One of the problems is that the symptoms of a cold are caused by over 200 different viruses. The majority of colds are caused by rhinovirus, but many are by unidentifiable viruses, which make it impossible to completely prevent.

Common cold viruses infect the nose, throat, larynx, and sinuses, causing sore throat, hoarseness, cough, achiness, and congestion but lack the severe symptoms of fever and extreme exhaustion that you get with the "flu," or influenza. You can "catch" a cold through respiratory droplets in the air but also from touching contaminated surfaces, where they can live for up to three hours outside the human body. We tend to catch more colds in the fall and winter months, when the virus is more contagious and replicates more easily.

One of the issues with the cold is that it's our own immune reaction to the virus that can dictate the severity and duration of a cold. So here are some ways to get your body ready for cold season, shorten the virus's duration, and decrease symptoms naturally without taking any medications.