Questions on the common cold virus

[Flying Penguin]

1) How long can this virus last between hosts?
2) When you "get better", what is actually happening? has your body overcome the virus's replicating abilities? evicted it? "killed" it?
3) Can the same virus re-infect one right away? like, say you've just had a cold, gotten better, and then you touch an infected tissue-box or door-handle or something and re-introduce the very same virus to your body - will your body recognise it at all? And sort of related to 1), what if you re-introduce the same virus after some time has passed? which leads us to;
4) why does the body not seem to build immunity to the cold virus? Is it because of small variations in the virus's make-up? (as in, it evolves little changes just enough to stay ahead?)

Thanks in advance

FP - currently enduring his first case of sniffles in some years :uhh:

 

[Gonzolo]

1) I do not know.
2) When you get better, your body has created sufficient antibodies to control the virus population. New virus' can be destroyed before they reproduce.
3) As long as you keep producing the antibodies that got rid of the virus the first time, you'll be looking good.
4) Virus have a complexe structure. A small variation can fool your antibodies. I figure millions of variations or more are possible. Until your body has met them all You can get get a cold. You self-answered correctly. A healthy person will figure out and control a new virus more quickly, possibly to a point where you don't realize you caught it.

 

[ravenprp]

1) The common cold virus can last between hosts for a variable amount of time, typically ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. However, the virus can survive on surfaces for much longer, making it easy to spread from person to person.

2) When you "get better" from a cold, it means that your body has successfully fought off the virus and eliminated it from your system. This is usually achieved through the actions of your immune system, which produces antibodies to target and destroy the virus. It can also involve the body expelling the virus through coughing and sneezing.

3) It is possible for the same virus to re-infect someone right away after they have just recovered from a cold. This is because our immune system may not have built up enough antibodies to fully protect against the virus. However, if the same virus is reintroduced after some time has passed, our immune system may have enough memory of the previous infection to provide some level of protection.

4) The reason why our body does not seem to build immunity to the common cold virus is because there are many different strains of the virus, making it difficult for our immune system to build up specific antibodies against all of them. Additionally, the virus is constantly mutating and evolving, making it even more challenging for our immune system to fully protect against it. This is why it is possible to get multiple colds throughout our lifetime.