The Best Prevention for The Common Cold

Hand washing with plain soap

The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, it is also known as nasopharyngitis, acute viral rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, or a cold. he best prevention for the common cold is staying away from people who are infected, and places where infected individuals have been.

Regular hand washing is recommended to reduce transmission of cold viruses and other pathogens via direct contact. Washing of the hands reduces virus count on the skin.
* Hand washing with plain soap and water is recommended. The mechanical action of hand rubbing with plain soap, rinsing, and drying physically removes the virus particles off the hands.
* Alcohol-based hand sanitizers provide very little protection against upper respiratory infections, especially among children.
* Because the common cold is caused by a virus instead of a bacterium, anti-bacterial soaps are no better than regular soap for removing the virus from skin or other surfaces.
Cleaning contaminated surfaces such as coffee cup handles with a mixed alcohol/phenol disinfectant has been shown to almost halve the chance of transmission via direct contact.
Efforts to develop a vaccine against the common cold have been unsuccessful. Common colds are produced by a large variety of rapidly mutating viruses; successful creation of a broadly effective vaccine is highly improbable.
Exposure to cold temperatures and wet weather have been found to facilitate viral infection, explaining why colds and flu are more prevalent in winter outside of tropical areas. Cold weather may make the mucous lining of the respiratory tract more sluggish, taking longer to sweep any inhaled virus particles away. This allows more time for the virus to establish infection and means an individual is infectious for longer. Wet weather seems to help the virus because certain levels of humidity affect the ease with which viral particles can be spread in the atmosphere.
Vitamin C is not effective for prevention of the common cold in the general population but may be effective in certain groups such as those exposed to subarctic cold or intense physical activity.