My friends and I are just getting over a cold that we caught on November 28, the day we were exposed to it. Symptoms appeared a day or two later.
What's interesting is this cold was not shaken off in a week like are most colds.
Why would colds linger? I can think of...
- mutating viruses cannot be marked by IgG
- a larger-than-normal delay for CTL's , NK's, and macrophages to recognize infected cells
- cytokines linger
- viruses do not have MBL
- IFN-gamma does not stop all cells from virus production
- cold weather makes IgA ineffective in mucus
- the number of viruses released per popped cell is higher
- the virus made us temporarily more sensitive to allergens
- the immune system made us more sensitive to allergens
- a secondary infection caused by a tough bacteria
Note: cold's always go to my chest. My friend only got a nose cold and a sore throat.
Dan
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