Just as many of us are getting over our autumn allergies, we'll soon have another reason to break out the Kleenex: cold season. As the weather cools down, lecture halls tend to fill up with the hacking, nose-blowing victims of viral infections. And though they may be common, even the most run-of-the-mill cold can be incredibly irritating. When you're stuck in bed with a fever, surrounded by used tissues and coughing uncontrollably, it's totally understandable to want a quick-fix. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe that antibiotics are the solution for these symptoms.
Why aren't antibiotics the answer for your cold complaints? The common cold is caused by viruses, not bacteria, and antibiotics have absolutely no efficacy against viruses. A Cochrane Database Review looking at nine controlled clinical trials studying this question concluded that there is absolutely no evidence supporting the routine use of antibiotics to treat upper respiratory infections. What's more, these studies indicate that taking antibiotics for a cold is worse than ineffective: it can actually be harmful.
This makes sense, given antibiotics' ability to disrupt your natural flora by killing off normal bacteria living in your body, potentially causing diarrhea and vaginal yeast infections and allowing dangerous bacteria to thrive in your system while the healthy bugs die off -- and all that's due to these medications merely doing their job. Side effects unrelated to antibiotics' bug-busting abilities include rashes, vomiting and rare but extremely dangerous reactions such as anaphylaxis, bone marrow suppression and kidney damage. Though a week of cough and congestion may be a bummer, it certainly beats any of these outcomes.
While you may have to cohabit with your virus for a few days, you don't have to be completely miserable. There's plenty you can do to alleviate your symptoms without obliterating your body's healthy bacteria in the process. Remember the grape-flavored concoctions your mom force fed you as a child? Medicines like these, which typically contain the compounds guaifenesin and dextromethorphan, work well for controlling cough. If a stuffy nose is your biggest complaint, then go for decongestants containing pseudoephedrine, which do wonders for clearing things up. Saline nasal washes and steroid nasal sprays are also helpful for controlling nasal mucus, while sore throat and headache can be soothed with pain relievers such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. A number of herbal and alternative therapies such as vitamin C, zinc and echinacea are marketed for curbing the common cold, but none have been shown to ameliorate symptoms over placebo in controlled trials.
There is one caveat to this anti-antibiotic dictum for colds: around two percent of the time, bacteria can set up shop in an already virus-laden upper respiratory tract. Most cases of bacterial sinusitis resolve on their own within a month, but it's reasonable to treat them because the infection occasionally spreads, leading to dangerous complications such as orbital cellulitis, an infection behind the eye that threatens vision. Signs suggesting that your viral cold may be progressing to a bacterial sinus infection include dark yellow or green nasal discharge, focal pain over the face, toothache, poor response to decongestants and facial pain with leaning forward.
It's important to note, however, that these symptoms are extremely non-specific, so before you go running to Student Health with a sample of your slightly chartreuse nasal discharge, realize that the most important factor for differentiating a viral infection from a bacterial one is duration. If your cold symptoms last for longer than two weeks or suddenly worsen after an initial improvement, it's reasonable for you and your doctor to consider a trial of antibiotics. Until then, however, the best thing is to just blow and bear it. Then go wash your hands.
Anne Mills is a Cavalier Daily Health & Sexuality Columnist. She can be reached at mills@cavalierdaily.com or through the Sex & Balances submission page at cavalierdaily.com/sex.asp. This column should be used for educational purposes only and is not meant to substitute advice from your doctor.
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