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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. A cold is assessed by video; antibiotics do not help an ordinary cold, and a prescription is issued only for a bacterial complication such as sinusitis or an ear infection.
- What it is: a mild viral infection of the nose and throat caused by more than 200 viruses, rhinoviruses above all; adults catch 2 to 4 colds a year on average, children 6 to 8.
- How long: symptoms peak on days 2 to 3 and most adults improve within 7 to 10 days; a cough or blocked nose can trail into the third week.
- Warning pattern: no improvement after 10 days, or worsening after starting to improve, suggests a complication such as sinusitis, an ear infection or a chest infection.
- What helps: rest, fluids, paracetamol or ibuprofen, saline for the nose and honey for the cough; decongestant nasal sprays for no more than 5 to 7 days, because longer use causes rebound congestion.
- Emergency: call 112 if someone with a cold becomes severely breathless, develops a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, or confusion.
A cold makes you snotty and tired; it should not make you severely breathless, give you chest pain, a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, or confusion. Any of those needs in-person care today; call 112 if someone is seriously unwell. A baby under 3 months with a fever of 38°C or more needs urgent in-person assessment, not a video call.
Can an online doctor treat a cold?
No medicine cures a common cold: it is a viral infection your immune system clears, usually within 7–10 days.[5] What an online doctor offers is confirmation that it is only a cold, symptom relief that actually works, and treatment when a cold has turned into sinusitis, an ear infection or a chest infection. Antibiotics do not help an ordinary cold.
That framing matters because the most useful question about a cold is rarely "what can I take?" and usually "is this still just a cold?". Mobi Doctor is built for exactly that question: a structured check of your symptoms against the patterns that mean something more, with honest advice when the answer is simply fluids, rest and a week of patience.
How an online consultation helps with a cold
- Is it really just a cold?: The doctor checks the features that separate a cold from flu, strep throat, sinusitis and a chest infection, which is the real question behind most cold consultations.
- Symptom relief that earns its place: what works (saline, paracetamol, short courses of decongestant), what wastes money, and which pharmacy products clash with blood pressure or other regular medicines.
- Complication watch: the 10-day line, one-sided face pain, ear pain and chesty turns, caught early and treated only when genuinely bacterial.[1]
- Risk-group honesty: asthma, COPD, pregnancy, older age and weakened immunity change what a cold can do, and the doctor adjusts the plan and the safety net accordingly.
What the doctor checks in an online cold consultation
Even a cold gets a structured assessment, because the diagnosis lives in the pattern. The doctor will typically check:
- The day count and direction: improving by days 7–10 fits a cold; no improvement after 10 days, or worsening after improvement, points to a complication.[1]
- Fever behaviour: adults with colds usually have little or no fever; sudden high fever with aches and exhaustion looks like flu rather than a cold.
- The throat: a severe sore throat without a cough, with fever and swollen glands, shifts the assessment towards tonsillitis or strep throat.
- The face: pressure or pain concentrated on one side, especially past the 10-day mark or returning after improvement, suggests sinusitis.
- The ears: ear pain or muffled hearing, particularly in children, needs its own assessment.
- The chest: a cough that turns productive with fever or any breathlessness moves the consultation to chest infection territory.
- Your medicines and conditions: decongestants and combination cold remedies interact with blood pressure, heart and thyroid medicines more often than people expect, and pregnancy changes the safe list.
- Who is around you: newborns, elderly relatives or immunosuppressed contacts change the advice on staying away and for how long.
Cold or flu: how do I tell the difference?
A cold builds over a day or two, centres on the nose and throat, and leaves you functioning.[5] Flu arrives abruptly, with fever, shivering, aching muscles, headache and exhaustion that puts you in bed; the nose is often an afterthought. Colds rarely cause high fever in adults; flu commonly does.[4]
The distinction is practical, not academic: flu has specific antiviral treatment for some higher-risk groups, works fast only when started early, and is the illness where vaccination genuinely changes each winter. COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses can mimic both; where testing matters for you, the doctor advises on it.
How long does a cold last, and what is normal?
Most colds run a predictable course: a scratchy throat and sneezing for a day or two, a blocked or streaming nose peaking around days 2–3, then gradual improvement, with most adults largely well within 7–10 days.[1] A leftover cough or blocked nose can trail on for up to three weeks without meaning anything is wrong.
The 10-day line
Two patterns move you out of cold territory: symptoms beyond about 10 days with no improvement at all, and the "double sickening" of clearly improving and then getting worse again, especially with fever or facial pain. Both are the classic openings of bacterial sinusitis or another complication, and both are worth an assessment rather than another week of guessing.[1]
Children and colds
Small children catch many colds a year; a child who is drinking, playing and consolable is usually fine at home. Cough and cold remedies are not recommended for young children, so stick to fluids, rest, saline drops and age-appropriate paracetamol or ibuprofen for fever distress. In teenagers and young adults, a "cold" with weeks of exhaustion, severe sore throat and swollen glands can turn out to be glandular fever, which deserves its own assessment.
Cold symptoms: when self-care is enough and when to see a doctor
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cold: runny nose, sneezing, mild sore throat, improving by days 7–10 | Self-care: fluids, rest, paracetamol or ibuprofen, saline | Yes, for advice and reassurance | Rarely needed if clearly improving |
| No improvement after 10 days, or worse again after improving, with facial pressure | Assessment for sinusitis and other complications | Usually yes | In-person if severe pain, eye swelling or high fever[1] |
| Sudden high fever, aches, exhaustion out of proportion to the snuffles | Flu assessment; antiviral question for risk groups | Usually yes | In-person if breathless, dehydrated or deteriorating |
| Severe sore throat without cough, fever, swollen glands | Assessment for strep throat or tonsillitis | Usually yes | In-person if unable to swallow fluids or open the mouth |
| Breathlessness, chest pain, stiff neck, non-fading rash, confusion | Emergency care | No | Call 112 immediately |
Not sure whether yours is still just a cold? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for the common cold
What you can do yourself
Rest and fluids are the actual treatment; everything else manages symptoms while your immune system works. Paracetamol or ibuprofen help fever, headache and the general ache. Saline rinses or sprays clear the nose safely for anyone, including in pregnancy; decongestant sprays work but should be limited to about five to seven days, because longer use causes rebound congestion. Honey eases the cough for adults and children over one. Vitamin C, zinc and echinacea are heavily marketed; the honest reading of the evidence is weak to mixed, so treat them as optional, not as treatment.[1] Wash your hands often and ventilate shared rooms so the household does not recycle the virus.
Prescription treatment
Most colds end without any prescription, and an honest consultation says so rather than inventing one. Antibiotics are only prescribed when there are genuine signs of bacterial infection, such as strep throat or some sinus, ear and chest infections: they do nothing against cold viruses, and using them anyway fuels antibiotic resistance for everyone.[2][3] There is no antiviral for the common cold; flu antivirals exist for specific risk groups within a narrow time window, and the doctor tells you honestly whether that door is open in your case. Where a complication is found, treatment is targeted at the complication, and any prescription can be used at a pharmacy near you.
Special situations
Pregnancy
Colds in pregnancy are miserable but usually harmless; the medicine list is the thing to respect. Paracetamol is the standard first choice for fever and pain, saline is unrestricted, and many combination cold remedies and decongestants are best checked with a doctor or pharmacist before use rather than assumed safe. A fever that will not settle deserves review rather than endurance.
Asthma and COPD
Colds are the classic trigger for flares. Step up your action plan at the first sign, keep your reliever close, and treat increasing wheeze, night waking or reliever use as a reason for assessment. Breathlessness at rest is in-person territory, immediately.
Older adults and weakened immunity
The frailer the starting point, the more a "simple" cold can dehydrate, unsteady or tip someone into a chest infection. Drink on a schedule rather than on thirst, weigh up paracetamol timing around other medicines, and use a low threshold for review if eating, drinking or alertness slips. Yearly flu vaccination remains the single best winter investment for this group.
When a cold is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: ordinary colds, with an evidence-based symptom plan and a written safety net; suspected complications such as sinusitis, throat, ear and chest infections, assessed and treated when genuinely bacterial; flu-pattern illness, including the antiviral question for risk groups; and medicine checks when you are unsure what is safe alongside your usual prescriptions or a pregnancy.
In-person care: severe breathlessness, chest pain, confusion, a stiff neck or a rash that does not fade under pressure, all of which are 112 territory, not consultations; babies under 3 months with fever, to urgent in-person care; anyone unable to keep fluids down; and symptoms that have already been assessed twice without an answer, because persistent unexplained illness deserves examination and tests, not a third video call.
When to get in-person care
A cold itself is not an emergency, but call 112 if you or someone you care for has severe breathlessness or struggles to speak, chest pain, a stiff neck with headache and dislike of light, a rash that does not fade when pressed, confusion or unusual drowsiness, or signs of serious dehydration. A baby under 3 months with a fever of 38°C or more needs urgent in-person assessment the same day.
Treating a cold at home: what helps and what does not
Honestly: home care is the only care an ordinary cold needs. Rest, fluids, simple pain relief, and short-term decongestants or saline sprays cover the symptoms while the cold runs its one-to-two-week course. Antibiotics do nothing against colds, and a doctor who offers them for one is doing you no favour.
What home care cannot do: it cannot explain the cold that will not end. Symptoms beyond three weeks, a cold that improves then distinctly worsens again, one-sided facial pain, breathlessness or wheeze all suggest something has been added to the original virus, from sinusitis to a chest infection, and that is worth a doctor’s judgement.
You do not have to leave home for that step either: a video consultation is at-home care with a licensed doctor in it, and if treatment is right for you, the prescription can be used at a pharmacy near you. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. Book a video consultation: no subscription, exact price before payment.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the common cold: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Leave with your plan: everything agreed before you hang up: your plan, and a prescription to use at a pharmacy near you where medication is clinically right for you. If your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s a cold? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Not sure this is the right page? Look up any symptom in the full symptom checker, or book and describe it to a doctor.
Frequently asked questions about the common cold
What is a common cold?
A common cold is a mild viral infection of the nose and throat, caused by any of more than 200 viruses, most often rhinoviruses. It brings a blocked or runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, a cough and tiredness, clears on its own in about 7 to 10 days, and does not respond to antibiotics. Adults catch two to four colds a year on average; children catch more.
What causes a cold, and how do you catch one?
A cold is caused by viruses, most often rhinoviruses, which spread in droplets from coughs and sneezes and on hands and surfaces; touching your nose or eyes after touching a contaminated door handle is the classic route. Cold weather does not cause a cold, but winter crowds people indoors and dries the nose, which is why colds peak from autumn to spring.
How long does a cold last?
A common cold typically lasts 7 to 10 days: symptoms peak on days two to three, the fever and aches go within a few days, and the blocked nose and cough ease over the second week. A trailing cough or congestion into the third week can be normal. No improvement at all after 10 days, or worsening after improving, is not a normal cold and needs review.
Is a cold contagious, and for how long?
A cold is contagious from about a day before symptoms start until roughly five to seven days after, most of all in the first two or three days when sneezing and the runny nose are at their worst. Cover coughs and sneezes, wash hands often, and avoid sharing cups and towels; staying home while feverish protects others most.
Cold or flu: how do I tell the difference?
A cold creeps in over a day or two with a runny nose, sneezing and a sore throat, and you can usually carry on. Flu hits within hours with a high fever, aching muscles, headache, exhaustion and a dry cough, and puts you in bed. Antivirals exist for flu, not for the common cold, which is one reason the distinction matters for people at higher risk.
Can an online doctor prescribe antibiotics for a cold?
Not for the cold itself: colds are viral, and antibiotics do not work on viruses. Doctors prescribe antibiotics only when there are genuine signs of a bacterial complication of a cold, such as strep throat or some sinus, ear and chest infections. The consultation tells the two apart and, when a prescription is right, sends it to a pharmacy near you.
What is the fastest way to get over a cold?
The fastest way to get over a cold is sleep, fluids and time. Nothing shortens a cold reliably, including antibiotics, and most heavily marketed remedies only mask symptoms. Paracetamol or ibuprofen for aches and fever, saline spray or rinses for the nose, honey for the cough and a short course of a decongestant spray give the best relief while the cold runs its course.
Do vitamin C and zinc actually help a cold?
The evidence that vitamin C and zinc help a cold is weak to mixed. Regular vitamin C may shave a small amount off cold duration in some people; zinc lozenges may help slightly if started within 24 hours; neither is a treatment, and high doses bring side effects. Sleep, fluids and symptom relief remain the mainstay of cold care.
Why is my cold lasting more than two weeks?
A trailing cough or blocked nose into week three can be normal after a cold. What is not normal is no improvement at all after 10 days, or getting worse after getting better, especially with fever, facial pain or a productive cough: that pattern suggests sinusitis, an ear infection or a chest infection on top of the cold, and it is worth a consultation.
When should I see a doctor about a cold?
See a doctor about a cold if symptoms last beyond 10 days without improving, worsen after improving, or include high fever, one-sided facial pain, ear pain, a severe sore throat without a cough, breathlessness or a productive cough with fever. Seek urgent in-person care, or call 112, for severe breathlessness, chest pain, a stiff neck, a non-fading rash or confusion.
How can I avoid catching colds?
Prevent colds by washing hands often and well, keeping hands away from your eyes and nose, avoiding close contact with people who have a cold, ventilating rooms, not smoking, sleeping enough and keeping active, which measurably reduces the number of colds. There is no vaccine for the common cold, but the flu and COVID-19 vaccines prevent the illnesses most often mistaken for a bad one.
Is a cold different in pregnancy, with asthma, or for older people?
In pregnancy, a cold is treated with rest, fluids, saline and paracetamol; decongestant tablets are avoided, and a fever is treated rather than left. With asthma or COPD, a cold often triggers a flare, so reliever use is stepped up and a plan agreed early. In people over 65 or with a weakened immune system, a cold more often leads to a chest infection, so a worsening cough or fever needs prompt review.
- Common cold, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, revised 2024.
- Antibiotic prescribing: respiratory tract infections, HSE, Health Service Executive (Ireland), reviewed 2024.
- Antimicrobial resistance, ECDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2023.
- Influenza (seasonal) fact sheet, WHO, World Health Organization, 2023.
- Cold: signs, symptoms, causes and treatments, HSE, Health Service Executive Ireland, 2024.
- Common cold, NHS, National Health Service (UK), accessed October 2026.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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