Three and a half thousand years old Egyptian research
Three and a half thousand years ago, an Egyptian scholar sat down and wrote a medical text which is the oldest document of medical science known in history. One of the diseases described in Ebers papyrus is "Rash". Symptoms include cough and runny nose. Egyptian physicians were describing the flu in this article written in 1550 BC.
Some viruses are new. Some are rarely seen, but human rhinoviruses ... The main cause of cold and also asthma ... Humans are companions of ancient cities. On average, a person spends one year of their life sick with the virus. That is, it can be said to be the most successful virus that makes humans sick.
The Greek physician Hippocrates said that the flu was the result of a humorous imbalance. Two thousand years later, in 1920, Leonard Hill wrote that a cold is caused by going out in the cold in the morning. The reason is to move from hot place to cold place. German microbiologist Walter Cruz found the clue to the cause. In case of cold, filter the fluid from the runny nose and put a few drops in the nose of your twelve companions. Four of them caught the flu. The next experiment was done on 36 students. Fifteen of them fell ill. The group was compared to 35 students who had not been compared. Only one person in the group fell ill during this period.
Cruz's experiments revealed that a tiny pathogen was responsible for the disease. At first it was thought to be a bacterium, but Alfonse Duchess proved it wrong in 1927 by experiment. For this, the same experiment was done by going through a filter that filters the bacteria.
It took scientists another 30 years to identify which viruses were responsible. These were human rhinoviruses. (Rhino means nose). Very simple They had only ten genes. (We have twenty thousand of them). And this genetic information was enough to invade our bodies and defeat our immune system and make us sick.
The tactic of spreading it was to make the nose of the host runny. People clean their noses. The virus stays on hand. It opens doors or touches other surfaces. It sticks to those who touch these surfaces and from there enters the body of the new host. (Usually through the nose). They attack cells inside the nose, throat and lungs. There, a burglar opens the door and in a matter of hours, the host cells begin to copy the virus. The host cell then ruptures and these new viruses escape and enter other cells.
Rhinoviruses do not infect many cells. So they don't do much harm. But why do they make us so weak? That's because of us. Infected cells secrete messenger molecules called cytokines. This is a call for a defense system. These defensive cells weaken us. Swelling in the throat. It causes a lot of mucus around the sore throat and infection. In order to recover from this disease, we have to wait not only for the virus to disappear but also for the immune system to calm down.
An Egyptian doctor suggested treating rash by mixing honey, herbs and frankincense and applying it around the nose. In the 17th century, a British doctor suggested treating it with dynamite eggs, cow dung and lamb's kidney fat. In the twentieth century, Leonard Hill suggested getting up in the morning and taking a cold shower. What is the cure for this in the 21st century?
There is no vaccine for it. There is no prescriptive drug that will stop the flow of emotions, though their effects can be curtailed. Some treatments make the disease worse. Parents often give cough syrup to children with colds. No one recovers quickly. Cough syrup can sometimes cause serious side effects. Body paralysis, sudden increase in heart rate and death. In 2008, the FDA warned that children under the age of two should not take cough syrup at all.
Another popular method is antibiotics. However, they are useless against the virus. And it is also common for doctors to prescribe antibiotics because it is not known if there is a bacterial infection or a cold. This is also done because there is pressure from the anxious patient to "do something." (Return without medication is not acceptable to the patient). The use of unnecessary antibiotics is collectively dangerous because it is accelerating the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria. By doing so, doctors are not only treating their patients but also increasing the risk for everyone.
The flu has been incurable because we didn't get it right. Now scientists have realized its genetic diversity. There are dozens of types of viruses. Until the beginning of the 21st century, he knew of two families. After HRV-A and HRV-B in 2006, HRV-C was also found. This third family is common all over the world and there is very little difference in its genes. This suggests that it soon spread around the world. The common ancestor of this family type may be only a few centuries old.
All human rhinoviruses have some common genes in common. While some parts evolve quickly. They help protect the virus from our immune system. When our body has made antibodies against one strain, other strains can still become infected because these antibodies do not stick to their body. New types of rhinoviruses work every year.
That is why it is so difficult to eliminate. A drug or vaccine that is effective against one strain is useless against another protein structure. The weapon of evolution continues to resist them.
Some scientists are hoping to find a cure for the common cold. This is because of the core genes of the virus. These genes cannot tolerate mutations. The disease could be cured if scientists discovered a way to attack its core. One possible target is a triangular leaf-shaped loop structure. It controls the copy speed of this virus. If this address is disabled, it is possible to get rid of all kinds of colds from all over the world.
But should it be done? Human rhinoviruses are responsible for poor health. Not only do they cause colds but they also pave the way for more harmful pathogens. But it is not very dangerous in itself. The common cold usually goes away in a few days without intervention. Forty percent of people infected do not show any symptoms. And maybe it's useful for your hosts in some ways.
Scientists have so far found a lot of evidence that children who have been exposed to harmful viruses and bacteria as children do not develop allergies or Crohn's disease when they grow up. Rhinoviruses train our immune system not to overreact to trivial things. Take out your anger on the real dangers. Perhaps we should look at the flu as a wise old teacher rather than an ancient enemy.
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