Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Long Are You Contagious?How Do Colds Spread?PreventionManaging SymptomsWhen to See a Healthcare Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How Long Are You Contagious?
How Do Colds Spread?
Prevention
Managing Symptoms
When to See a Healthcare Provider
If you have a cold, you’re usually the most contagious during the first four days of symptoms. However, some viral strains can continue to spread for up to a month.
Each year, millions of cases of thecommon coldoccur in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hundreds of different cold viruses spread easily from person to person.
The common cold is an almost inevitable part of life and can be difficult to avoid. Understanding the risk of transmission and taking proper precautions can help stem the spread of colds.
This article explains how colds are spread and when they are the most contagious. It also discusses ways to lower your odds of catching a cold and how to prevent spreading a cold to a loved one.
Verywell / Ellen Lindner
The incubation period for a cold virus is 24 to 72 hours. This is how long it takes for symptoms to appear after you become infected. For the common cold, symptoms start to develop one to three days after exposure to the virus.
Colds are most contagious one to four days aftersymptomsdevelop.Common cold symptoms include:
Not everyone gets all these symptoms, and the severity can vary.
Most colds last for about a week, but it’s possible to spread the virus after that. Cold viruses can persist in the body for up to four weeks.
While the risk of transmission decreases rapidly over time, infecting others may still be possible even if you no longer have symptoms.
Cold vs. Allergies: Similar but Fundamentally Different Symptoms
Cold viruses are spread through airborne droplets, person-to-person contact, and contact with contaminated surfaces.
When a person is sick with a respiratory virus, coughing and sneezing propel droplets into the air. The virus-loaded droplets land on surfaces or enter someone else’supper respiratory tract.
Cold viruses can live on surfaces for several hours, making it possible to become infected if you touch a contaminated surface and then your nose. This is referred to asfomitetransmission.
Can a Cold Pass Back and Forth Between People?Possibly, but it’s not likely. Cold viruses spread easily from person to person. Most of the time, once you catch a specific virus, your body produces antibodies to ward off another invasion from the same virus. There are over 200 different viruses that cause the common cold. What may seem like the same cold circulating through a household, workplace, or school is more likely a different viral strain.
Can a Cold Pass Back and Forth Between People?
Possibly, but it’s not likely. Cold viruses spread easily from person to person. Most of the time, once you catch a specific virus, your body produces antibodies to ward off another invasion from the same virus. There are over 200 different viruses that cause the common cold. What may seem like the same cold circulating through a household, workplace, or school is more likely a different viral strain.
How Long Are You Contagious After a Cold?
One reason colds spread so fast is that you become contagious before you probably realize it. In fact, most people become contagious with a cold for one to two days before their symptoms start.
Once symptoms set in, you are considered contagious for as long as your symptoms are present, lasting anywhere from five days to two weeks after your symptoms start.
How Long Do Cold Symptoms Last?
How to Prevent Spreading or Catching a Cold
Unfortunately, colds just happen sometimes. You can catch a cold anywhere other people are, even if you practice great hygiene and try your best to avoid close contact with someone who is sick.
With that being said, there are steps you can take to lower your chances of catching a cold. And, if you do get happen to catch a cold, there are several ways you can help stop it from spreading.
How Can You Prevent and Stop Colds From Happening?
Reduce Your Chances of Spreading a Cold
If you get a cold, the best way to avoid spreading the virus is to isolate yourself. When around others, it helps to wear a face mask to catch respiratory droplets if you cough orsneeze. People who live with you can do the same.
Be sure to cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. It is best to cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm. This way, you can avoid contaminating your hand. You can cough or sneeze into a tissue but will need to wash your hands afterward (or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer).
You and others in your household should frequently wash your hands and regularly clean surfaces. Try your best to avoid touching your face (like scratching or rubbing your nose).
It’s especially important to take these precautions when you are in contact with people who are at an increased risk of complications. These include:
While a cold may not necessarily be worse in these individuals, your symptoms may turn out to be something more dangerous, like the flu orCOVID-19. To be safe around high-risk people, continue to use precautions for a week after cold symptoms abate.
Knowing When It’s Time to Call in Sick
Reduce Your Chances of Catching a Cold
Wash your hands: As a general rule, try to wash your hands at least 10 times per day using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Always wash your hands before making food and after taking care of someone else who is sick.
Avoid touching your face:Viruses that cause colds can enter your body through your eyes, nose, and mouth. Take care to avoid touching your face unless it is necessary; if you must touch your face, wash your hands first.
Stay away from people who are sick:If you live with someone who is sick, try to spend your time in separate rooms and never share food, drinks, or linens (e.g., sheets and towels). If your child is sick, wash any toys they use thoroughly.
If you smoke cigarettes, quit:Smoking weakens the immune system, making it easier to catch a cold-causing virus and harder to fight one off.
6 Ways to Boost Your Immune System Naturally
How to Manage Cold Symptoms
While there are no vaccines to prevent colds or surefire ways to avoid cold symptoms, there are things you can do that mayreduce the severity or duration of a cold. These include:
Natural Cold and Flu Remedies
When to See a Healthcare Provider for a Cold
See your healthcare provider if you experience any of the following:
In babies less than 12 weeks old, any fever of 100 degrees F or higher should be treated as an immediate medical emergency, without exception.
When to See a Doctor for a Cold or Flu
Summary
Treating a cold properly, including getting plenty of rest, may reduce its duration or severity.
Frequently Asked Questions
While a cold can feel miserable, it typically resolves in a week to 10 days without complications. As such, isn’t a serious health threat that would benefit from a vaccine like COVID-19.
Yes, kissing a person with a cold can transmit a virus. You can catch a cold virus from any close contact with a sick person.Colds are most contagious during the first four days of cold symptoms. However, cold viruses can persist in the body for up to a month.
Yes, kissing a person with a cold can transmit a virus. You can catch a cold virus from any close contact with a sick person.
Colds are most contagious during the first four days of cold symptoms. However, cold viruses can persist in the body for up to a month.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Common cold.Tesini BL.Common cold. Merck Manual Professional Version.American Lung Association.Facts about the common cold.Cedars Sinai.Am I still contagious?.Nebraska Medicine.Can what you eat help you fight disease? The 4 best foods for your immune system.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What to do if you get sick.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RSV transmission.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Common cold.Tesini BL.Common cold. Merck Manual Professional Version.American Lung Association.Facts about the common cold.Cedars Sinai.Am I still contagious?.Nebraska Medicine.Can what you eat help you fight disease? The 4 best foods for your immune system.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What to do if you get sick.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RSV transmission.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Common cold.Tesini BL.Common cold. Merck Manual Professional Version.American Lung Association.Facts about the common cold.Cedars Sinai.Am I still contagious?.Nebraska Medicine.Can what you eat help you fight disease? The 4 best foods for your immune system.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What to do if you get sick.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RSV transmission.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Common cold.
Tesini BL.Common cold. Merck Manual Professional Version.
American Lung Association.Facts about the common cold.
Cedars Sinai.Am I still contagious?.
Nebraska Medicine.Can what you eat help you fight disease? The 4 best foods for your immune system.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What to do if you get sick.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RSV transmission.
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