Once you have been exposed to someone who has the cold-causing virus, you should expect to see symptoms of the common cold appear around one to three days later, this can vary from person to person, these symptoms may include: ● Runny nose ● Stuffy nose ● Cough ● Congestion ● Mild body aches ● Mild headache ● Sneezing ● Low-grade fever ● General overall unwell feeling The discharge from your runny nose will normally start out clear, then become thicker and turn yellow or green as the common cold runs its course throughout the body. However, this does not mean you have a bacterial infection.