The peak of cold and flu season is typically in January and February in the UK, when people are more likely to be indoors and closer to others because it’s colder outside.
But hundreds and thousands of people across the country are reporting cold symptoms that just won’t clear up.
It comes as the number of flu patients in England rose by more than a third over Christmas, and Covid cases continue to rise.
The number of hospital patients testing positive for Covid has increased for a fifth week running, with an average of 3,929 each day in the week to New Year’s Eve, up 8 percent from the previous week. and more than two-thirds (68 percent) higher than at the start of December.
A cold is generally less serious than a flu or Covid infection, but it can be annoying if it lasts much longer than you were expecting.
Dr Wasylyshyn said how long a cold lasts depends on your body’s response to it.
Dr R. Peter Manes of Yale Medicine told HuffPost: “Colds usually last three to ten days, but in some instances, you may be experiencing symptoms for three to four weeks.”
Dr Marwan Azar at Yale Medicine added: “If you have ongoing cold symptoms, such as a recurring cough or an irritated throat for longer than two weeks, it’s generally not because of a persistent infection but due to consequences of lingering inflammation from a cleared infection, specifically postnasal drip.”
Postnasal drip is mucus from your nose and sinuses dripping into the back of your throat, causing a cough that can last days or weeks after the infection has gone.
Doctors also say getting plenty of rest and hydration rather than continuing with your work, workout and home routine could help the cough or cold clear up faster.
But if your cough persists more than three weeks, the NHS says you should see your GP.
In some cases a cough that doesn’t go away after three weeks can be a symptom of lung cancer.
You should also see a GP if:
- you’re losing weight for no reason
- you have a weakened immune system – for example, because of chemotherapy or diabetes
Researchers recently announced that people can suffer ‘long colds’ that last for weeks.
