(electronic ringing)
(academic orchestral music)
(sneezing)
- (disgusted grunt) Gross.
(splashing)
We're rolling, okay.
Hi, I'm Ben with today's question.
What is the common cold?
When someone says, "I have
a cold," what do they mean?
What they mean really,
is that there's something in their body
causing a set of symptoms
and we call this set of
symptoms the actual cold.
This includes things like runny
noses, sneezing, coughing,
maybe even chills or a
monster of a headache.
It does not include a fever.
Normally if there's a
fever we call it the flu.
And there are a lot of different viruses
that can cause cold symptoms,
but about half the time
the cold is caused by a class
of virus called a rhinovirus.
Like the words rhino
and virus put together,
but not a rhinoceros.
(rhino grunting)
(beeping)
That would be way cooler.
The rhinoceros, excuse me, rhinovirus
gets into the cell lining of your nose
and it starts reproducing.
It arrives from other people.
So there are some myths we have to bust.
One, it is not cold
weather that causes a cold,
instead it's the fact that cold weather
causes people to
congregate together indoors
and it makes it easier for a rhinovirus
to jump from one person to the next.
The virus generally moves
from someone else's hands
to your hands through something
like touching a doorknob,
putting your hands into
your nose or your eyes,
which I'm not gonna do
'cause that would be
kind of gross on camera.
Your body reacts to the
presence of the rhinovirus
with its immune system.
In the case of a cold,
the immune system opens up
blood vessels inside your nose
through inflammation
and this also increases your mucus.
And these two processes give
you that famous runny nose
and the stuffy feeling.
The irritation caused by the virus
and all the fluid causes sneezing.
(squirting)
When the virus makes it
into the cell lining,
then your lungs
are gonna start producing
fluid and mucus as well
and that's what makes you cough.
Your coughing up lung mucus.
As the immune system gears
up over several days,
fights the virus back, this
mucus thickens, it gets grosser.
This mucus thickens and it
changes color with dead cells,
a form of puss.
That is true and it's gross
and it is totally true,
but eventually,
the immune system eliminates
the virus completely
and boom, you're well again.
You're a hail and hearty
and ready for some more misadventure.
How long does this take?
Well, the whole healing process
takes about seven to 10 days
if you have average health.
So that's it,
that's what people mean when
they say they have a cold.
We hope that you enjoyed this video
and we'd love to hear from
you in the comments below.
Go ahead and like if you feel like liking,
if you thought this video was likable.
You could subscribe and
we will see you next time.
(electronic ringing)
