What is another name for the common cold?

As much as we hate to admit it, many of us will experience a cold or two at some point in our lives. You know, that pesky little ailment that manages to make your life miserable with all its sniffling and sneezing? Yes, that one! As you feel those irritating symptoms start creeping up on you once again, have you ever found yourself wondering what another name for the common cold might be called? Well, ponder no more because today we’re going to talk about everyone’s least-favorite topics: rhinoviruses!

The Anatomy of a Virus

Before we delve too deeply into what a rhinovirus actually is, let’s take a moment to revisit everything we learned about viruses back in high-school biology (which was probably so long ago that most of us have blocked out all unpleasant memories!). Simply put – viruses are tiny infectious organisms made up of genetic material surrounded by protein-bound lipid molecules. They don’t contain any machinery of their own and cannot reproduce without infecting living cells. Sounds like good news for them – not so much for us.

The Lowdown on Rhinoviruses

Rhinoviruses are members of the Picornaviridae family which also contains enteroviruses and parechoviruses among others. And while they run amok during every flu-season wreaking havoc on people from every age-group and race (no one is safe), they were first discovered way back in 1956 when Scientists-who-had-a-lot-more-patience-than-we-do-now managed to isolate it successfully.

Why We Should Care About Them

You may be thinking “why do I need this information?” after scraping furiously used tissues off your desk top but just hear me out here! Rhinovirus infections cause both young and old a great deal of suffering every year, in fact an average adult may suffer from two or more colds per year. Beyond the irritation caused by their symptoms, rhinovirus infections also cost us a tremendous amount in terms of lost productivity due to absenteeism.

What is Rhinitis Anyway?

In addition to being commonly known as the common cold, another term you may hear often around this ailment is “rhinovirus” which comes from combining “rhino” meaning nose and “virus”. Unsurprisingly a virus that tends to affect nasal passages quite regularly!

As for its actual name , a ‘plain vanilla’ technical term used for what we know popularly as the common cold – would be nonother than Acute Viral Nasopharyngitis (AVN, for short). Now doesn’t that sound fancy? Acute simply means something has come on suddenly; while naso- means nose-region and pharyn– refers to our throat region. It’s certainly easier writing it down than saying ‘I’m feeling wretched about my acute viral/nasopharyngitis’ isn’t it?!

The Many Faces of Rhinoviruses

Now let’s take some time out here,to throw some science at you: there are actually over 150 different types (or serotypes) identified thus far! This fact alone helps explain why vaccines have not yet made much progress against rhinoviruses – most people remain vulnerable since one exposure does not provide adequate immunity against so many other possible forms.

Even though they cause pretty much similar symptoms each time round (coughing, sneezing + fever),actually with such range in variation among these viruses themselves,it’s very difficult for Researchers/scientists involved in working towards finding interventions/vaccines suitable enough across all types.

Type Common Symptoms
Type 1 Sore throat and wheezing
Type 10 Headaches, feverishness and sore throat
Type 16 Muscle aches, slight fever and loss of appetite

How Do We Catch These Things?

Simple – rhinoviruses are actually one of the most contagious viruses out there hence why it is so commonplace , One can come into contact with them via Airborne droplets released from sneeze or coughs ;Handshakes (if infected);Contaminated surfaces like door knobs everyone loves to touch ;and poor personal hygiene which tends to go hand-in-hand with periods when individuals are under lots of pressure.

What Happens When You Do Get Infected?

It starts off slowly. At first you think your allergies might be acting up again but eventually those traditional tell-tale signs begin popping up .Sneezing -complete with that embarrassing high pitch noise only dogs in the next street can hear- starts becoming more frequent;persistent cough due to build-up clogged upper respiratory tract starts bugging you too,and then comes earache as sinus fluid try escape other sinuses cause blockage.Here you realize this won’t be going away any time soon!

Rhinovirus will then take over host/you making use all available resources towards reproducing itself while causing many undesirable symptoms along the way (Such selfish creatures/viruses!) among them
:

  • Itchy /swollen throat
  • That ever present dripping nose/runny nasal passages(Kleenex salespeople’s best friend ?!)
  • Increased production or decreased sense-of-smell
  • Eye irritation

So picture this,you’re trying fast asleep at night;think about ‘peaceful slumber’ before suddenly,cold induced stuffy head kicks in giving the feeling like you are underwater with a sinus full of cement!

Are We Helpless When it Comes to Rhinovirus Infection?

Not really. There is no clinically-tested cure/treatment as such, but there’s quite a few things we can do in terms of both minimizing exposure and preventing them from getting comfortable enough within our systems to cause havoc:

  • Stay away from people who are sick
  • Wash hands often
  • Drink plenty of fluids and get rest – boost your immunity
  • Take antihistamines or decongestants for relief(prescribed only)

Conclusion

So now that we’re finally armed with all this valuable information on rhinoviruses, isn’t it nice to know exactly what messes up our daily life once a year ? We’re not sure about anyone else,but walking around acting like know-it-all sorts beaming whenever some snivelling colleague announces “I’m afraid I have acute viral nasopharyngitis” -and responding back casually”Yeah…Rhinovirus eh?Yeah,right!”makes every one wanna go out hug-a-virologist . Might just be us though..who knows ?

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