| What Causes a Cold and The Flu? A cold and the flu are both caused by viruses, tiny infectious agents that can survive only by getting inside the cells of animals or humans. One of the differences between a cold and the flu is the kind of virus that causes each. The flu, medically known as influenza, is always caused by one of the influenza viruses. Colds (also known as viral rhinitis, nasopharyngitis, or nonspecific upper respiratory infections), on the other hand, can be caused by more than 200 different viruses (and that estimate includes only the viruses doctors know about). The biggest offender, called the rhinovirus, causes up to 40% of colds and has about 100 distinct types. Other prevalent upper respiratory viruses include coronaviruses, adenovirus, and the respiratory syncytial virus. Your body reacts very differently to being infected by a cold virus versus an influenza virus. The type of virus determines what symptoms you get and how severe they will be. Many cold viruses are extremely hard to grow in laboratory environments, and are therefore hard to study. The viruses that cause as many as 50% of colds in adults have not even been identified. Learning more about the viruses that cause colds and the flu can help doctors figure out how to prevent and treat them. For most people, however, the most important thing to know is that viruses are to blame for both colds and the flu. This fact has very important implications for treating—and preventing—these illnesses. For example, knowing that colds and the flu are caused by viruses explains why taking an antibiotic would do nothing for you. Antibiotics work only on bacterial infections, not on viral infections. Please visit The Cold and Flu Survival Guide to learn about symptoms, prevention, treatments, and more Copyright Harvard Health Publications - 2007 |
 |
 Patient Education Center Below are links to articles from the Harvard Medical School Patient Education Center: Learn about migraine headaches by clicking below: Treating and Preventing Migraine Headaches Visit the healthy eating center for articles and interactive tools: Healthy Eating: The Food-Health Connection Understand cholesterol and what it means to you: The Cholesterol Connection  560 West Mitchell Street Suite 300 Petoskey, MI 49770 231.487.2460 (main) |
