown us that the most important thing is health. In the fight against COVID-19, one should not forget about the common cold, SARS and acute respiratory infections. A cold may be accompanied by fever, runny nose, malaise, wet cough. Agree, pleasant enough? The common cold is almost always a viral infection. 80% of all colds are caused by viruses – and there are about 200 types1.

A modern person has no time to get sick, he has to get up on his feet in a short time. In the KP material, we will tell you how to quickly cure a cold in an adult at home, and the general practitioner will answer questions of interest to readers – is it possible to drink antibiotics, will inhalations and essential oils help in treating a cold.

Step-by-step instructions for treating a cold in an adult

Keep your health controls close at hand

In the modern world, each person should have not only a smartphone and Internet access, but also means of controlling well-being, namely:

  • thermometer – measure body temperature;
  • tonometer – measure blood pressure and pulse;
  • Libra;
  • room hygrometer and thermometer – measure the humidity and temperature in the room;
  • for patients with diabetes – a glucometer and test strips;
  • for patients with asthma – a peak flowmeter (to detect worsening of bronchospasm in time);
  • for patients with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) – a pulse oximeter (blood oxygen saturation).

– With an uncomplicated viral infection, it is possible to self-medicate: drink more fluids, if you feel unwell and have a fever – antipyretic, with discharge from the nose – washing the nasal cavity with saline solutions, with nasal congestion – vasoconstrictor, – says otolaryngologist Svetlana Marnova.

Maintain a relative humidity of 40-60%

If the air is dry, especially in autumn and winter, when the heating is turned on, the person has less mucus in the nose and the movements of the cilia are disturbed. As a result, viruses are more likely to reach the lungs and cause problems. The second point is that in dry air, droplets with the virus fly further and remain in the air longer.2and this increases the risk of infection.

Ventilate the room regularly

The air temperature in the room should be 18-22 degrees. If you’re cold, get dressed. It is necessary to ventilate the room, especially in case of diseases, for two simple reasons:

  • the heating season “dries” the air;
  • due to ventilation, the concentration of viruses and bacteria in the air decreases, and the air flow that enters the room quickly removes viruses living in the air.

Therefore, if someone is sick at home, be sure to ventilate his room 3-4 times a day. Better yet, the whole apartment, you can do this in turn in each room.

Drink plenty of fluids

Drink at least 2-2,5 liters of pure water per day. If ARVI is accompanied by fever, an additional 0,5 liters per day for every +1 degree above normal3. Water is a natural solvent, and when you drink it, germs and bacteria are eliminated from the body faster.

Eat nutritious, easily digestible foods

Your body is already loaded with viruses – do not load the digestive tract either. Give up flour, sweet, salty and, of course, fast food for the duration of the illness, give preference to light food. This may include:

  • soups (vegetable or meat secondary broth);
  • cereals on water or milk-water (50 to 50);
  • fruits and vegetables (can be fresh or baked),
  • mashed potatoes,
  • protein (boiled chicken, steamed fish).

If body temperature rises

If the body temperature has risen, then you need to drink an antipyretic (paracetamol, ibuprofen)4.

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If you have a runny nose

In this case, you can use pharmacy products, for example, Aqualor, Aquamaster, Marimer, Aquaros.

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For nasal congestion

Nasal sprays with xylometazoline or oxymetazoline can help relieve nasal congestion.

If a cough with thick sputum that does not come out well

  • ventilate the room;
  • drink more water;
  • you can turn on the shower in the bathroom and breathe in moist air.

– If complaints persist, if you feel unwell for more than five days – consult a doctor. It’s definitely not worth waiting if the temperature rises and rashes appear on the body, but if there are convulsions or confusion – an ambulance, – our expert Svetlana Marnova notes.

Popular questions and answers

Is it possible to take antibiotics at home for a cold and other popular questions answers MD, ENT surgeon Konstantin Dobretsov.

Do I need to use antibiotics for a cold at home?

– In the vast majority, a cold is an acute respiratory viral infection, so the use of antibiotics is not only not useful, but also harmful. They will disrupt the microbial balance of the body and increase the risk of a severe bacterial infection. Antibiotics should be prescribed only for complicated colds and under the supervision of a doctor.

Are there effective folk remedies for colds?

– Folk remedies are a good method of treating a cold. Honey, ginger, lemon increase immunity, and gargling with herbal decoctions relieves inflammation and pain. However, there are controversial or outright harmful procedures. So, for example, instillation of onion juice into the nose causes pronounced swelling and burns of the mucous membrane, and heating the cheeks with a boiled egg can provoke the appearance of sinusitis.

Before using any method, it is better to consult a doctor and do not experiment!

Is inhalation good for colds?

– Inhalations are effective, but not steam (over potatoes, steam). Steam inhalation causes small burns of the pharyngeal mucosa, which further leads to inflammation. Only ultrasonic inhalations are effective. Especially when the infection penetrates the larynx, trachea, bronchi. For this, special nebulizers are used. Physiological saline, mineral water, lazolvan or hormones are more often used as medicines.

Sources of:

  1. An I. M. De Sutter. Antihistamines for the common cold : [англ.] / An I. M. De Sutter, Avadhesh Saraswat, Mieke L. van Driel // The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. — 2015. — No. 11 (November).
  2. Prokhorovich E.A. Acute respiratory viral diseases // ZV. 2010. №1. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ostrye-respiratornye-virusnye-zabolevaniya
  3. Zaitsev A. A. Issues of prevention and symptomatic therapy of acute respiratory viral infections // MS. 2013. No. 7. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/voprosy-profilaktiki-i-simptomaticheskoy-terapii-ostryh-respiratornyh-virusnyh-infektsiy
  4. Instructions for use of the medicinal product for medical use Ibuprofen dated 18.06.2019/XNUMX/XNUMX  

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