Duration of a cold

[Julie in CA]

Let's say your dc caught a cold. They were miserable for 3 days or so, and then were better. You catch the cold from them. Which of the poll options would describe how long you would be sick?

 

ETA: Ok, you can ignore the extra comments that came with the poll choice of 6-8 weeks. I guess I'm unable to contain my personal feelings on this. :glare:

Edited September 3, 2011 by Julie in CA

[plain jane]

I vote it's totally dependent on your own immune system at the time. My kids have had bad colds that I didn't catch and they've also had just sniffles that turned into minor flu-like symptoms for both dh and myself- one week sick in bed with chills and coughing. :001_huh: At that time, dh and I were pretty run down with stress and that's likely why we got so sick while the kids didn't.

 

Often, when a cold runs through our house, it doesn't affect any of us the same way.:tongue_smilie:

 

I typically don't get the colds the kids bring home. Stomach viruses, yes :glare: but the colds not so much. I wish it were the other way around.

[tammyw]

In our family, I am always the one who is sickest the longest. It is soooooo frustrating, but I guess my immune system just isn't as strong as theirs (husband included). I grew up in a household of heavy smokers and had a lot of issues because of it. I still wonder if that is part of my problem.

 

Just a recent example. DD8 got a bad cough (very junky). Hers lasted 3.5 weeks. Then DH got it - it last 3.5 weeks. DS5 and I got it at the same time (we all had overlapping). His lasted 4 weeks, but mine turned into pneumonia and I had crazy flu-like symptoms for 1.5 weeks, fevers up to 102, etc.

 

Regular colds - everyone else seems to get their colds and get over them (on the rare occasion DH gets a cold, he's usually better 2 days later, no joke). My colds last at least two weeks and the sinus part is always the worst and incredibly miserable. Not fair at all!

[Sputterduck]

It takes me at least a month. I have terrible lungs and I get *very* ill. My colds get complicated with pneumonia and asthma pretty much every time I get one. I have also had my right middle lobe collapse. The recovery on that one was 6 months and I was only 12 years old at the time!

[Jennifer in MI]

I vote it's totally dependent on your own immune system at the time. My kids have had bad colds that I didn't catch and they've also had just sniffles that turned into minor flu-like symptoms for both dh and myself- one week sick in bed with chills and coughing. :001_huh: At that time, dh and I were pretty run down with stress and that's likely why we got so sick while the kids didn't.

 

Often, when a cold runs through our house, it doesn't affect any of us the same way.:tongue_smilie:

 

I typically don't get the colds the kids bring home. Stomach viruses, yes :glare: but the colds not so much. I wish it were the other way around.

 

:iagree: It depends. I'll catch a cold from the kids once every year or 18 months. Usually, I'll have it for 2 weeks or so, if it includes a cough. If it doesn't include a chesty cough, then it'll last around a week. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I had aches and pains and a fever. (Don't kill me!) Knock on wood.

[boscopup]

My and my kids' doctors have all said that a colds virus should start to get better by about 10 days. Once it goes beyond 2 weeks, it's probably a secondary bacterial infection.

 

I would certainly be going to the doctor if you've had a "cold" for 6-8 weeks.

[Julie in CA]

I have to vent here for a moment. Ignore this message if you can't stand to hear people whine. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have allergies. I have asthma. I have high blood pressure. I am extremely overweight.

 

I'm also moderately active. I walk/jog 4x per week, 3 miles each time. I eat almost no junk food, though I do eat too much of the really good food I prepare for my family. I drink water by the bucket-full. I've done immunotherapy and sinus rinsing for the allergies, I've followed through on the inhalers for the asthma, I'm trying to avoid salt and follow through on the hypertension. Again, I'm exercising.

 

Every single fall, I get horribly sick. It starts off as a cold that one of my dc will pass along to the family. Everyone else kicks it in a couple of days, maybe a week at most. It starts off as a cold for me, and morphs into a horrible, painful, debilitating illness that will keep me down for two months (though I'll still have to plow through my work at a close-to-normal pace 'cause who can take 2 months off?? :glare:). Sinus stuff that makes me think my head might just explode. Earaches, sore throats, puffy face, and a red, bleeding nose from blowing/wiping no matter how gentle I try to be. Coughing that vacillates between tight and persistent, to loose, deep, and horribly painful.

 

If I go to my doc, she will give me an antibiotic. It will work, but only if they use the "agent orange" method, give it all they've got, and kill *EVERYTHING*. From there, I'll do all of the probiotic stuff, avoid bread, sugar, etc, but will still end up with a lovely secondary feminine infection.

 

Yes, I know the allergies & asthma stuff complicates things, but REALLY??

There's got to be something better than this. :confused:

 

I'm almost to the two-week mark, and I can see where this is headed. :glare:

 

Vent over. :chillpill:

[Impish]

For me, its directly related to how much I *need* to be doing.

 

If its around Christmas, plan on being deathly ill for the entire month or so.

 

If its during a 'lull' where nothing much is planned, it'll be over within the week. :glare:

[sassenach]

I rarely catch what my family has, and when I do, I'm usually over it quickly. On the other hand, dh catches everything and stays sick twice as long.

[Julie in CA]

Ok, who's the person who voted with me on 6-8 weeks of misery? You're making me feel better, just knowing I'm not the only one! ;)

[lailasmum]

I seem to be getting colds worse as I age. The kids had a cold earlier this year that lasted a week but took me three weeks to even begin to get over. I think it had turned into more than a cold by then, took like a month to five weeks to be totally free of it.

[chepyl]

It really depends on the time of year and my stress level. I have had colds hang on for weeks. I am generally sick for 2-3 days and then have a cough or runny nose for weeks.

 

I remember when I was little, the doctor told my mom it takes a lot of colds 6 weeks to run their course. They may start in your head and then move down through your respiratory system. That is generally the pattern with me. I have a sinus headache, then total congestion, then sore throat, light couch, deepening cough, then it is gone...