Causes, Symptoms, and How to Overcome Them

Colds are a term that is quite popular in Indonesia and is considered a disease. This term is usually used to describe a condition characterized by malaise, flatulence, and aches. Many think that colds are caused by too much wind entering the body, especially during the rainy season. Is this assumption correct?

Colds are an unknown term in the medical world. Colds are a term used by Indonesian people to describe various symptoms, such as fever, muscle aches, chills, flatulence, and loss of appetite. However, what exactly is a cold, its causes, and symptoms? Here’s the full explanation.

Causes of Colds

There are many factors that can cause colds, because there are various diseases that can cause these complaints. Colds are usually caused by a decrease in the body’s immune system, so the sufferer is susceptible to infection with viruses and bacteria.

Colds are often associated with wind and rain. But what is certain, the lack of sunlight during the rainy season causes the production of vitamin D in the body to decrease. Vitamin D is one of the nutrients that play a role in the immune system, in addition to vitamin C and omega-3.

Weak immune system causes disease with various symptoms described by the community as colds. Symptoms are generally felt in the form of fever, headache, cough, muscle aches, chills, runny nose, stomach pain, flatulence, frequent belching, feeling weak, and frequent urination.

Some Diseases Characterized by Colds

Colds are actually not a disease, but rather a collection of symptoms of certain medical conditions. Colds can be a sign of the following diseases:

1. Upper respiratory tract infection

Upper respiratory tract infection (nose and throat) is a disease characterized by several symptoms, such as runny nose, fever, and cough. It is caused by viruses and bacteria.

Most upper respiratory infections have mild symptoms and go away on their own. However, if this disease has attacked the lower respiratory tract (trachea and airways in the lungs), for example in pneumonia, the symptoms will be more severe and can cause dangerous complications.

2. Digestive disorders

Indigestion is usually characterized by symptoms, such as diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, flatulence, and a burning sensation or heartburn. These characteristics, especially flatulence, are also often referred to as colds. Indigestion is caused by many factors, such as food poisoning, stress, food allergies or intolerances, as well as viral or bacterial infections.

3. Dengue fever and malaria

Dengue fever and malaria are the most common diseases in tropical countries, one of which is Indonesia. Both diseases are transmitted through mosquito bites. Dengue fever and malaria can cause symptoms of fever, joint pain, aches, weakness, and chills. If not treated properly, this disease can lead to serious complications and even death.

4. Heart disease

Heart disease occurs when the heart muscle does not get an adequate supply of blood and oxygen due to blockage or narrowing of the heart’s blood vessels.

This condition is often characterized by chest pain, which people refer to as angina. Complaints can include weakness, shortness of breath, heartburn or chest pain that radiates to the arms, neck, or back, to fainting.

Colds According to the Doctor

Colds are often defined as a feeling of “not feeling well” due to the amount of wind that enters the body. This can be caused by spending too long in a refrigerated room, spending time outdoors, or raining.

Indonesian people consider colds to be a disease, but so far there is no sufficient medical evidence to support this claim. In addition, colds are also similar to flu/influenza, because they have the same symptoms and causes.

dr. Mulia Sp.PD, an internal medicine expert from Pantai Indah Kapuk Hospital, as quoted from Kompas, explained that the term colds is usually mentioned if a person starts to feel symptoms in the form of aches, flatulence, nausea, cough, flu, chills, nausea, and vomiting. can stop passing wind, as well as fever.

These symptoms are like a combination of flu and functional dyspepsia or ulcers. The causes can also vary, including viruses that cause the common cold, such as rhinovirus, or daily habits, such as eating too much oily, spicy, and fatty food.

However, in fact, colds are not known in the medical literature. The term is only used by the people of Indonesia to describe conditions with some of the symptoms mentioned above.

How to Overcome the Wind

Although it can heal on its own, colds can cause discomfort and interfere with daily activities. Here are some ways that can be done to overcome colds and speed up recovery:

• Get enough rest. This is done to help the body fight infection.
• Drink warm water. This method can help relieve the symptoms of a respiratory infection. Warm water can be mixed with honey or ginger to further warm the body.
• Drink lots of water, especially in conditions of vomiting and diarrhea, to prevent dehydration.
• Take fever-reducing medication. Fever and muscle aches that are symptoms of colds can be treated with fever-reducing and pain-relieving medications, such as paracetamol.
• Do not smoke and avoid caffeine and alcohol consumption.

How to prevent colds

The main key to preventing colds is to maintain endurance. Here are some ways you can do to increase endurance:

• Enough sleep.
• Eat nutritious foods that contain protein, omega-3, and antioxidants, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and flavonoids.
• Exercise regularly.
• Wash hands with soap and running water or hand sanitizer, to prevent the spread of disease. It is necessary to wash hands before and after eating, after using the toilet, after touching animals and before and after touching sick people.
• Wearing jackets and thicker clothes in cold weather.

If the symptoms of colds, such as high fever, weakness, vomiting, and persistent diarrhea, or accompanied by chest pain with a history of heart disease for more than 3 days, immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment.