The practitioners recommend non-aspirin pain relievers to relieve some of the discomfort of colds and flu. They war, however, that these remedies do not kill the virus or bacteria. There are no hard and fast rules by which to determine if an infection is viral or bacterial. Sometimes only a physician can make the diagnosis. That diagnosis may involve an evaluation of your blood counts.
Adults typically recognize cold symptoms from past experience.
But diagnosing illnesses in children can be more difficult. Parents should monitor temperature and behaviour and seek medical help when their instincts warn them of something more serious than a cold. When strep throat or a urinary tract infection sets in, an antibiotic is the proper medication to wipe it out. But if the common cold is the culprit, antibiotics won t kill the virus. And taking an antibiotic anyway may actually be harmful in the long run.