20 years of soothing our sneezes

By Jo Manning
BBC News

Bunged up, coughing all night, sore throat, streaming nose, headaches and sneezing. All symptoms of the all-too-familiar and somewhat inevitable common cold.

Many of us put up with the misery of the virus with the help of a menagerie of lotions, potions and pills.

But did you know that many of these treatments could well have been tested and developed in Cardiff?

The Common Cold Research Centre, based at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences, has been coaxing snotty students and university staff through its doors for the benefit of our nasal passages for the past 20 years.

As a result of the clinical trials which take place behind its doors, the centre has led the world in answering some of the most commonly asked questions about the common cold.

These include whether being cold can make you catch a cold and why does one nostril get blocked when we have a cold.

NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT: THE CENTRE'S ACHIEVEMENTS

• First to develop a new method of studying coughs using an electric shaver to stimulate the throat
• First to show how the voice changes with a cold
• First to show how acupuncture may act as a decongestant
• First to test a new medicine to treat both runny nose and nasal congestion simultaneously
• First to demonstrate that menthol may have a special receptor in the nose

But as yet, a cure remains elusive.

Prof Ron Eccles, director of the centre, said this was because the common cold was not just one virus like smallpox or polio.

"In fact it is caused by over 200 different viruses that change and mutate constantly, making it almost impossible to find a "catch-all" cure," said Prof Eccles as he prepared to celebrate the centre's 20th anniversary at a special event in London.

"But I think we are much closer to understanding what is going on. "What we have realised is you have to separate infection from the actual symptoms.

"We get a lot more infections and viruses without developing the symptoms so our body is very effective at getting rid of the virus.

"But if the virus is relatively novel or if we are run down we can develop symptoms and our aim has been to be able to control those symptoms so that the person can get on with their lives and let the body take its own time to get rid of the viruses."

The centre was established in 1988 by Prof Eccles as a collaboration between the Cardiff University and the Procter & Gamble company which manufactures products which relieve cold symptoms.

It is now a self-funded clinical trials centre for new treatments for common cold and flu, and recruits people with real colds to test new treatments.

THE COLD FACTS

• The most common illness worldwide. It's estimated that adults suffer an average of two to five colds per year while the average child may suffer up to 10 colds
• Archaeologists digging in Egypt have found hieroglyphics they believe depict coughs and colds
• The name "common cold" first came into use in the 16th Century, due to the similarity between its symptoms and those of exposure to cold weather
• Sneezing appears to be the most efficient method of spreading the common cold
• 25% of people who are infected with common cold viruses never develop symptoms

Its achievements include making major advances in understanding cold symptoms such as blocked nose, runny nose, cough, sore throat and earache.

New measurements have been developed to test the effectiveness of treatments on relieving these symptoms, such as a sound level meter to measure cough, and an acoustic rhinometer to measure nasal blockage.

The centre has also been involved in developing new ideas as to why colds are more common in winter and how chilling may bring on a cold.

All of the research is funded by leading healthcare companies and the centre runs on up to £450,000 per year.

For this it has tested many treatments, including decongestants, cough medicines, antihistamines, vapo-rubs, nasal sprays, pain killers, placebos, plant extracts, herbal medicines, antioxidants, vitamins, antibiotics, seaweed extracts and probiotics.

But according to Prof Eccles, the best way to work with a cold is to try to prevent it.

"When we are tired or stressed out we may be compromising our immune system and that makes us more susceptible to developing the cold symptoms," he said.

"I get around two colds a year and fortunately they are not very severe which some people may think is incredible considering the amount of time I spend in contact with people with colds.

"But we have a very relaxed atmosphere at the centre. We try not to stress each other too much."

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Cardiff University - Common Cold Centre
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