Speech 5 How To

							Nicole Raisch
SPCO 321
How-To Speech


                                         Achoo! Oh no a Cold!

GENERAL PURPOSE:                     To teach.
SPECIFIC PURPOSE:                    To teach my audience about the common cold and how to
                                     avoid it or get better faster.
CENTRAL IDEA:                        The common cold is a frustrating sickness that affects
                                     everyone and at most times a cause is not known but there
                                     are ways to make its aliments better.

INTRODUCTION
   I.   Show “Sneezing Panda Attack” video.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4I2vA9tzsQ (about 33 seconds, 35 with
        lay and stop time)
   II.  No doubt you understand what it like is to be this panda. Sneezing constantly,
        head pounding, nose running, and feeling in general like all you want to do is
        sleep.
   III. The common cold is a nasty virus that has no specific cause nor no specific
        cure, however, today I am here to tell you how you can avoid the common
        cold and how you can make yourself feel better.
   IV.  Today, I will define what the common cold is and its symptoms, what you can
        do to avoid it, and if you happen to get a cold how you can alleviate some of
        the symptoms and get better faster.

TRANSITION: So were college students surrounded by hundreds of people, touching
hundreds of door knobs a day, and being exposed to millions of germs. The odds of us
getting the common cold are high, right? But how do you really get the common cold?

BODY:
  I. First of all, in order to treat and prevent the common cold, it’s important to
  understand what exactly it is.
           A. The common cold is an illness that is caused by a virus that starts in the
               nose, according to Dr. Gwaltney who wrote “Principles and Practices of
               Infectious Diseases”1.
                    1. The common cold is transferred rather easily.
                            a. This virus cannot be transferred from one environmental
                                 source to another but it can be picked up from an
                                 environmental source and transferred to the nose2.



1
    Gwaltney Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases
                            b. In the nose, it multiplies and creates the symptoms that we
                                recognize to be the common cold
                            c. Gwaltney explains again: that there are over 100 different
                                viruses that cause the common cold. The most prevalent is
                                called a Rhinovirus, which causes over half of all colds.
                            d. According to WebMD: “The most common causes of the
                                common cold are viruses -- rhinoviruses, coronaviruses,
                                and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)”.
                                     a. The rhinovirus group causes 10% to 40% of colds.
                                        The coronaviruses and RSV are responsible for
                                        20% and 10% of cases, respectively3.
                                     b. Rhinoviruses, the worst offenders, are most active
                                        in early fall, spring, and summer. More than 110
                                        distinct rhinovirus types have been identified. These
                                        viruses grow best at temperatures of about 91
                                        degrees, that perfect body temperature right inside
                                        the human nose.
                      2. The symptoms of the common cold have quite a surprising range.
                            a. It is important to follow your symptoms from the beginning
                                to assure that it is in fact the common cold instead of
                                something else.
                            b. WedMD cites: “Colds usually begin abruptly with a sore
                                throat followed by symptoms such as clear, watery nasal
                                drainage; sneezing; a tired sensation; and sometimes a low-
                                grade fever (below 101 degrees F). Postnasal drip causes
                                the sore throat and cough that accompany colds”.
                            c. A mild cough can also be symptoms which will usually
                                develop in the second week of a cold. If you have asthma
                                or lung problems, your cough may be worse but you may
                                have a bacterial infection if you are coughing up dark
                                mucus.
                            d. Other cold symptoms include: sneezing, runny nose, nasal
                                obstruction, sore or scratchy throat, cough, hoarseness, and
                                mild general symptoms like headache, feverishness,
                                chilliness, and not feeling well in general (according to
                                CommonCold.com).
                      3. Typically, these symptoms don’t last for very long.
                            a. These symptoms will develop 1 to 3 days after you have
                                contracted the virus and will last usually up to 7 days



2
 Hendley, Transmission of rhinovirus colds by self-inoculation. New England Journal of Medicine.
288:1361-1364
3
    http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/common_cold_causes
                                 b. After a week, the worst is usually over but you may feel
                                    congested for up to another week.
                                 c. You need to be aware, however, that you are contagious the
                                    first 3 days that you have a cold. This means that if any of
                                    your friends are starting to develop cold symptoms, try to
                                    stay away from them for the first 3 days or so.
                                 d. There are also some myths about the common cold:
                                         a. There is no evidence that you can get a cold from
                                             exposure to cold weather or from getting chilled or
                                             overheated.
                                         b. There is also no evidence that your chances of
                                             getting a cold are related to factors such as exercise,
                                             diet, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
                                 e. Aside from being exposed to the virus research suggests
                                    that psychological stress and allergic diseases affecting
                                    your nose or throat may have an impact on your chances of
                                    getting infected by cold viruses

Transition: So, how do you avoid catching the common cold? To avoid contracting the
virus that causes the cold, I have a few suggestions and tips for you.

       II.      The average adult contracts 2 to 3 colds per year depending on their age and
                exposure and the only way to reduce that number is to monitor and carefully
                control your exposure.
                A. Tylenol.com suggests the following tips for preventing a cold4:
                        1. Frequently disinfect surfaces in your home and office-especially
                           things like phones and doorknobs that many people touch.
                        2. Wash your hands often.
                        3. Keep your fingers away from your eyes and nose to prevent the
                           spread of germs.
                        4. Avoid close contact with people who have a cold, especially
                           during the first few days their symptoms appear. This is when they
                           are more likely to spread their germs.
                B. If you follow these precautions but you still contract the common cold,
                   there are many different and effective ways to treat the common cold.
                        1. Ideally, you want to treat both steps of the common cold. That is,
                           the infection of the nasal cells and the activation of the
                           inflammatory mediators which cause symptoms according to
                           CommonCold.com.
                        2. Drugs for treating the symptoms of the common cold are readily
                           available but drugs for the treatment of the virus infection are not
                           commercially available.
                        3. The most important thing to recognize about treating the common
                           cold is that it is going to have to run its course, this means that as
                           hard as your try you are still going to feel not at your best.
4
    http://tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/cold/subftcolds.inc
Transition: This is the very reason a common cold becomes so frustrating to most
people. Because what helps you feel better faster may not help your friend or your
roommate.

   III.    There is no “perfect cold medicine” as WebMD explains.
           A. But if you search through their website they suggests a few different nasal
              sprays, vitamin C tablets, cough syrups, combination cold medicines, sore
              throat medicines, decongestants, antihistamines and ibuprofen.
           B. However, there are 12 suggests home treatments that are believed to help
              alleviate symptoms for all:
                  1. Drink plenty of fluids including 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of
                      water, sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. This
                      helps to break up your congestion. Chicken soup is good too but
                      you should avoid soda and coffee because they will dehydrate you.
                  2. Inhaling steam can help you ease congestions and your drippy
                      nose. You can inhale steam by holding your head over a pot of
                      boiling water, using a humidifier, taking a hot shower, or using
                      some saline nasal spray.
                  3. Sniffling is bad; blow your nose as much as you can. But be
                      careful not to blow too hard. The right way to blow your nose (yes
                      there is a wrong and a right) it to hold your finger over one nostril
                      and then blow.
                  4. As much as this sounds gross it works wonders: mix ¼ teaspoon of
                      salt with an equal part of baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water.
                      You can use a bulb syringe or a Neti pot (available at pharmacies)
                      to squirt the salt water into your nose. This breaks up nasal
                      congestion and removes virus particles and bacteria from your
                      nose.
                  5. Gargling with warm salt water can also alleviate a sore or scratchy
                      throat. Gargling with honey water can also help a sore throat. You
                      can do this up to 4 times daily.
                  6. Keep yourself warm and rest often. This is important so that your
                      body can focus on directing its energy toward the immune battle
                      instead of regulating your body.
                  7. Drink hot liquids which help relieve nasal congestion, prevent
                      dehydration, and soothe the inflamed membranes that line your
                      nose. Interestingly enough, they suggest drinking a cup of hot
                      herbal tea if you can’t sleep with a teaspoon of honey and a small
                      shot of whiskey. But just limit yourself to one.
                  8. Take a steamy shower. This helps out your passages and relaxes
                      you.
                  9. You can put mentholated salve under your nose to open up
                      breathing passage a sooth irritated skin.
                 10. You can apply hot packs or a damp, heated cloth to your congested
                      areas on your face.
                      11. Sleep with your head elevated.
                      12. While many argue that vitamin and mineral supplements may
                          alleviate and cure symptoms, the majority of research suggests that
                          limited benefit is made by vitamins. Out of all vitamins, Vitamin C
                          is the only one to have proven any effect on the common cold:
                          evidence [has been found] that vitamin C may shorten how long
                          you suffer from a cold. One large study found that people who
                          took a vitamin C mega dose -- 8 grams on the first day of a cold --
                          shortened the duration of their colds.

      TRANSITION: The common cold affects 1 in 4 people and causes 63 million cases
      in the US per year. Effectively, the cold creates 20 million lost school days and 24
      million bed days5, according to US government statistics.

      CONCLUSION

      I.       Now while one of those bed days sounds nice now, being sick doesn’t.
                      A. Today I have informed you about what causes the common cold
                          and how to avoid it.
                      B. But most importantly, I have shown you how to treat the
                          common cold and get back to your normal every day life.
                      C. So, I have armed you with weapons against the upcoming cold
                          season and I wish you luck! Hopefully you won’t get any
                          sneezing attacks like that unfortunate panda.



                                                 Bibliography

"Cold and Cough." Tylenol. 2008. McNeil Consumer Health Care. 25 Oct. 2008

           <http://tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/cold/subftcolds.inc>.

Gwaltney, J.M.Jr. 2000. The Common Cold. In Principles and Practices of Infectious

           Diseases, 5th ed. G.L. Mandell, J.E. Bennett, and R. Dolin, editors. Churchill

           Livingstone, New York. 651-656.

Gwaltney, J.M.Jr., and R.R. Ruckert. 1997. Rhinovirus. In Clinical Virology.

           D.D. Richman, R.J. Whitley, and F.G. Hayden, editors. Churhill Livingstone,

           New York. 1025-1047.


5
    http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/c/cold/stats.htm
Hendley, J.O., R.P. Wenzel, and J.M. Gwaltney, Jr. 1973. Transmission of rhinovirus


       colds by self-inoculation. New England Journal of Medicine. 288:1361-1364.


"The Common Cold." WedMD. 2008. 23 Oct. 2008 <http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-


       flu/cold-guide/cold-remedies?page=2>.


"Statistics About the Common Cold." Wrong Diagnosis. 4 Oct. 2008. 20 Oct. 2008

       <http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/c/cold/stats.htm>.

"Understanding Colds: What a Common Cold Is." Common Cold. 2007-2008. Common

       Cold Inc. 20 Oct. 2008 <http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/cold-

       remedies?page=2>.