Introduction
The common cold affects almost everyone at least once a year and is particularly common during the cold months. The term cold suggests that the development of the common cold has to do with the cold, but the illness is not triggered by the low temperatures. A cold is a transmission and spread of a pathogen.
In most cases these are typical cold viruses, of which there are many different ones. More rarely, bacteria can also cause the common cold. In these cases the disease is often more persistent and is accompanied by other symptoms. Your own infection and the infection of others depend on various factors. The pathogens can take many paths in the environment and, via various transmission routes, can lead to a cold, earache, sore throat, pneumonia, sinusitis and other diseases.
How long is a cold contagious?
An uncomplicated cold, caused by typical pathogens, lasts untreated about 9-10 days. The disease proceeds in phases. Affected persons are potentially contagious in each of these phases, even 1.
-2. days before the onset of symptoms in the so-called incubation phase, when contact with the cold virus or bacteria has already occurred, but their number is not yet large enough to trigger the disease. In principle, it can be said that the danger of infection is associated with the development of the disease symptoms. Since the symptoms are rather low or hardly noticeable during the incubation phase, the risk of infection is not very high, but neglected hygiene measures, such as kissing or not washing hands frequently lead to infection.
After all, the affected person does not yet know that he or she carries a pathogen in the body and transmits it by touching objects or through physical contact. After the incubation phase, when the pathogens have successfully multiplied and settled in the body and in the mucous membranes, they reach the outbreak of the typical cold symptoms in the initial phase of the cold. The initial phase of the cold lasts about 1-2 days and is characterized by the outbreak of the typical symptoms, such as rhinitis, fever, as well as sore throat and aching limbs, since the pathogens are now present in sufficient quantity.
It follows on the 3rd – 5th day of the cold the acute phase of the disease with the maximum number of pathogens. This is also the phase in which the risk of infection is greatest! After the first contact with the pathogen, the immune system gets to know it and starts a so-called “immune response” to the germs.
After a few days, antibodies are formed which fight the germs. Since the immune response can only start with a delay after a short preparation time, the pathogen can still spread unhindered in the acute phase. Often the immune system gains the upper hand over the pathogen only in the late phase on the 6th-9th day of the illness and fights it with the formed antibodies, so that after a few days the symptoms subside and shortly afterwards all pathogens are eliminated.
The symptoms should have subsided by the 10th day of illness. If you feel really fit and alert again, the risk of infection is rather low. Nevertheless, it is advisable not to take any risks in order not to harm yourself and not to endanger your fellow men through infection.
The exact timing of these processes can vary with the nature of the pathogen or the immune system. Different pathogens can multiply at different rates, be more aggressive or resistant, and can penetrate mucous membranes more easily or more difficultly, thus causing infections even in small numbers. On the other hand, there is the immune system, which can be weakened by previous diseases, medication or stress.
Especially in old and childish age, a lowered immune system can hardly ward off an infection. These factors influence the duration of the illness and the development of its phases, which can vary from patient to patient. The incubation period describes the period from infection and initial contact with the pathogens until the first symptoms such as sore throat, rhinitis or fever appear.
With the typical cold viruses, the incubation period is about 2-3 days. With a weak immune system, this time span is even reduced. During this time the germs attach themselves to the mucous membranes and multiply until the first symptoms appear.
In the incubation period, patients are already potentially contagious! However, the risk of infection is less dependent on the number of germs in the body, which is still rather low, but much more on neglected hygiene measures, since the person affected does not yet know anything about their illness. Especially due to a lack of hand hygiene or kissing during the incubation period, the probability of infection can become almost as high as in the symptomatic phase of the common cold, where the risk of infection is accompanied by a high bacterial count in the body.
