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Asked by anon-254948 to Louisa, Laura, Faith on 20 May 2020.
Question: How does the common cold work? How does simply being in the cold cause you to get an illness?
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Louisa Lee answered on 20 May 2020:
What we know as ‘getting the common cold’ is actually a weak infection by a virus that affects our nose and throat. In fact, several different viruses can cause a cold, and that’s why it is possible to get several colds, one after another! When the virus gets into our body, it will then cause symptoms like a sore throat, a blocked or runny nose, sneezes and coughs.
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Laura Durrant answered on 21 May 2020:
Hi Mahek! The common cold comes is usually caused by viruses. They infect our respiratory tract by attaching to cells that line the nose and throat. When viruses attach, they then infect our cells. They do this because our cells provide good conditions for them to incubate and replicate! When viruses infect us, our immune systems react by sending lots of immune cells to fight it off. These cells do this by engulfing the virus and attacking it with enzymes. These cells are then expelled from our bodies as mucus – this is why we get snotty! (Gross I know). It doesn’t have to be cold in temperature to catch a cold, but it can make us more susceptible as cooler conditions can weaken the immune system. A cold goes away when the virus has replicated enough to move on to the next host to start the next cycle and the immune system has fought of what’s left.
I hope this answers your question 🙂
Comments
Ellie commented on :
In addition to that – cold miserable weather (and a lack of vitamin D) can make your immune system less strong than it would otherwise be so more susceptible to colds.
anon-254948 commented on :
Wow thank you so much that’s so interesting!