Flu Immune 500

Here it goes again. Just when you think that you have escaped without the getting the cold that has been circulating throughout your office or home, you begin to feel the familiar fatigue and congested feeling that indicates the onset of the common cold.

The common cold has several different symptoms not all of which will be present in each individual that can cause discomfort: headaches, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, cough, sinus pressure, and possibly a fever. Symptoms will generally last for 7-10 days before you begin to feel better. This can be annoying, and can also cause your productivity to suffer for a while.

In my opinion, one of the most annoying symptoms of a cold is having a nose that is constantly running. Then you have to constantly blow it, which leads to soreness of your nose which can be extremely uncomfortable not to mention, you get to run around looking like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer for a little while. It is okay to laugh, that was meant to be a joke.

Seriously, though, a runny nose can be, besides annoying and uncomfortable, one of the biggest causes of your lose of productivity during the time that you have a cold. But what causes a runny nose, and what, if anything can be done to stop it?

A basic understanding of the immune system may help to understand what causes a runny nose:

The immune system is designed to fight off intruding viruses and help you to keep from getting sick. If you do become sick, the immune system is designed to repair the body and get you feeling better as quickly as possible.

Because a cold is caused by viruses that infect the upper respiratory system, your body’s immune system will attempt to expel the viruses from your upper respiratory system namely, your mouth and nose. When germs begin to infect your nose and sinuses, the nose produces clear mucus that will help expel virus from your nose and sinuses. What is the exit of choice for this mucus? You guessed it. The mucus will leave through nose, hopefully carrying the viruses with it resulting in a runny nose. After a few days, the mucus will change color as the immune system produces the antibodies to fight against the virus.

Another cause of a runny nose during a cold (and also at other times) is the overuse of nasal sprays. Most nasal sprays are designed to be decongestants and will cause you to have a runny nose. A runny nose resulting from a nasal spray will usually last for a short time only.

It would appear then that the only option for dealing with the runny nose that comes along with the common cold is to grab a box of tissues. Sorry guys, no magic cures for this one. You should note, however, that getting plenty of rest will help prevent the common cold, which will help eliminate the runny nose problem.