Common colds: green snot = good! sorting facts from fiction

The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is aiming to help parents and carers better understand and manage common colds with its Common colds need common sense, not antibiotics campaign.

The Executive Manager of Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Programs for NPS, Karen Kaye, said cold symptoms such as sneezing, a sniffle, headache or sore throat usually began one to two days after contact with a common colds virus. “The next set of symptoms may include a thick snotty nose and a cough,” Ms Kaye said.

Many popular myths still surround this common ailment. “A snotty nose – particularly the onset of green and yellow mucus – is actually a sign that your child’s immune system is fighting the infection, but many parents believe it is a sign their child’s cold is getting worse,” Ms Kaye said. “A cough is often the last symptom to improve and can last up to two weeks longer than the other symptoms.”

Ms Kaye said a child could get between five and 10 colds per year. She added that they could be infectious before symptoms appeared and even after most symptoms cleared up. “In theory, a child could be carrying a common colds virus for up to 10 months a year, so it is simply not possible to identify when a child starts and stops being infectious,” she said. “It is quite practical for children with colds to attend childcare, preschool and school if they feel well enough to participate because colds rarely lead to more serious illnesses.”

Despite the frequency of common colds, there are some good hygiene practices parents and carers can undertake to minimise the risk:

• Ensure children wash their hands with soap, particularly before eating and after blowing their nose (antibacterial soaps are not preferred over standard soaps)
• Encourage children to cover their nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing
• Keep their hands away from their eyes, nose and mouth
• Give them tissues to blow their nose and dispose of them after use
• Avoid sharing cups, glasses and cutlery between children.

The best thing parents can do for a child with a cold is to treat their symptoms while their immune system fights the cold and to avoid exposing them to cigarette smoke. NPS recommends rest, but it may also help to drink something soothing, suck on ice or a throat lozenge to ease a cough or sore throat and use saline (salt water) sprays to help clear mucus.

“Antibiotics won’t help a cold get better faster or stop it spreading to others because they simply don’t work on the viruses which cause common colds,” Ms Kaye said. Parents should take their children to the doctor if the symptoms come on suddenly, are severe or last longer than usual.

(Source: National Prescribing Service Limited: July 2008)