Cold

The word "cold" is used in the Russian language very often. And the meaning of this word is quite obvious. To confirm the turn to the quotations from dictionaries:

Dahl's Dictionary:

Colds - illness, the sudden cooling of the skin.

Allow to catch cold - causing illness cold, the action of frost on a living body.

Ushakov's dictionary:

Colds - cooling, abrupt change in temperature, which was subjected to the body. Disease caused by a cold.

Dictionary Ozhegova:

The common cold - a disease caused by cooling of the body; itself is cooling.

So, two opinions can not be: The common cold - is a disease caused by hypothermia. Frozen, waiting for the bus a cold January night, get your feet wet, learning the depth of puddles, and eventually drank cold compote and - ill.

Why sick? This is a separate issue, and we will respond to it yet. The main thing now is different. We should clearly understand the difference between a cold and SARS.

Theoretically, there seems to be, and understand nothing: SARS - a specific disease, it has become infected by contacting the patients or with the virus. Cold "earn" supercooling. That is all very obvious.

Unfortunately, all apparently only in theory, for the practical use of the word "cold" in most cases brand name viagra has nothing to do with its true value. Think about the meaning of the phrase: "We polklassa colds" ... Do we mean that in this unfortunate class, every second child before the freeze? Of course not!

And how do you favorite stamp of the media - "the season of colds! And allegedly due to the onset of this season, the school closed for quarantine, emptying kindergartens and doctors going down ... But we are with you fully understand: quarantines, deserted gardens and tired of doctors are a consequence of viral infection, rather than the mass of the population of hypothermia.

Special affection cause numerous recommendations regarding the prevention of colds. At first glance, well what is incomprehensible - dress, shoes, watch the temperature in the room, do not drink, do not eat cold - that's not hypothermia-colds. Well, there is only at first glance: listen to the radio, read newspapers, go to the pharmacy, watch TV, talk with your girlfriends - you learn a thousand ways how to protect themselves from colds nasal drops, ointments, enemas, herbs and tabletochkami.

A separate question - treatment of colds. There are already doing the real emphasis is on medication, and a list of recommended funds frighteningly huge. Moreover, very often used we have already mentioned the term "common cold", with "colds" are all cold. No wonder that for the treatment of these diseases are offered the most cold and antiviral and antibacterial, and anti-allergic drugs, numerous means and methods of symptomatic therapy.

The saddest thing is that the concept of "cold" and "colds" are not only popular, domestic, international, so to speak, the sources, but also quite professional medical journals. Well, when a textbook contains the phrase "common cold viruses" or "in a series of colds sore throat drew the attention" - this situation can confuse and mislead anyone.

Summarize some preliminary results.

* Impact on the human body cold can cause disease.
* Diseases associated with hypothermia, is called a cold.
* The common cold - not a diagnosis, it is just an indication of the cause of the disease.
* The word "cold" is often wrongly regarded as a synonym of the term "ARD".

***

Thus, a long-time predavnih seen: hypothermia can cause disease in supercooled. This observation is a very small extent due to the specific diagnosis of ...

-??

Consider the following examples.

The child turned over a cup of hot tea.

Diagnosis: first-degree burns the front surface of the abdomen.

The reason - turned the glass.

... Ran, fell, broke his finger.

Diagnosis: fractured right index finger

The reason - ran and fell.

In both cases, a particular physical impact (inverted bucket, drop) leads to a specific disease (burn, fracture).

At the same time, the very physical phenomenon, no one regards as a diagnosis, well, because nobody in their right mind would call the disease "ran down".

Cold (hypothermia) - a particular physical phenomenon, the exact cause of the disease. And what kind of disease, of which the diagnosis is actually talking about?

From home, nonprofessional point of view, the answer is obvious: the cold - this is the diagnosis. But medical science does not agree - vague, unclear, and indeed, the answer is not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance, and requires a small digression into the domain of physiology. In fact, we have to understand:

what happens to the human body under the influence of the cold?

A lot of things happening differently. Included are inherent in us coping mechanisms: active metabolism, and thus increases heat production, there is a spasm of blood vessels of skin and mucous membranes and, consequently, diminishing returns heat to the environment.

In some fairly rare instances, the process of human exposure is prolonged cold and intense (lost in the woods in winter, broke through the ice into cold water, etc.). In this situation, pledged reserves may not be enough: ie, the increase in heat production and decrease heat loss can not maintain proper temperature of the body. And then there are signs of general hypothermia with very specific symptoms - severe drowsiness, pale skin, a decrease in heart rate, decrease in body temperature.

For a normal child living in a civilized society, the general hypothermia - the phenomenon is extremely rare, almost always associated with either an accident or a crime.

General hypothermia - an exceptional phenomenon.

The common cold - a mass phenomenon. And at first glance inexplicable. Why do many, many children is enough to wet shoes, walk barefoot, sit in a draft, run, sweat, drink cold water, to eat, no, not even to eat, but only to lick ice cream ... and a sore throat, cough, temperature has risen - a cold, short speaking.

Immediately, we note that for many years, medical science is studying the mechanism of occurrence of colds. And much remains not completely clear. But in general terms the causes of the disease is more or less clear and are as follows.

Respiratory tract, particularly upper respiratory tract, is the seat, the home of an enormous number of microorganisms, primarily bacteria. These microbes are found with the body in a position of neutrality. Their existence and reproduction is constrained and governed by a system of local immunity.

Among the inhabitants of the respiratory tract can be identified uniquely peaceful bacteria, ie, those who never cause human disease. Remember, more recently, in the chapter on Haemophilus influenzae infection, we were talking about forms of hemophilic bacilli having no capsule, and therefore safe - this is a typical example of peaceful bacteria inhabiting the nasopharynx of almost 90% of the people.

But there are other bacteria, they are called opportunistic.

Opportunistic bacteria - are bacteria that might cause the disease in certain circumstances.

Under certain circumstances are almost always means a decrease in the body's defenses, and defenses, with respect to the respiratory tract, are primarily local immunity.

In other words, the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, even in an absolutely healthy person is populated potentially dangerous microbes - staphylococcus, streptococcus, enteric, and Haemophilus influenzae, etc., etc. The system of local immunity does not provide the above-mentioned micro-organisms to demonstrate its potential harmfulness and the state Armed Neutrality can last for years.

As a result, hypothermia is a spasm of blood vessels and blood flow is disturbed mucosal airways. Consequence - reducing the concentration of protective substances, violation of physical and chemical characteristics of mucus, decreased activity of ciliary epithelium and, eventually, activation of opportunistic microorganisms.

By the way, you should mention that vasospasm mucosa may occur under the influence of four kinds of cold-factors:

1. general hypothermia (swimming in cold water, frost, "bad" clothing);
2. rapid heat loss due to sweating when hot moist skin contact with the cool air, or when there is just air flow (draft);
3. reflex spasm of the vessels of the mucous membranes, arises when sensitive areas of the foot with a cold ("wet feet, barefoot on the cold floor, etc.);
4. okalnoe cooling mucosal airway: ice cream, cold drinks, frosty air.

What happens next? It depends on many factors: the number of bacteria and their species diversity, how pronounced circulatory disorders of the mucous membrane on the state of local immunity to hypothermia on the duration and intensity of colds factor.

It is quite possible and even very likely that nothing will be: a short-term vasospasm only temporarily reduce the body's defenses, but rapid recovery of blood flow to eliminate the threat to its very infancy. But it may be an inflammatory process, and then there will be symptoms of the disease, will require the mobilization of the whole organism: the general immunity comes to the rescue of local immunity.

In the respiratory tract bacteria are the home of the main organs of the lymphoid tissue - tonsils, adenoids. Not surprisingly, the tonsillitis and adenoids are the most common manifestations of colds.

It should be noted that in principle the possibility of developing colds caused by two main factors:

* The status of local immunity;
* The body's resistance to episodic cold effects.

Severity of these factors is associated with the lifestyle of a particular child. Tempering procedures that increase the body's resistance to such "scary" phenomena such as draughty, cold water, and walking barefoot, raise, as a rule, and local immunity

A child with good local immunity in most cases not subject to colds. In turn, a weak local immunity almost always leads to the fact that in the nasopharynx are formed foci of chronic infection, especially chronic tonsillitis.

The most frequent consequence of hypothermia is the exacerbation of chronic respiratory infections.

The most frequent catarrhal disease is exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis.

Thus, the uncertain, the people's everyday concept of "cold" has become more or less concrete form and Online Viagra transformed into a real diagnosis - exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis.

Now it becomes legkoobyasnimym paradoxical at first glance, the phenomenon: it turns out, the children of the first year of life almost never suffer from colds, as there are spoiled by the "right education" and did not have time to "earn" pockets of chronic infection - there is nothing to deteriorate, actually.

***

Once again the most fundamental aspects in order to finally dot the i.

1. The word "cold" has two meanings:

* Hypothermia, which was subjected to the body;
* Disease associated with hypothermia.

1. Cold-hypothermia disrupt the mucous membranes of the airways and leads to a decrease in local immunity.
2. Reduced local immunity leads to activation of the bacteria with the development of inflammation.
3. Cold-disease symptoms inflammation of one or another section of the respiratory tract.
4. Cold-disease occurs against a background of reduced local immunity in the presence of foci of chronic infection in the respiratory tract.

In most cases, cold-disease is realized by such diagnoses as exacerbation of chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, sinusitis, adenoiditis, tonsillitis, bronchitis.

Clearly, these diagnoses do not have anything to do with SARS, as it is, in principle, is, first, not the virus, but a bacterial infection and, secondly, not an acute infection and exacerbation of chronic infection.

The presence and even more aggravation of chronic disease requires a fundamentally different approaches both in terms of prevention and in treatment of disease. Relevant here, and the possibility of using antibacterial drugs, and strengthening of local immunity, and increase resistance to cold effects (hardening).

The principal feature of catarrhal diseases, ie, exacerbation of chronic infections - they are free from infection, because bacteria began to multiply only because the supercooled Vasey weakened immunity, and for the nearby cheerful and unfrozen Petit, they do not pose any danger.

Highlight catarrhal disease among the general mass of ARI is uniquely makes sense because, as we have already explained, there are a number of specific points in all phases of care (prevention, diagnosis, treatment). Therefore, discovering a child symptoms of respiratory infection, always have to think, analyze and clarify: not whether these symptoms occurred with hypothermia?

And if you are connected, so make the right conclusions. Which, incidentally, does not consist in the fact that strictly avoid hypothermia. Right conclusions are that the cold - it's not easy, and normal living creature should not get sick from a glass of cold water, bare feet or moving air (drafts). And if you fall ill, because it means the parents of this creature doing something wrong. What's wrong?? About it in detail - a little later in a separate part of the book.