by Connie Nelson
In Minnesota, we have road construction season (sometimes known as spring and summer) and cold and flu season (aka fall and winter). But how much do we really know about the common cold? It’s common, for one thing. Most adults get two to three colds a year. And while they’re usually just a nuisance for most of us, they can be serious for the very young, the very old and people with compromised immune systems. They also cost the U.S. economy an estimated $40 billion a year, studies indicate. We talked to Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, an infectious-disease specialist with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, about the relationship between cold (weather) and a cold, if zinc can help, when to see a doctor and if there’s a cold vaccine on the way.
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Contact: Kelley Luckstein