When you need to see a doctor for a cold

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Some signs may indicate complications from a cold or even be symptoms of other dangerous diseases.

How can you benefit from seeing a doctor for cold symptoms?

For most people, the onset of cold symptoms is associated with a harmless viral infection, which ends with full recovery within 7-10 days.

In such situations, patients cannot get any benefit from going to a doctor. The doctor can examine the patient and prescribe examinations, but all these actions are not needed. They will not speed up recovery or reduce the likelihood of complications. The only thing that can help in this case is symptomatic treatment, which patients can use themselves.

Seeing a doctor may be advisable in relatively rare situations:

• when a cold infection is aggressive;
• when a dangerous bacterial infection joins the viral infection.

In such situations, with the help of examination and additional diagnostics, the doctor can confirm the presence of complications and, on this basis, will offer specific treatment. In turn, treatment can speed up recovery and reduce the risk of further complications.

It also happens that symptoms of other diseases, including dangerous ones, are mistaken for manifestations of the common cold. In such situations, a medical examination increases the likelihood of a correct diagnosis and that special treatment will be started on time.

With a cold rhinitis

American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Foundation | Clinical practice guideline (update): adult sinusitis, patients are advised to see a doctor if:

• a severe runny nose (with colored mucus), nasal congestion, or a feeling of "pressure" in the face that persists for 10 days or more after the onset of a cold, with no signs of relief;
• runny nose, nasal congestion, or facial pains at first became weaker, but then began to intensify again;
• at the same time as a runny nose, the sick person has a high fever (39 ° C or higher), and these symptoms persist for 3-4 days without signs of relief.

How to see a doctor can help

In most cases, the symptoms described are associated with bacterial sinusitis (inflammation of the paranasal sinuses).

After diagnosis, the doctor can offer the patient a Patient's Guide on issues related to runny nose, nasal congestion, various forms of rhinitis and sinusitis, or watch the development of the disease for a few more days, or immediately start antibiotic treatment to speed up recovery and reduce the risk of complications.

With a cold cough

In 7-10 days after the onset of a cold, the cough disappears in almost half of the sick people. In the second half of children and adults, a cold cough persists for several more days or weeks. This phenomenon is called post-infectious cough and does not require any treatment.

Patients with cold symptoms are advised to see a doctor if:

• cough is accompanied by rapid breathing * and / or rapid pulse **;
• cough is accompanied by noisy breathing or feeling short of breath;
• when breathing, it is noticeable how the intercostal spaces in a sick person are drawn in;
• the patient has pains in the chest, back or upper abdomen, which are aggravated by coughing or taking a deep breath;
• the patient started having bouts of a very severe suffocating cough;
• the cough gradually increases over several weeks, without signs of improvement in the patient's condition;
• the temperature at first passed, but after a few days it rose again above 38 ° C;
• during coughing, sputum is released with blood.

* When to consider breathing rapid
Age	D breathing movements per minute at rest
Up to 2 months	> 60
2-12 months	> 50
1-5 years	> 40
Over 5 years old	> 30
Adults	> 25
** When to take the pulse faster
Age	Beats per minute at rest
6-12 months	> 160–170
1-2 years	> 150
3-4 years	> 140
5-11 years old	> 130
Over 12 years old	> 120
Adults	> 100

How to see a doctor can help

Individually or in different combinations Cough. Evidence-Based Patient Guidance The listed symptoms and signs can be associated with a range of conditions in which the patient can greatly benefit from an immediate medical examination, more complex diagnosis and special treatment.

In particular, a cough accompanied by a fever, rapid pulse, and rapid breathing may indicate the development of pneumonia.

A gradually increasing cough can be a symptom of tuberculosis.

A choking cough can indicate whooping cough, an infection that can lead to serious complications in some people.

Sore throat

Like other symptoms of a cold, for most people, the pain and inflammation in the throat will be noticeably relieved or go away within 5-7 days.

According to the current recommendations of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | Guideline for the management of acute sore throat, patients are advised to consult a doctor if:

• at the same time with a sore throat, a severe pain in the ear appeared;
• the sick person gradually becomes worse (the temperature rises to 40–41 ° C, the pain in the throat intensifies);
• a "bulge" appeared in the throat;
• the patient has difficulty breathing or swallowing saliva;
• it hurts the patient to turn his head or open his mouth;
• the patient has a severe headache or pain in the right or left cheek;
• the sick person does not get better for a long time (the temperature is above 38 ° C and severe sore throat persists for more than 10 days after the onset of the disease);
• a child aged 3 to 15 years fell ill and simultaneously with a sore throat he developed an obvious purulent inflammation of the tonsils (whitish deposits on the surface of the palatine tonsils).

How to see a doctor can help

The listed symptoms may be associated with the development of purulent complications of angina, in which the patient will be helped by surgery and / or antibiotic treatment.

Some children 3–15 years of age with purulent sore throat due to group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus may benefit from treatment Evidence-based patient guidance on antibiotic-related acute pain and sore throat. Such treatment only slightly reduces the duration of the illness, but significantly reduces the risk of some severe rheumatological complications.

Other situations in which you need to see a doctor

In addition to the situations already listed above, patients with cold symptoms should consult a doctor in such cases:

1. Severe pain in the ear (or in both ears) occurred along with other symptoms. In this case, antibiotic treatment may be prescribed, which accelerate recovery from otitis media.
2. An unusually pronounced weakness has appeared (for example, if the sick person is so weak that it is difficult for him to get out of bed).
3. If the illness began with a high fever and severe weakness, and the person fell ill during the flu season and is at increased risk of developing complications of this infection. In such a situation, with immediate medical attention, the patient may be offered an early start of treatment with antiviral drugs (oseltamivir).

According to current CDC guidelines | People at High Risk of Developing Flu – Related Complications, people at increased risk of complications from influenza include:

• children under 5 years old, especially under 2 years old;
• people over 65;
• pregnant women, as well as women during the first two weeks after childbirth;
• patients with chronic respiratory diseases (bronchial asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease);
• significantly overweight adults;
• adults and children with serious cardiovascular diseases, renal failure, liver cirrhosis, sickle cell disease, or other significant hematological disorders;
• adults and children who are taking medications that suppress the function of the immune system;
• patients with inflammatory diseases who need long-term use of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid);
• adults and children with diabetes mellitus (patients with type 1 diabetes are not only at higher risk of complications, but may need to adjust their insulin treatment);
• patients with diseases of the nervous system and / or with intellectual disabilities (due to the risk of accumulation of phlegm in the respiratory tract).

Patients from these risk groups should consult a doctor for advice.

Finally, going to a doctor is the right decision for all people who are not sure that they can correctly assess their condition and the nature of the development of the disease.