Can you get infected by kissing?
The probability of infection is increased by kissing. When kissing on the mouth, there is direct contact between the oral mucosa of two people, which is why the transmission of droplets containing pathogens is significantly increased. The intensity of the kiss can have an influence on the probability of transmission.
Especially intense kisses involve more pathogen exchange than a fleeting kiss on the cheek. A disease similar to a cold is the Pfeiffer’s glandular fever. This is also known as “kissing disease” because it is very often transmitted in adolescence by kissing a person already infected with the virus. In principle, kissing an acutely cold person increases the risk of contracting the disease, but does not guarantee that the person will get the disease. Here too, a healthy immune system, a weak pathogen and other favourable factors are still decisive in determining whether or not infection occurs.
What is the typical route of infection?
The typical way to become infected is by droplet infection. In a cold, the viruses collect mainly on the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and throat. Even when breathing, tiny, often invisible droplets are emitted, which carry a certain amount of the viruses.
Accordingly, sneezing, spitting and coughing expel larger quantities of the pathogen into the air. These can spread in the air and settle on the mucous membranes of people in the immediate vicinity. The small infectious droplets can also settle on objects or hands and be transported and spread.
The hands are the most important source of spreading germs. The small droplets can be spread in particular via keyboards, telephones, door handles and other objects that are increasingly touched. Since most people touch their face almost every minute, the pathogens quickly reach the mucous membranes via the nose or mouth.
What can be done to prevent others from being infected?
The most important measure to prevent the spread of the common cold is hygiene. Hygiene includes being careful in public to prevent one’s own infection, as well as being considerate of others when one is ill. Since the hands are the most important path of infection, hand hygiene must be guaranteed.
Intensive hand washing with warm water and soap but also disinfectants can be used for this purpose. In order to protect others, it is important to ensure that your hands are clean before touching door handles or remote controls, even during your own illness. Accumulations of pathogens, for example from used cutlery and glasses or used handkerchiefs, should also be removed quickly and independently. Clothes and bed linen should also be washed at regular intervals, as droplets containing pathogens also accumulate there. This topic might also be of interest to you:
- Therapy of a cold
- Home remedy for a cold
