Can you eat shrimp with a cold?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on December 20, 2024
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When you have a cold, it is important to be cautious about what you eat. It is best to avoid eating shrimp as it is considered a stimulating food that can potentially worsen the symptoms of a cold. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid seafood like fish, shrimp, and crabs, which are also considered stimulating. Your diet should primarily be light, and you should consume foods rich in vitamins and fiber. Additionally, maintaining a positive mindset and not worrying too much are important. Furthermore, if the cold is severe, be sure to follow a doctor's guidance and cooperate with the medical treatment actively. Avoid spicy, greasy, raw, or irritant foods. Also, it is advisable not to consume items like chili peppers, black pepper, mustard, alcoholic beverages, strong tea, and coffee.

Other Voices

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Written by Liao Bin
Pulmonology
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Can you drink alcohol when you have a cold?

You should not drink alcohol when you have a cold. Drinking alcohol during a cold often exacerbates the clinical symptoms of the cold, worsening the condition, and may even increase complications in some patients. Cold sufferers often experience marked upper respiratory tract catarrhal symptoms, and some may also feel generally unwell. Drinking alcohol can exacerbate these respiratory symptoms and sometimes lead to bacterial infections due to lowered immune defenses, resulting in acute suppurative tonsillitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, and other conditions. Moreover, drinking alcohol when you have a cold can trigger gastrointestinal disturbances, especially in patients with gastrointestinal-type colds, noticeably worsening symptoms such as nausea, abdominal bloating, and diarrhea. In cases of severe colds, where patients take oral cold medications, drinking alcohol can increase the adverse reactions of these medications, causing significant discomfort. Some bacterial colds require antibiotic treatment, especially oral cephalosporin antibiotics, where drinking alcohol may induce a disulfiram-like reaction; therefore, it is prohibited for cold sufferers to drink alcohol.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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How to treat a cold with nasal congestion and dry cough?

The common cold is a very common inflammatory condition clinically, generally caused by viral infections, hence, the treatment for such patients usually needs to focus on antiviral medications. Most viral colds cause varying degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and even dry cough and itchy throat among other clinical symptoms. For such patients, treatment begins by identifying the specific pathogens causing the cold. If it is a virus, timely administration of heat-clearing and detoxifying medications is necessary, along with the appropriate use of traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate symptoms like nasal congestion and runny nose. For symptoms such as nasal congestion and dry cough, appropriate use of cough suppressant medications or nebulized inhalation may be chosen to provide symptomatic relief, with treatment effects generally being ideal around three days.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
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Can I eat oranges when I have a cold and cough?

People with a cold and cough can eat oranges. This fruit is rich in vitamin C, which can promote the repair of tissue mucosa and is beneficial for recovery from illnesses. Additionally, it can also provide some cough relief. Therefore, it's fine to eat oranges when you have a cold and cough, as generally, there are no special contraindications with most fruits. Fruits like apples, bananas, tomatoes, tangerines, pineapples, and dragon fruits are also edible. It is mainly important to avoid overly greasy and spicy foods, refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol, drink plenty of water, ensure good indoor air circulation, and maintain suitable indoor temperature and humidity to help recover from a cold and cough.

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Written by Li Rui
Otolaryngology
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Is nasal congestion the same as having a cold?

Nasal congestion is not necessarily a cold. Cold medicine has many symptoms, with nasal congestion being one of them. However, there could be more reasons for nasal congestion. A cold is just one factor causing nasal congestion. Other reasons might include chronic rhinitis, acute rhinitis, sinusitis, deviated nasal septum, and nasal polyps. Often, these conditions are primarily due to pathological changes in the nose itself. Therefore, it is recommended to visit an otolaryngology clinic, particularly for persistent nasal congestion, and consider undergoing a nasopharyngoscopy. If needed, a sinus CT may also be considered, along with symptom assessment and additional diagnostic tests, to make a more comprehensive and accurate evaluation.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
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Why do I have a headache with a cold?

There are many reasons why a cold can cause a headache, the most common being due to a viral infection which triggers an immune response in the body's temperature regulation center, leading to fever symptoms; fever can cause headaches. Additionally, a cold can also stimulate swelling of the nasal mucosa, causing nasal congestion and inducing neurogenic headaches. Headaches from a cold are a common symptom and are often accompanied by a runny nose, sneezing, and a sore throat. Regardless of the cause of the headache, you can generally choose some antipyretic analgesic drugs to alleviate the symptoms. At the same time, choosing antiviral drugs for etiological treatment is advisable. (Please take medication under the guidance of a professional physician, do not medicate blindly)