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Common cold: Common cold is listed as an alternate name or description for symptom:
Causes of Cold-like symptoms (Common cold): See detailed list of causes below.
Cold-like symptoms (medical symptom): Symptoms similar to the common cold.
Cold-like symptoms (medical symptom): Everyone is familiar with the stuffy nose, sore throat, and cough from a common cold. This section focuses on symptoms similar to a runny nose; see also other sections on sore throat, cough, and headache. For comparison see the list of conditions with flu-like symptoms.
Although a cold or other upper respiratory infection is most common, there are several other possibilities. This list includes flu, allergic rhinitis (either perennial rhinitis or seasonal rhinitis), chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, otisis media, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Cold-like symptoms can also be the start of other conditions such as whooping cough, measles, mumps, or mononucleosis.
Cold-like symptoms (medical symptom): Sneezing, scratchy throat, runny nose – everyone knows the first signs of a cold, probably the most common illness known. Although the common cold is usually mild, with symptoms lasting one to two weeks, it is a leading cause of doctor visits and of school and job absenteeism. (Source: excerpt from The Common Cold, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
The list of medical condition causes of Cold-like symptoms (Common cold) includes:
All 712 causes of Cold-like symptoms
Review the causes of the following types of more specific symptoms for Common cold:
Research the causes of these related symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Common cold:
Research the causes of these symptoms that are more broader types of symptom than Common cold:
For a medical symptom description of 'Common cold', the following symptom information may be relevant to the symptoms: Cold-like symptoms (symptom). However, note that other causes of the symptom 'Common cold' may be possible.
More information on symptom: Cold-like symptoms:
Research related medical symptoms or conditions such as:
Common cold (medical condition): For a medical symptom description of 'Common cold', the following disease information may be relevant to the symptoms: Common cold (disease information). However, numerous other possible causes of the symptom may be possible.
Common cold (medical condition): A cold is a relatively minor contagious infection of the nose and throat that can be caused by a number of different viruses (e.g. rhinoviruses, coronaviruses). There are over 200 different viruses that have the potential to cause the common cold. Although colds can cause discomfort they are not considered a serious condition.
Common cold (medical condition): Almost everyone is familiar with the feeling you get when you start a common cold, such as a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, or tearing. Colds are very common but are more common in children and decline with age. They are rarely dangerous to healthy adults or children, but may occasionally be dangerous to infants, the elderly or other at-risk groups.
Correct diagnosis of a cold usually means distinguishing between cold and the more serious flu, which is not always easy, but is important because of newer antiviral medications for the flu. There are also other conditions that start like a cold (e.g. rare but serious whooping cough) and numerous conditions that have cold-like symptoms or flu-like symptoms. Although there are numerous different subtypes of colds, diagnosis of the specific subtype of cold is rarely performed and not usually important for treatment.
Common cold: Sneezing, scratchy throat, runny nose – everyone knows the first signs of a cold, probably the most common illness known. Although the common cold is usually mild, with symptoms lasting one to two weeks, it is a leading cause of doctor visits and of school and job absenteeism. (Source: excerpt from The Common Cold, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
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