The common cold is a viral infection of your nose and throat that can cause an overall feeling of discomfort. Find out more about the symptoms, prevention, and treatment of this common condition.

Common Cold Basics

Health Overview Illustration - Common Cold
What Is the Common Cold?

Treatment and Management

Sick Woman Covered With a Blanket Lying in Bed With High Fever and a Flu, Resting at Living Room. She Is Exhausted and Suffering From Flu. Sick Woman With Runny Nose Lying in Bed. Girl Suffering From Cold Lying in Bed With Tissue Blowing Her Nose While Sitting on the Sofa
10 Home Remedies To Get Rid of Chest Mucus

Prevention Tips

Woman cutting a grapefruit
How To Boost Your Immune System
how long flu cold virus survive live on surfaces contagious
Cold and Flu Germs: How Long Do They Live on Surfaces?
Person blowing their nose while sick with a cold at home.
What To Do When You Start Feeling Sick

Explore Common Cold

box of Sudafed PE
FDA Plans to Ban Ineffective Cold Medicine Ingredient—How It Will Affect You
Young man in bed sick blowing his nose and checking his temperature.
What Is the Difference Between a Cold and the Flu?
Woman drinking herbal tea
When Do You Actually Need to Take Cold Medicine?
Garlic cloves in honey jar
Can Fermented Garlic Honey Really Cure a Cold? What You Need to Know About the Home Remedy
Women having tea together
5 Ways Infectious Disease Experts Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
A man sits in bed holding his hand to his throat in pain
What to Know About a Sore Throat
A man blows his nose
Why Nasal Congestion Happens—And How to Treat It
woman on couch with fever and headache holding a thermometer
How To Tell If You Have a Summer Cold or COVID
Person feeling sick, lying on couch in blanket with tissues.
Why It's Unlikely To Have a Cold and the Flu at the Same Time
Sick young woman covered in blanket blowing her running nose in a tissue while sitting on couch in living room
Can Zinc Fight Off the Common Cold?
woman washing her hands to help prevent a cold
How To Prevent a Cold
Woman who is sick sitting on her couch holding a tissue with her hand against her chest
The 6 Most Common Types of Colds
Person drinking water on the couch at the start of a cold
How To Stop a Cold When You Feel It Coming On
Person comforting friend who has a cold
How Long Does It Take to Catch a Cold?
person living with a dry cough
What Causes a Dry Cough?
person with swollen lymph nodes in their armpit
What Causes Swollen Lymph Nodes in the Armpit?
person drinking herbal tea to treat coughing
How To Stop Coughing
Robitussin Honey CF Max Day Adult and Robitussin Honey CF Max Nighttime Adult
Robitussin Cough Syrups Recalled Over Microbial Contamination Concerns
person sneezing into a tissue
Signs and Symptoms of Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs)
Health Illustration Composite - Sinus Infection
Signs and Symptoms of a Sinus Infection (Sinusitis)
Woman drinking orange juice
Does Orange Juice Help With a Cold? What Experts Really Think of the Home Remedy
man doing laundry
5 Household Items You Should Clean First After Having a Cold
Man blowing his nose
Why Does Only One Nostril Get Clogged When You're Sick?
cold medicines on store shelf
Phenylephrine Vs. Pseudoephedrine: What's the Difference Between the 2 Decongestants?
A woman stands at the window as she pinches her sinuses, eyes closed, with a mug in her hand and blanket wrapped around her
What Is Sinusitis (Sinus Infection)?
Cold sick person blowing nose
What Is an Upper Respiratory Infection?
Young woman wiping phlegm with tissue
What Causes Phlegm?
A mixed-race woman blowing her nose
Everything You Need to Know About Expectorants
runny nose
Runny Nose (Rhinorrhea): Causes, Treatments, and Prevention
Parent gives tea to child on their lap who appears to have a cold.
10 Signs It's More Than a Cold
person having difficulty breathing while outside
Is Working Out While Sick Safe?
doctor inspecting man's neck
What Causes Swollen Glands (Lymph Nodes) in the Neck?
What Is a Wet Cough , Young woman coughing while feeling ill in bed
What To Know About a Wet Cough
What-Is-a-Head-Cold-GettyImages-1303849519
What's a Head Cold? Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
Person in bed with a cold blowing their nose with tissues.
How Long Do Cold Symptoms Last?
woman coughing into her elbow holding a cup of tea
How Do You Get Rid of a Cough Fast?
Person coughing while sitting on the couch.
Why You Can't Stop Coughing and What To Do
Photo of a young woman wiping up sweat from her forehead after intense workout // wide photo dimensions
What Are Cold Sweats?
Person blowing nose on couch.
What Does Green Mucus Mean?
Young woman grabbing a glass of water to helping relief sore throat
Uncontrollable Coughing at Night: Why It Happens and How To Treat It
Person holds up medication and reads instructions before taking pills.
5 Types of Medications That Can Lead To Vaginal Dryness
emergen-c vitamin c cold prevention cold treatment does emergen c work
Can Emergen-C Actually Prevent a Cold?
Sick woman at home covered with a blanket while using thermometer to take her temperature.
The Truth About "Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever"
Female sneezing into a tissue sitting on a couch
Is It Bad To Hold in a Sneeze?
person with sore throat outside
What Causes a Sore Throat?
Mother with syringe giving medicine to her daughter
Do Cough Syrups Work?
Person taking their temperature with a thermometer at home.
What Is Considered a Low-Grade Fever?
female blowing her nose into a tissue with eyes closed
What Are Boogers?