Common-cold Sense You
can’t beat it, but you don’t have to join it. Maybe it got the name "common
cold" because it’s more common in winter. The fact is, though, being cold
doesn’t have anything to do with getting one. Colds are caused by the spread of
rhinoviruses, and, at least so far, medical science is better at telling you how
to avoid getting one than how to get rid of one. Children are
the most common way cold viruses are spread to adults, because they have more
colds than adults—an average of about eight per year. Why do kids seem so much
more easily to get colds than their parents Simple. They haven’t had the
opportunity to become immune to many cold viruses. There are
more than 150 different cold viruses, and you never have the same one twice.
Being infected by one makes you immune to it—but only it. Colds
are usually spread by direct contact, not sneezing or coughing. From another
person’s hand to your hand and then to your nose or eyes is the most common
route. The highest concentration of cold viruses anywhere is found under the
thumbnails of a boy, although the viruses can survive for hours on skin or other
smooth surfaces. Hygiene is your best defense. Wash your hands
frequently, preferably with a disinfectant soap, especially when children in
your household have colds. But even careful hygiene won’t ward
off every cold. So, what works when a coughing, sneezing, runny nose
strikes The old prescription of two aspirins, lots of water,
and bed rest is a good place to start. But you’ll also find some of the folk
remedies worth trying. Hot mixtures of sugar (or honey), lemon, and water have
real benefits. When one is having a cold, he often has some symptoms EXCEPT ______.
A. coughing
B. having a runny nose
C. sneezing
D. having a stomachache