What to Do When You Feel a Cold Coming On

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSteps After ExposureMinimize SymptomsStrengthen ImmunityWhat Makes a Cold Linger?

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Steps After Exposure

Minimize Symptoms

Strengthen Immunity

What Makes a Cold Linger?

More than 200 viruses can cause respiratory infections, collectively known as “the common cold.” Adults typically develop between two and four colds each year, while children can have as many as 10 colds a year.If you feel a cold coming on, consider treatments and behaviors to help you manage symptoms.1. Get Enough SleepA lack of sleep can weaken your body anddecrease immunity, making it more difficult for your body to fight acold.Adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night and may benefit from more when sick. Babies, children, and teens need more sleep than adults.2. Eat Well and Stay HydratedA balanced diet emphasizing fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein can help you get all the vitamins and nutrients needed to support a healthy immune system. It’s also important todrink plenty of waterdaily—11.5 cups for women and 15.5 cups for men—especially since dehydration can worsen your cold symptoms.3. Control Your FeverThe average body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; anything over 100.4 degrees is considered a fever.Over-the-counter (OTC) medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) can help reduce afever. You can also try home remedies like a cool washcloth or bath.4. Ease CongestionRunny or stuffy noses and other forms ofcongestionare typical cold symptoms. OTCdecongestants, antihistamines, and anti-inflammatory medications can also help manage congestion. You can also try home remedies like using a humidifier, drinking hot tea, and rinsing your nose with saline to reduce congestion.5. Soothe a Cough or Sore ThroatCongestion often leads to coughing and/orsore throat. OTC cough suppressants and pain relievers can help, but they will not cure these symptoms. You can also try drinking warm tea, taking a spoonful of honey, and sucking on lozenges to soothe a cough or sore throat.7 Things to Do When You’re SickHow to Minimize Symptom Intensity and DurationMany products are sold with the promise of preventing a cold or stopping it from getting worse, but in reality, once you are infected with a virus, the strength of your immune system and the state of your overall health determine how sick you will get and how long your cold will last. The best way to minimize symptom intensity and duration is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.Over-the-counter medications can help lessen the effects of symptoms like stuffiness, a cough, and even a fever—but they won’t cure your cold. Viral illnesses like the common cold usuallyresolveindependently within a week or two, even without treatment.Cold and Flu PreventionHow to Strengthen Immunity to Prevent ColdsManyproductsand supplements are marketed to boost immune function and prevent infections like the common cold. Products that contain vitamins and minerals like vitamin C and zinc are readily available, but the verdict is still out on how well they work.According to research, supplements that promise to increase your immunity against the common cold won’t do much to prevent you from catching a cold. Still, they may help reduce the duration and severity of your symptoms.Still, the best things you can do to support a healthy immune system are tomaintain a balanced dietrich in nutrients, get regular exercise, maintain a healthy weight, and get enough sleep.What Makes a Cold Stick Around?Lack of sleep, dehydration, stress, and other generally unhealthy behaviors can weaken the immune system and make it more difficult for the body to fight a cold.You may also notice it takes longer to recover from a cold if you have certain medical conditions like diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or take medications that suppress your immune system, like steroids. If you are chronically ill or have a weak immune system, talk to a healthcare provider about steps to prevent and more effectively manage the common cold.Is It a Cold, or Something Else?A stuffy nose, congestion, and feeling generally unwell are typical cold symptoms—but they can also be symptoms ofother conditions. If you are not improving after a week or two, you may want to ask your healthcare provider for input. Chronic respiratory conditions like asthma or allergies can share a lot of symptoms with the common cold. An accurate diagnosis will help you get the best treatment to manage your symptoms.SummaryMore than 200 viruses cause the common cold, and most people will develop one a few times a year. Maintaining general health, getting enough sleep, and eating a healthy diet can help strengthen your immune system to fight viruses.There is no cure or quick fix for the common cold, but most viral infections resolve in a week or two with no treatment. If you are sick longer or your symptoms worsen, see your healthcare provider for treatment and to rule out other illnesses or infections.

More than 200 viruses can cause respiratory infections, collectively known as “the common cold.” Adults typically develop between two and four colds each year, while children can have as many as 10 colds a year.If you feel a cold coming on, consider treatments and behaviors to help you manage symptoms.

1. Get Enough Sleep

A lack of sleep can weaken your body anddecrease immunity, making it more difficult for your body to fight acold.Adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night and may benefit from more when sick. Babies, children, and teens need more sleep than adults.

2. Eat Well and Stay Hydrated

A balanced diet emphasizing fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein can help you get all the vitamins and nutrients needed to support a healthy immune system. It’s also important todrink plenty of waterdaily—11.5 cups for women and 15.5 cups for men—especially since dehydration can worsen your cold symptoms.

3. Control Your Fever

The average body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; anything over 100.4 degrees is considered a fever.Over-the-counter (OTC) medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) can help reduce afever. You can also try home remedies like a cool washcloth or bath.

4. Ease Congestion

Runny or stuffy noses and other forms ofcongestionare typical cold symptoms. OTCdecongestants, antihistamines, and anti-inflammatory medications can also help manage congestion. You can also try home remedies like using a humidifier, drinking hot tea, and rinsing your nose with saline to reduce congestion.

5. Soothe a Cough or Sore Throat

Congestion often leads to coughing and/orsore throat. OTC cough suppressants and pain relievers can help, but they will not cure these symptoms. You can also try drinking warm tea, taking a spoonful of honey, and sucking on lozenges to soothe a cough or sore throat.

7 Things to Do When You’re Sick

How to Minimize Symptom Intensity and Duration

Many products are sold with the promise of preventing a cold or stopping it from getting worse, but in reality, once you are infected with a virus, the strength of your immune system and the state of your overall health determine how sick you will get and how long your cold will last. The best way to minimize symptom intensity and duration is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Over-the-counter medications can help lessen the effects of symptoms like stuffiness, a cough, and even a fever—but they won’t cure your cold. Viral illnesses like the common cold usuallyresolveindependently within a week or two, even without treatment.

Cold and Flu Prevention

How to Strengthen Immunity to Prevent Colds

Manyproductsand supplements are marketed to boost immune function and prevent infections like the common cold. Products that contain vitamins and minerals like vitamin C and zinc are readily available, but the verdict is still out on how well they work.

According to research, supplements that promise to increase your immunity against the common cold won’t do much to prevent you from catching a cold. Still, they may help reduce the duration and severity of your symptoms.

Still, the best things you can do to support a healthy immune system are tomaintain a balanced dietrich in nutrients, get regular exercise, maintain a healthy weight, and get enough sleep.

What Makes a Cold Stick Around?

Lack of sleep, dehydration, stress, and other generally unhealthy behaviors can weaken the immune system and make it more difficult for the body to fight a cold.

You may also notice it takes longer to recover from a cold if you have certain medical conditions like diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or take medications that suppress your immune system, like steroids. If you are chronically ill or have a weak immune system, talk to a healthcare provider about steps to prevent and more effectively manage the common cold.

Is It a Cold, or Something Else?A stuffy nose, congestion, and feeling generally unwell are typical cold symptoms—but they can also be symptoms ofother conditions. If you are not improving after a week or two, you may want to ask your healthcare provider for input. Chronic respiratory conditions like asthma or allergies can share a lot of symptoms with the common cold. An accurate diagnosis will help you get the best treatment to manage your symptoms.

Is It a Cold, or Something Else?

A stuffy nose, congestion, and feeling generally unwell are typical cold symptoms—but they can also be symptoms ofother conditions. If you are not improving after a week or two, you may want to ask your healthcare provider for input. Chronic respiratory conditions like asthma or allergies can share a lot of symptoms with the common cold. An accurate diagnosis will help you get the best treatment to manage your symptoms.

Summary

More than 200 viruses cause the common cold, and most people will develop one a few times a year. Maintaining general health, getting enough sleep, and eating a healthy diet can help strengthen your immune system to fight viruses.

There is no cure or quick fix for the common cold, but most viral infections resolve in a week or two with no treatment. If you are sick longer or your symptoms worsen, see your healthcare provider for treatment and to rule out other illnesses or infections.

12 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.Manage common cold.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About common cold.DeGeorge KC, Ring DJ, Dalrymple SN.Treatment of the common cold.Am Fam Physician. 2019;100(5):281-289. PMID: 31478634.:National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.How much sleep is enough?Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?MedlinePlus.Body temperature norms.De Sutter AIM, Eriksson L, van Driel ML.Oral antihistamine‐decongestant‐analgesic combinations for the common cold.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.October 2022;1(CD004976). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004976.pub4.National Institutes of Health.Dietary supplements for immune function ad infectious diseases.Colson J, Poirier S, Dadson Y.Introduction to nutrition and wellness: 8.6 vitamins and minerals as antioxidants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Healthy habits: enhancing immunity.Johns Hopkins Medicine.The do’s and don’ts of easing cold symptoms.Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.How can you tell the difference between COVID-19, a cold, the flu, allergies, and asthma?

12 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.Manage common cold.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About common cold.DeGeorge KC, Ring DJ, Dalrymple SN.Treatment of the common cold.Am Fam Physician. 2019;100(5):281-289. PMID: 31478634.:National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.How much sleep is enough?Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?MedlinePlus.Body temperature norms.De Sutter AIM, Eriksson L, van Driel ML.Oral antihistamine‐decongestant‐analgesic combinations for the common cold.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.October 2022;1(CD004976). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004976.pub4.National Institutes of Health.Dietary supplements for immune function ad infectious diseases.Colson J, Poirier S, Dadson Y.Introduction to nutrition and wellness: 8.6 vitamins and minerals as antioxidants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Healthy habits: enhancing immunity.Johns Hopkins Medicine.The do’s and don’ts of easing cold symptoms.Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.How can you tell the difference between COVID-19, a cold, the flu, allergies, and asthma?

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.Manage common cold.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About common cold.DeGeorge KC, Ring DJ, Dalrymple SN.Treatment of the common cold.Am Fam Physician. 2019;100(5):281-289. PMID: 31478634.:National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.How much sleep is enough?Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?MedlinePlus.Body temperature norms.De Sutter AIM, Eriksson L, van Driel ML.Oral antihistamine‐decongestant‐analgesic combinations for the common cold.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.October 2022;1(CD004976). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004976.pub4.National Institutes of Health.Dietary supplements for immune function ad infectious diseases.Colson J, Poirier S, Dadson Y.Introduction to nutrition and wellness: 8.6 vitamins and minerals as antioxidants.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Healthy habits: enhancing immunity.Johns Hopkins Medicine.The do’s and don’ts of easing cold symptoms.Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.How can you tell the difference between COVID-19, a cold, the flu, allergies, and asthma?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Manage common cold.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About common cold.

DeGeorge KC, Ring DJ, Dalrymple SN.Treatment of the common cold.Am Fam Physician. 2019;100(5):281-289. PMID: 31478634.:

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.How much sleep is enough?

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?

MedlinePlus.Body temperature norms.

De Sutter AIM, Eriksson L, van Driel ML.Oral antihistamine‐decongestant‐analgesic combinations for the common cold.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.October 2022;1(CD004976). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004976.pub4.

National Institutes of Health.Dietary supplements for immune function ad infectious diseases.

Colson J, Poirier S, Dadson Y.Introduction to nutrition and wellness: 8.6 vitamins and minerals as antioxidants.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Healthy habits: enhancing immunity.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.The do’s and don’ts of easing cold symptoms.

Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.How can you tell the difference between COVID-19, a cold, the flu, allergies, and asthma?

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