Editing Common cold (section)

==Signs and symptoms==
[[File:A lady suffering from the Common Cold.png|thumb|upright=1|Woman with symptoms of the common cold]]

The typical symptoms of a cold include [[cough]], [[runny nose]], [[Sneeze|sneezing]], [[nasal congestion]], and a [[sore throat]], sometimes accompanied by [[myalgia|muscle ache]], [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]], [[headache]], and [[Anorexia (symptom)|loss of appetite]].<ref name=E24>Eccles p. 24</ref> A sore throat is present in about 40% of cases, a cough in about 50%,<ref name=CE11/> and muscle aches in about 50%.<ref name=Eccles2005/> In adults, a [[fever]] is generally not present but it is common in infants and young children.<ref name=Eccles2005/> The cough is usually mild compared to that accompanying [[influenza]].<ref name=Eccles2005/> While a cough and a fever indicate a higher likelihood of influenza in adults, a great deal of similarity exists between these two conditions.<ref>Eccles p. 26</ref> A number of the viruses that cause the common cold may also result in [[asymptomatic|asymptomatic infections]].<ref>Eccles p. 129</ref><ref>Eccles p. 50</ref>

The color of the [[mucus]] or nasal secretion may vary from clear to yellow to green and does not indicate the class of agent causing the infection.<ref>Eccles p. 30</ref>

===Progression===
[[File:Cold symptoms cdc.jpg|Cold symptoms over time|thumb]]
A cold usually begins with fatigue, a feeling of being [[Chills|chilled]], sneezing, and a headache, followed in a couple of days by a runny nose and cough.<ref name=E24/> Symptoms may begin within sixteen hours of exposure<ref>{{cite book |veditors=Helms RA |title=Textbook of therapeutics: drug and disease management |year=2006 |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Philadelphia, Pa. [u.a.] |isbn=978-0-7817-5734-8 |page=1882 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVmRWrknaWgC&pg=PA1882 |edition=8. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430175008/https://books.google.com/books?id=aVmRWrknaWgC&pg=PA1882 |archive-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> and typically peak two to four days after onset.<ref name=Eccles2005/><ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Turner RB, Hayden FG |veditors=Rübsamen-Waigmann H |display-editors=etal |title=Viral Infections and Treatment |chapter=Rhinovirus |year=2003 |publisher=CRC Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8247-4247-8 |page=111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AltZnmbIhbwC&pg=PA111 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504193824/https://books.google.com/books?id=AltZnmbIhbwC&pg=PA111 |archive-date=4 May 2016}}</ref> They usually resolve in seven to ten days, but some can last for up to three weeks.<ref name=Heik2003/> The average duration of cough is eighteen days<ref name="pmid23319500">{{cite journal |vauthors=Ebell MH, Lundgren J, Youngpairoj S |title=How long does a cough last? Comparing patients' expectations with data from a systematic review of the literature |journal=Annals of Family Medicine |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=5–13 |year=2013 |pmid=23319500 |pmc=3596033 |doi=10.1370/afm.1430}}</ref> and in some cases people develop a [[post-viral cough]] which can linger after the infection is gone.<ref name="pmid21198555">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dicpinigaitis PV |title=Cough: an unmet clinical need |journal=British Journal of Pharmacology |volume=163 |issue=1 |pages=116–24 |date=May 2011 |pmid=21198555 |pmc=3085873 |doi=10.1111/j.1476-5381.2010.01198.x}}</ref> In children, the cough lasts for more than ten days in 35–40% of cases and continues for more than 25 days in 10%.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Goldsobel AB, Chipps BE |title=Cough in the pediatric population |journal=The Journal of Pediatrics |volume=156 |issue=3 |pages=352–8 |date=March 2010 |pmid=20176183 |doi=10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.12.004}}</ref>