Can i catch same cold twice

File your complaints with evolution and let us know when you hear back. You may have developed antibodies for some circulating virus serotypes thanks to previous colds. Of course, they may have traveled and caught a different dominant illness from somewhere else, but generally speaking, they probably just caught your cold.

This can be true even if you two experience different symptoms. Javaid says. Instead, it could simply be that your immune systems are focusing their efforts on fighting off the same virus serotype in different parts of your bodies, creating different symptoms, Dr. Greninger says. You might be feeling residual symptoms from the original virus, Dr.

That also stands if you start experiencing wheezing or shortness of breath. Rhinovirus is known to mutate quickly. Influenza viruses, which cause the flu, are another example, Dr. They change enough every year that new flu vaccines are required to combat the most dominant flu viruses that season.

It would be rare for it to mutate enough in your community that you could catch it again in the same season, he adds. You might have heard that you should throw away your toothbrush , wash your sheets, or disinfect the house after an illness in order to avoid getting sick again. Javaid and Dr. In reality, the discharge is an indicator that the cold is running its course.

It also is not unusual for a cough to persist weeks after other cold symptoms have passed. Folino suggests using honey or maple syrup to calm a cough.

The best way to treat a cold is to rest and drink plenty of fluids. To address body aches and fever, Folino recommends taking ibuprofen every six hours and acetaminophen in between doses, but make sure to follow label directions.

Chicken soup and other warm liquids help loosen congestion, as does a cool-mist humidifier. People with weakened immune systems are more prone to catching colds and should see a health care provider soon after symptoms develop. But for most healthy children and adults, there is little need to see a health care provider for the common cold. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of different cold viruses lurking about — even during peak flu season — so wash your hands frequently, avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold — and always cover your coughs and sneezes.

Patients: But is that even possible? Unfortunately for us, there are lots of different viruses which can all cause very similar common cold-like symptoms. These include viruses like parainfluenza virus, adenovirus and rhinovirus, all of which cause things like sneezing, headaches, coughs and a runny nose. However, each of these viruses also have subcategories, called serotypes, or strains.

For example, rhinovirus has over different serotypes. The not so good news is that you can get another cold from a different virus, or a different virus strain.