2024-01-21 13:08:00
Perhaps you have already noticed… Children get colds much more regularly than adults. But why ? This is a question that Anne Goffard, doctor and professor at the University of Lille, asked herself in the columns of the magazine The Conversation.
As a reminder, the common cold is a mild and very contagious viral infection: “ In adults, it results in rhinorrhea (i.e. runny nose), generally without fever, which resolves in 3 days. In children, this may be associated with cough, myalgia (aches), diarrhea and fever may be high. It is therefore not a case of influenza responsible for more severe symptoms, nor of angina or bronchitis. », Explains the doctor.
The frequency of colds in individuals varies depending on their age. A child may experience six to eight episodes (sometimes more) per year. In adults, we get sick less often and catch a cold between two and four times a year.
Immune memory
« During childhood, the immune system is therefore confronted not only with various viral families, but also with different species within the same family. Upon first contact with a virus, it will activate the machinery to fight infection. The organism is then the seat of a cascade of events. Which results in the appearance of clinical symptoms, and results not only in the elimination of the virus, but also in the constitution of immune memory », informs the professor.
It is therefore during childhood that we create our immune memory, by triggering different symptoms such as colds caused by viruses from different families and species. Gradually, our immune system will be more and more able to defend itself once morest common viral diseases: “ But nature being rich and varied, it happens that a virus never before encountered infects our nasal cavity. And that day, we have a cold… and we further enrich our immune memory! ».
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