Symptoms of the Common Cold: What a Cold Is and How to Know If You Have One

Common colds are the most common type of infectious illness suffered by humans the world over, with the average adult catching 2-3 colds per year. Originally thought to be an infirmity contracted from spending too much time outside in cold weather (where the name "cold" comes from), colds are actually viral infections produced by a group of viruses (primarilyrhinoviruses) that which are transmitted by contact with infected individuals or their bodily fluids. By recognizing the symptoms, you can determine whether you have a common cold and treat the illness effectively.

Symptoms

While the symptoms of a cold are as variable as the different viruses that cause them (over 200!), there are a few consistent manifestations that will almost always occur:

· Runny nose

· Nasal congestion

· Sore throat

· Post-nasal drip

· Cough

Other symptoms that are also common in colds but less so include:

· Fatigue

· Aching muscles and joints

· Head pain

· Loss of appetite

Many of these symptoms are also common manifestations of other diseases, primarily the flu. However, colds can often be distinguished from the flu in the form and severity of onset of symptoms. For instance, while cough and high fever are relatively common manifestations of the common cold, these symptoms when present together in adults are highly indicative of the flu. In addition, the symptoms of a cold usually start with a feeling of chills, headache, and sneezing, followed within a few days by post-nasal drip, congestion, headache, and low-grade fever. The symptoms generally peak within 2-4 days after onset, and tend to resolve within 7-10 days.

Types of colds

The common cold frequently expands into other areas of the head and respiratory tract. These colds are categorized based on where they occur:

· Head cold: The most common type of cold, characterized by a runny nose, congestion, post-nasal drip, cough, sneezing, sore throat, fatigue, and low-grade fever.

· Chest cold: The chest cold refers to an expansion of cold symptoms into the upper respiratory tract. This is characterized by worsening and persistent cough, laryngitis, pharyngitis, fever, and may even extend to bronchitis (lower respiratory infection). A chest cold can last as long as 25 days after infection.

· Sinus infection: A sinus infection, or sinusitis, is when the viral infection lodges in the paranasal sinuses and persists after the cold has passed. Sinus infections are characterized by pain and inflammation in the mouth, nose, cheeks, and behind the eyes and eyebrows. This can be accompanied by persistent congestion and post-nasal drip, sore throat, and moderate fever.

Common colds can usually be self-diagnosed and managed through home care. Most home remedies involve treatments to alleviate the common symptoms of the cold. Treatments include steam baths, hot teas and other beverages, and plenty of rest and fluids. However, prevention is always the best treatment. Avoid contact with sick individuals and keep frequently touched surfaces, such as tabletops and doorknobs, clean and disinfected at all times. If you think you have a cold, consider others and avoid going out during the infectious period.

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3 Tummy Fat Burning Exercises That Are Fun And Effective

One of the best ways to lose belly fat is with exercise. But just doing a few sit-ups each day will not get you the flat stomach you want. In fact, doing sit-ups or crunches are not the best stomach fat burning exercises because you can't tone fat. To get those nicely toned abdominal muscles showing, you first have to lose the fat that is laying on top of them..

The thing to remember with exercises to burn belly fat is to find one that you like and that you will want to keep doing on a regular basis. Don't worry if you think going to the gym is boring and not for you, here are 3 fun tummy fat burning exercises and that really work.

Get Dancing!

One of the best exercises to burn belly fat that is super-fun and comes naturally is dancing! Put your dancing shoes on, set your iPod to shuffle, and work it out. Belly dancing videos are a great way to burn that unwanted belly fat. An 180 pound (81 kilo) person will burn approximately 386 calories for every hour that they dance. If you are even heavier, you will burn even more calories than that.

Beware of crunches - they are great for toning up your belly, but you can't tone fat. Doing thousands of crunches a day won't burn half as much belly fat as something like belly dancing. Once you lose most of the fat in your belly, then you can start doing crunches to tone your muscles underneath.

Anyone For Tennis?

Another one of the great exercises to burn belly fat is playing tennis. Tennis serves as a great workout because it works your core body. The core of your body is your abs and lower back muscles. These muscles are the ones doing all of the work to hit the tennis ball hard and far. Your core doesn't just keep you balanced as you run from place to place on the court but it provides you with an extra boost of power in all of the strokes. You're constantly in motion on the court, and it's a great way how to lose belly fat workout while having fun.

Who's For A Swim?

Swimming for fitness requires a lot of energy and burns a lot of calories. This is because, when you swim, you need to move your whole body instead of just your legs or your arms. Swimming works your body and heart the same way any cardio workout, such as dancing or running would. Not only is swimming good for a cardio workout, swimming challenges the muscles all over your body and is great for increasing overall body strength. The water resistance you face while swimming forces your muscles to work harder - just like traditional forms of strength training which is one of the best ways how to lose belly fat because muscles burn more calories, even while they are at rest.

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Top Tips for Preventing Dry Skin This Winter

Nothing feels worse than dry, flaky and cracked skin. This is a common problem for a lot of people during the winter months when the temperatures are low and the air is dry, especially in Gauteng. In this article we will give you some dry skin care tips to protect your skin from the harsh winter elements.

Humidify your home

During the winter months, our skin suffers mainly because of the lack of moisture in the air. With windows and doors closed and heaters on full-blast, dry air is inevitable. Prevent your skin from drying out by using a humidifier to add moisture to the air. If you don't have a humidifier, an alternative is placing bowls of water close to your heaters.

Keep that pout moisturised

While your lips need TLC all year round; they need lots of extra-special loving during the winter months when the dry, cold air can really cause them to dry out and even crack. If you're not already a fan of lip balm and lip ice, now is a good time to stock up on some and apply it as often as you can.

Make hand lotion your BFF

Our hands are probably the parts of our body that suffer the most in winter and especially after frequent washing they lose moisture very quickly. Make sure you keep hand lotion all over the place; in your bathroom, in your kitchen, on your desk at work, next to your bed and treat those hands every chance you get. Don't forget to keep some hand lotion in your handbag.

Easy itchy scalp fix

Even our scalps suffer in winter, leading to itching and flaking. A head massage doesn't only feel great; it also works wonders for that dryness. You can do this after washing your hair by applying conditioner especially formulated for dry hair. Massage into your scalp with your fingertips while in the bath or shower. This will loosen dry flakes and soothe and moisturise your scalp in the process.

The miracle of Petroleum Jelly

Petroleum jelly is a miracle cure when it comes to dry skin. Here's a great trick for fixing those cracked hands and feet, although it is quite uncomfortable and a little unconventional. Before you go to bed, apply Petroleum jelly liberally and put on gloves and socks. The skin of your hands and feet will feel amazing the next morning. For extra intensive treatment, wrap your hands and feet in cling-wrap before putting on the gloves and socks. You can do this once a week, or once every two weeks.

Winter poses a variety of skin care challenges for most of us but with these tips and a little extra pampering you'll get through winter with soft, smooth skin and without having to worry about Jack Frost ruining your day.

Vaseline originated in New York in 1859 and was discovered by a chemist called Robert Chesebrough. 100% natural and mineral rich, it didn't take long before the product became known for its skin-healing powers. Over the following 142 years it has become one of the best known and best loved brands in the world. Since the brand was adopted by Unilever the range of Vaseline products has been extended and now also includes a specifically designed MENFace and MENBody range. Visit http:/// for more.

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Staying Slender on Comfort Foods This Winter

It's a chilly 40 degrees Fahrenheit aside and nothing sounds more soothing that snuggling up to a nice cup of hot, whole milk chocolate or wrapping my frigid fingers around a bowl of brothy chicken and dumpling soup. The problem is that after three months of cozying up with such comforts foods, I could remove my three layers of clothing to find and extra layer of fat nesting on my waistline.

No worries though, I've developed some clever ways to keep slim this winter while still getting my fair indulgence of comfort foods.

Go for Low-Fat, Low-Calorie Soups
Cambell's Soup and Progresso both offer yummy low calorie soups that will keep your waistline tamed and your mouth happy this winter. If you are worried about variety, Progresso has you covered. Right now they have 40 soups with 100 calories or less. Cambell's Soup will have you full for a month with its 35 different choices of Select Harvest soups under 50 stomach warming calories each.

Drink Hot Teas Instead of Hot Chocolate
I love Swiss Miss hot coco, but one cup of it is going to cost me about 250 calories the way I make it. That adds up over the course of a week. Plus, all of that sugar is not awesome for the skin. Now I've opted to bring green tea into my selection of warm beverages. Plus, green tea flavors have grown dramatically over the years. Now you can find green teas that hardly taste like green tea. I'll admit, I did not really enjoy green tea when I first tried it. It was too bitter and tasted like algae. But now, you can find berry, vanilla, orange, mint and even cinnamon flavored green tea at your local grocers. This delicious treat will warm your body and give you a little energy boost.

Stay Warm
Another way to resist that temptation to over eat comfort foods is to keep yourself warm. That doesn't mean you have to turn your heater on overdrive. Instead, wear layers of clothing and remove them and add more as your body temperature dictates.

If that doesn't do the trick, take a short walk down the hall or around your office. Simply moving the body will get your temperature up and remove the urge for quick relief with comfort food.

Keep making those healthy choices all winter long and you could actually be ready for swim suit season without even trying.

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