The course, symptoms and duration of a cold can vary from case to case. The personal anatomy and susceptibility to some symptoms also determine the course of the illness. In addition to the usual symptoms such as coughing, rhinitis and hoarseness, middle ear infections or pneumonia can also accompany the cold.
Whether such a course of events occurs depends on the exact inflammatory pathogens, one’s own behavior during the illness or certain drug treatments. Nevertheless, a conventional viral cold infection can be estimated and classified by rough rules of thumb during the course of the disease. One of the best known rules of thumb is that a cold builds up for three days, shows full symptoms for three days and then needs three days to subside. Certain symptoms can be roughly assigned to each phase, but the onset and sequence of symptoms in particular can rarely be predicted
This is the incubation period
The incubation period describes the period of time in which the infection with the pathogen has already occurred but no symptoms have yet appeared. The cold pathogens nestle in the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and throat, survive there the first defense of the immune system and multiply from then on in the body. This process initially goes unnoticed, only the first signs of weakness and tiredness can appear.
The incubation period is only over when the pathogens have multiplied so much that subjective complaints such as neck scratching and aching limbs occur. With the conventional viral cold, the incubation period is usually at least 2 days. Longer incubation periods can be explained mainly by the individual immune defenses or the aggressiveness of the pathogens. The real flu, which occurs mainly seasonally, has a longer incubation period. Also bacterial colds are always to be distinguished from a conventional cold in terms of their course, symptoms and incubation period.
Symptoms of the initial phase
Even though the individual courses of the cold can be very different, there are typical early symptoms with which the disease first makes itself felt. Immediately after the incubation period, a first phase of immune defence follows, which consists mainly of reducing metabolic processes in the body and concentrating the immune system on fighting the pathogens. This manifests itself in muscle, joint and limb pain as well as a slight increase in temperature to initially around 37-38°C.
Initial local symptoms, which are directly attributable to the pathogens themselves, can also occur in the throat, nose or mouth area. Often this is a slight scratching of the throat, but it can also be an irritation of the larynx in the form of clearing the throat or a first sign of a cold and the formation of mucus in the nose. Affected persons also often report a burning sensation in the nose.
Inform yourself also on the subject: Incubation period in a cold Even the first local symptoms, which are directly attributable to the pathogens themselves, can occur in the throat, nose or mouth area. Often this is a slight scratching of the throat, but it can also be an irritation of the larynx in the form of a clearing of the throat or a first sign of rhinitis and mucus formation in the nose. Affected persons also often report a burning sensation in the nose. Inform yourself also on the subject: Incubation period in a cold
