You eyes water. You are coughing. Your nose is running, and you feel terrible all over. Chances are you have a common cold; it is the most common illness on Earth. Although it is usually not serious, colds are a big problem for many people. The symptoms can last from one to two weeks, and it is the leading cause of doctors' visits and missed days from school and work.
Some people are confused about how we catch colds. It is not true that you can get a cold from cold weather. There is also no way to get a from too little or too much exercise or a bad diet. Most colds occur during the fall and winter. The reason most colds occur at this time is not because the weather is colder, but because people spend more time in their homes. That means more people are closer to each other. The common cold is spread mostly from hand-to-hand touching or when a person with a cold blows his or her nose and then touches someone else. This person-to-person touching spreads colds.
You can also get sick by touching anything a person who is already sick has touched, such as a telephone or door. When people sneeze and cough, it is not easy to catch that person's