Common colds on the rise

It is that time of the year again when the number of cases of people with the common cold will be on the rise.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said post-Carnival there was usually a rise in the number of common cold cases.

"Once you have co-mingling of a large number of people in any one place or setting, you get a greater risk of transmission of any communicable disease, especially respiratory illnesses. That coupled with the fact that people are coming in from different parts of the world, they would be bringing whatever illnesses they would have experienced to TT. There are different strains of viruses that would be coming into the country."

He said there was the Sahara dust issue to contend with as well, which complicated events further ,because people so prone to dust would already be in a state of respiratory compromise to some extent.

Parasram said people needed to go back to their normal preventative measures, which were basically washing their hands frequently and covering their mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing. He advised people who were ill to avoid gatherings and spreading the virus.

"Of course, get vaccinated," he said, "because you are not sure if you are getting the influenza or the common cold, but hand-washing and respiratory etiquette are the two most important things. If you are ill do not go to work or school.

"We treat the common cold symptomatically, meaning we treat the nasal congestion with antihistamines and treat any pain and fever with analgesics. Other than that, supportive therapy like drinking a lot of fluids and keeping hydrated, and it usually passes within five to seven days."

He said people in high-risk groups such as the elderly, babies and pregnant women had to look out for other complications like having fever come back after it has gone away for a week or so.

"If you have vomitting. diarrhoea, abdominal pains and shortness of breath, then visit a doctor as soon as you can."