The common cold.

Upper respiratory infections make up 90 per cent of the practice of the general medical doctor during the winter months. The common cold and related complications lead the list of causes of acute morbidity during the cold weather. The medical expense resulting from these ailments is a substantial part of the cost of health care, which is in urgent need of containment. Man, migrating from the warm climates of his origin, quickly learned how to protect himself against the cold but is still very much remiss in compensating for the low humidity created by indoor heating. A viral etiology for the common cold has been established, but efforts to produce an effective vaccine have failed except in special circumstances. It has been shown, however, that the virus is destroyed in the presence of adequate humidification. Furthermore, maintenance of proper indoor humidity will not only improve health but will also act to make more acceptable the 65 degrees F. limit to indoor heating newly mandated by law as an energy conservation measure. A graphic representation and pertinent relative humidity tables are used to develop the subject.

Common Cold↗

PubMed1979

Consumer impact of a Cold Self-Care Center in a prepaid ambulatory care setting.

A Cold Self-Care Center was developed to be an alternative to professional care and to encourage more active involvement of consumers in their own care. A sample of the self-selected user population (n = 74) was studied by comparison with a random sample of plan members (n = 104), and the program was evaluated for cost, consumer satisfaction, and impact on behavior, knowledge and attitudes. Users demonstrated higher levels of knowledge about cold care than non-users, indicated more dependency on professional resources, and differed in health-related attitudes and cold-care behavior. The Cold Self-Care Center appears to have had little impact on self-medication behavior. However, it did affect care-seeking behavior. Knowledge of criteria for seeking professional care was greater than in non-users; 20 per cent sought professional care, and 6 per cent anticipated seeking professional care for future colds. General satisfaction with the program was quite high. Speed and ease of use were cited most often as reasons for satisfaction. The Center also was demonstrated to have a favorable impact on clinic costs. A flexible system which is convenient to use and which retains access to professional care when appropriate both can relieve clinic overload and meet the needs of a large percentage of cold patients.

Common Cold↗