Is This The Common Cold Or What?

Hello doc, I’m Tanti, age 21. Right now I like flu symptoms. Nasal congestion but not runny. Occasional sneezing sneeze. Yesterday my throat was hot inside. This happened after I ate fried food and drank ice water. I don’t have a fever. I’m afraid of being infected with a virus. Is this the common cold or what a doc?
1 Answer:
Hello Tanti,
Thank you for the question.
Nasal congestion, sneezing, and feel hot in the throat, if it occurs after consuming fried foods and ice, it is likely to indicate irritation and allergies in your respiratory tract. As is known, irritation and allergies, for example due to contact with oily foods and cold temperatures, can indeed make the production of mucus in the airways increase and trigger nasal congestion and sneezing. This inflammation can also trigger many other symptoms of inflammation, such as itching, burning, heat, and pain around the throat.
In addition, it could also be that your complaint arises due to other factors, such as viral or bacterial infections (including the Corona virus that causes COVID-19) in the respiratory tract, infections in other organ systems, foreign body intrusion, gastric acid reflux, immune disorders, tumors docile or malignant, and so on. Even if you don't have a fever, it's not certain that you aren't infected with COVID-19. Because, distinguishing symptoms of COVID-19 and other diseases is only possible if you undergo direct laboratory tests using swab tissue samples of the throat.
In general, if this is the only complaint you have, it is likely that your condition is mild. Therefore, do not always rush to see a doctor. Instead, do the independent steps first like:
Isolate yourself, don't go out unless it's urgent, keep your distance from other people, don't also carelessly use personal items together with other people
Use a mask as long as your complaint hasn't improved
Improve your personal hygiene, don't cough, sneeze and spit carelessly
Don't eat oily, overly cold, spicy, artificial sweets
Improve endurance with lots of rest, exercise every day, and eat healthy foods rich in vitamin C
Stay away from cigarettes
Do not carelessly drink drugs without doctor's advice
However, if you then experience a high fever for more than 3 days, shortness of breath, or if you have been in contact with sufferers / suspects of COVID-19 in the last 2 weeks before symptoms appear, it would be better if you go to see your condition directly to the doctor, right? .. That way, of course the doctor can give you the right treatment, including referring you to the ENT doctor or internist if necessary.
Hope this helps ...