Two team players in a beaker: Baykomm - Bayer Communication Center

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Two team players in a beaker

The common cold is a result of inclement weather, right? "Wrong," says Bayer pharmacist Brigitte Havertz. "It's an insidious attack by viruses and bacteria. Low temperatures at most provide assistance to the pathogens that occupy the human body." When the mercury dips, the cilia in the respiratory system become inert and can no longer brush away invaders. "Since colds are primarily transmitted from person to person, you could only prevent them by shutting yourself off from the rest of the world," explains Professor Eccles, a colds expert from the United Kingdom. By the way, as paradoxical as it may sound, you would not catch a cold at the North or South poles despite extremely low temperatures – unless you had transported the virus there yourself.

A combination of acetylsalicylic acid and vitamin C - which can be found in Bayer's Aspirin® plus C effervescent tablets - is effective against headache and fever that accompany the common cold.

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A combination of acetylsalicylic acid and vitamin C – which can be found in Bayer's Aspirin® plus C effervescent tablets – is effective against headache and fever that accompany the common cold.

Yet man is a social creature. Whether on the bus or in the train, at work or in the supermarket, we cannot avoid contact with other carriers of the virus. Coughing, sneezing or even conversing are sufficient to transmit cold viruses, since the mouth and nose serve as an ideal gateway. Once the virus has arrived in the body, it makes itself at home and multiplies. It is at this point that the involuntary host becomes aware of his "guests": a sore throat, runny nose and headache are tell-tale signs.

"The body makes sure you don't have to put up with a runny nose and headache for too long, but the internal immune response also has its disadvantages," explains Havertz. "To defend against viruses and bacteria, the immune system deploys so-called free radicals that subdue the invaders." If these free radicals come into contact with the body's own cells, however, they dock on and cause damage by tearing chunks out of the cells. Researchers have now taken up the fight against this misguided appetite for destruction, and the problem is easy to solve – at least in a reaction beaker. After numerous laboratory studies, two proven substances – acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and vitamin C – have shown themselves to be effective in protecting the body's cells against free radicals. The two substances employ different defense strategies. While vitamin C sacrifices its sensitive molecular structure, ASA takes a much more refined approach, prompting the organism to produce an endogenous, iron-containing protein that disarms the aggressive radicals.

Researchers are encouraged by the success of this principle of action in reaction beakers, but the ultimate goal is to make it work in real-life situations – and bring relief to millions of cold sufferers. There's still a long way to go until that point, however, and the results are far from certain. Yet one thing is clear: the right medicine – acetylsalicylic acid in combination with vitamin C – is already available. For example in the form of Aspirin® Plus C effervescent tablets from Bayer.