What should I do if I have a cold and a sore throat?

Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
Updated on January 22, 2025
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In cases of colds with sore throats, appropriate measures should be taken based on the specific condition. A cold with a sore throat may be caused by a viral infection. For viral colds, there are usually no specific treatments, and symptomatic pain relief treatment is often needed, along with adequate hydration and proper intake of fruits and other related measures. Additionally, a sore throat from a cold could also be a bacterial infection, such as acute purulent tonsillitis, which is a type of bacterial cold. Patients with acute purulent tonsillitis often experience significant throat pain, swollen tonsils with purulent secretions on the surface, and may also have a fever. For acute purulent tonsillitis, not only is symptomatic treatment necessary, but also the use of sensitive antibiotics is required.

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What to do when a cold causes a hot nose?

The common cold is an acute rhinitis caused by viral infection, with common symptoms including sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion; there may also be symptoms of nasal fever. In cases where the cold is accompanied by a hot nose, one initial approach is to use medications to alleviate the symptoms, such as compound cold medicines or traditional Chinese medicines that clear heat and detoxify. Additionally, it is advisable to drink plenty of hot water, rest, avoid getting chilled, quit smoking, and ensure good ventilation in the room to aid recovery from the cold.

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Itchy throat and coughing, is it a wind-heat cold or a wind-cold cold?

When patients present with symptoms such as itchy throat and cough in a clinical setting, it is generally difficult to distinguish between a wind-heat cold and a wind-cold cold based solely on these symptoms. Distinguishing between wind-heat and wind-cold colds requires combining other clinical symptoms to accurately differentiate. Typically, patients with wind-heat colds are more common during the hot summers. These patients experience varying degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing, along with fever, chills, sore throat, and often cough up yellow sputum. On the other hand, wind-cold colds tend to occur more often in winter. These patients exhibit varying degrees of itchy throat and cough, nasal congestion, and also experience different degrees of fever, but generally do not have chills. Therefore, it is generally difficult to specifically distinguish the type of cold based on the solitary symptoms of itchy throat and cough in a clinical setting.

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What should you pay attention to when you have a cold with nasal congestion?

A cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, typically manifests different clinical symptoms depending on its triggering factors. Generally, most patients with a cold exhibit symptoms like nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing due to a viral infection. Therefore, for such patients, personal hygiene is crucial. Additionally, it is important to ventilate rooms by opening windows and to avoid public places as much as possible to prevent spreading the infection to others with weaker immune systems. These cold sufferers are also advised to avoid spicy and irritating foods. Drinking plenty of water daily and consuming fresh vegetables and fruits high in vitamins is recommended. Consumables like apples, pears, water chestnuts, grapes, and kiwis, which are rich in vitamins and nutrients, should be eaten regularly to help enhance the immune function of these patients.

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What cold is nasal congestion?

Nasal congestion is the most common clinical symptom of nasal diseases. Various disorders, such as rhinitis, sinusitis, nasal foreign bodies, and even nasal tumors can cause nasal congestion. In terms of colds, clinically it mainly refers to an upper respiratory infection caused by a viral infection. Therefore, nasal congestion alone cannot determine which type of cold it is. The types of colds, in modern medicine, refer to upper respiratory infections. In traditional Chinese medicine, they are divided into colds caused by wind-heat and colds caused by wind-cold. Merely from the symptom of nasal congestion, it is impossible to determine the type of cold. Therefore, in clinical practice, the main focus for treating nasal congestion is symptomatic treatment, which may include the use of medications to constrict the nasal blood vessels and clear the nasal passages. (Please follow the doctor's prescription for medication use.)

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Can Banlangen treat a cold?

Banlangen belongs to the category of Chinese medicine. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, Banlangen has certain effects on treating the common cold, meaning it can be used to treat colds. For example, Banlan根 is most commonly used to treat colds, mainly treating wind-heat type colds, and its effectiveness for colds due to wind-cold or summer dampness is relatively poor or non-existent. However, from the perspective of modern medicine, the common cold is often caused by viral infections of the respiratory system, classified as acute upper respiratory infection, which can cause symptoms such as fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, and sore throat. Therefore, a combination of medications is used to improve the clinical symptoms of a cold. Common medications include compound paracetamol and amantadine, Mameimin tablets, etc. Banlangen is generally not used for treatment. (Please follow medical advice when using medication.)