Treatment
Treatment depends on the underlying cause. There are currently no medications or herbal remedies which have been conclusively demonstrated to shorten the duration of the illness. Treatment comprises symptomatic support usually via analgesics for headache, sore throat and muscle aches.
There is no evidence to support the age-old advice to rest when you are sick with an upper respiratory illness. Moderate exercise in sedentary subjects with a URI has been shown to have no effect on the overall severity and duration of the illness. Based on these findings, it was concluded that previously sedentary people who have acquired a URI and who have initiated an exercise program may continue to exercise. Getting plenty of sleep; however, is advisable since even mild sleep deprivation has been shown to be associated with increased susceptibility to infection. Increasing fluid intake, or "drinking plenty of fluids" during a cold is not supported by medical evidence, according to a literature review published in the British Medical Journal.
Read more about this topic: Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“If the study of all these sciences, which we have enumerated, should ever bring us to their mutual association and relationship, and teach us the nature of the ties which bind them together, I believe that the diligent treatment of them will forward the objects which we have in view, and that the labor, which otherwise would be fruitless, will be well bestowed.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
“Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, “Go to sleep by yourselves.” And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help.”
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