ACHOOOOO - The Contagious Cold

Sooner or later everybody catches a cold. Colds are caused by more than 200 different viruses. These viruses are spread by person-to-person contact through contaminated secretions on the fingers and hands, and through particles in the air from sneezing and coughing.

As long as the virus is present in nasal discharges, the cold is contagious. Scientists believe that there is more live virus present in nasal secretions between the second and fourth days of infection, so you could say that a person is more contagious during this time period. Symptoms usually begin around the second day, but this can vary. Some people never have symptoms, even though an infection is present. Some people do not develop symptoms until the fifth day after infection. No one can explain this variation and it is one of the things that make it difficult to find what to take to stop a common cold. Some people have symptoms for only a couple of days; others for a couple of weeks. Experts advise that if symptoms are present for longer than two weeks, there may be another cause, such as allergy or a bacterial infection.