Are your colds worse than everyone else's? Blame your nose
If you have often wondered why your bout of colds seem to be far worse than your friends and family, we may have an answer.
According to a study conducted by the researchers at the University of Virginia Health System, the severity of your cold might be related to the bacteria living inside your nose i.e. your nasal microbiomes.
For the research, noses of 152 volunteers were examined to study their nasal microbiomes.
After comparing the noses-- before and after being given the rhinovirus--it was found that people who had more of a certain type of bacteria in their noses experienced worse symptoms. They also had more virus in their bodies. For example, volunteers who had Staphylococcus bacteria in their noses had worse symptoms when compared to those with less staph.
According to the author of the study, Ronald B. Turner, "The first surprise was that you can kind of identify these different buckets that people kind of fit into, and then the fact that the buckets seem to have some impact on how you respond to the virus and how sick you get was also interesting."
Interestingly, when the volunteers drank
probiotic
supplements, there were no noticeable changes in their nasal microbiomes. Hence, according to the researchers, it is not easy to pinpoint whether using probiotics could bring changes in the symptoms of the cold.
The takeaway
Keep in mind that it is not the Staphylococcus bacteria in your nasal microbiome that is to be blamed for the catastrophic cold, it is the work of the actual cold virus.
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