Whether you have a cold or someone else, one of the most common admonitions you hear is "drink plenty of water". It seems that drinking more water can "cure" a cold and speed up the process of recovery.
Drinking more water when you have a cold can indeed bring a lot of benefits to your body, but in some cases, you can't drink too much, otherwise it will be bad for your health.
"Life Times" combines expert opinions to tell you how to drink water when you have a cold.
Experts interviewed
Zhu Xinyi, Director of the Health Management Center of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University
Ma Jianling, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, East Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine
Why drink plenty of water when you have a cold
Drinking plenty of water when you have a cold actually makes sense and can bring the following benefits to your body:
- accelerates metabolism, increases urine output, accelerates the excretion of toxins;
- For people with fever symptoms, drinking more water can reduce body temperature through the evaporation of sweat or the excretion of urine, which is conducive to alleviating fever symptoms;
- Replenish the water consumption caused by vomiting and diarrhea, which is conducive to the recovery of the body;
- Keep the oral and nasal mucosa moist, prevent the invasion of cold germs to a certain extent, and relieve the uncomfortable symptoms caused by colds.
When you have a cold, you should keep drinking enough water, you should drink intermittently, 200~300ml each time, and drink slowly in small sips to maintain the balance of electrolytes in the body. The amount of water you drink should also be controlled, and it is best not to drink more than 3L of water per day.
In some cases, it is not advisable to drink too much water
People with heart diseases such as coronary heart disease and heart failure drink too much water, and the heart has to increase the intensity and speed of blood delivery, which may cause uncomfortable symptoms such as chest tightness. Especially patients with heart failure should pay special attention.
People suffering from acute and chronic nephritis, kidney failure, uremia and other kidney diseases drink a lot of water, which will cause an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, cause a burden on the kidneys, and increase the damage to kidney function.
The above two types of people, especially elderly patients, should listen to the specific advice of doctors on how to drink water when they have a cold, depending on their condition.
Cold medicine doesn't cure a cold
As soon as someone has a cold, they start taking medicine regardless of 3721. Can taking medicine really cure a cold?
Colds are mostly caused by viral infections and are divided into common colds and flu according to the different invading viruses:
common cold
It is caused by common viruses, such as rhinovirus, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, etc. Dry, itchy or burning in the throat, sneezing, nasal congestion, and runny nose may occur. Fever and constitutional symptoms are usually absent or low-grade fever is present.
flu
Caused by influenza virus. It usually has an acute onset, severe systemic symptoms, high fever, headache, muscle aches, and some patients will be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.
How to judge the common cold and flu↓↓
Source: Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention
At present, there is no particularly good way to treat viral infections in medicine, most colds are self-limited, if the immunity is normal, the common cold can be cured in 5~7 days.
And the common cold medicine we usually have, the real effect is actually one: to relieve symptoms. Conventional treatment is symptomatic, such as cough, nasal congestion, and runny nose.
If it is confirmed that it is a common cold, and there is no particular discomfort, and the immune system is normal, you can drink more water, rest more, and be patient until the symptoms subside.
However, for people with chronic diseases and immunocompromised people, there is a certain risk of having a cold, which may cause myocarditis, pneumonia and other conditions.
What should I pay attention to when I have a cold?
The Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of the Common Cold in Adults (2023) issued by the Emergency Infectious Diseases Group of the Emergency Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association give recommendations on the etiology, differential diagnosis and treatment of adult colds.
Zhu Xinyi, director of the Health Management Center of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, said that people with colds should focus on the following things:
In this case, a chest x-ray is done
For patients with fever (above 38°C), shortness of breath, hemoptysis, suspected pneumonia, heart failure, immunodeficiency, and inhalation poisoning, imaging and laboratory tests are recommended as soon as possible.
In addition, if cold symptoms persist for 5 days but worsen, or if symptoms persist for more than 10 days, complications should be considered, and early imaging and laboratory tests are recommended:
Thick purulent nasal discharge and sputum, increased pain in the paranasal sinuses (usually unilateral) and pharynx, temperature above 38°C, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), dyspnea, and/or hemodynamic instability.
Several groups of people should be paid attention to
Some people may have serious complications secondary to a cold, including:
- Seniors over 65 years of age;
- Pregnant woman;
- immunocompromised people;
- Patients with underlying diseases of vital organs, such as coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, chronic congestive heart failure, chronic hepatic and renal insufficiency, bronchial asthma, and chronic structural lung disease.
Antivirals are not recommended for the general population
In immunocompetent adults, antiviral drugs such as ribavirin and pleconaridb are not recommended for the treatment of colds.
Appropriate vitamin supplementation
- People who live in cold areas and often participate in strenuous exercise and manual laborers can take vitamin C in moderation to help prevent colds;
- Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for people with vitamin D deficiency to prevent colds and other respiratory infections;
For adults with a normal diet and no vitamin E deficiency, vitamin E supplementation is not recommended to prevent colds.
Caution should be exercised in choosing cold medicines
Although over-the-counter anti-cold compound preparations are effective, they also have certain adverse reactions, and some can even induce serious consequences. Patients are advised to consult their doctor before taking over-the-counter anti-cold medicines.
Honey preparations are preferred for cough suppression
For acute cough caused by a cold, it is not recommended to suppress cough alone. For patients over 18 years of age, if the cough caused by a cold is too much of an impact on daily life and is unbearable, it is recommended that cough suppressants containing honey or dextromethorphan be preferred.
Ma Jianling, deputy chief physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine East Hospital, reminded that if you take Chinese patent medicine when you have a cold, you should choose it reasonably according to the different types of colds, and 12 common medicines have their own scope of application:
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In addition, washing your hands frequently and keeping warm at the turn of the season can help prevent colds. It is best for people with colds to stay in a separate room, wear a mask when they go out of the room, and remind family members to wear masks. If the symptoms are not relieved for about a week, you should go to the hospital for examination in time. ▲
Editor of this issue: Wang Xiaoqing
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