Patient beliefs about the characteristics, causes, and care of the common cold - An update

BACKGROUND Many people seek medical care for cold symptoms, The cold-relate d knowledge and beliefs of adults seeking medical care fur themselves or th eir children may not correspond with current medical opinion. METHODS A total of 249 parents of symptomatic children and 257 symptomatic adults who sought medical advice in the spring of 1997 from 1 of 3 primary care clinics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, area were surveyed by telephone 48 to 96 hours after contact with the medical system, RESULTS OF the adults seeking care fur a child or themselves, 44% believed viruses alone cause the common cold; an additional 42% believed both viruse s and bacteria play 3 role. Most thought rest (97%) and nonprescription med ications (63%) were helpful fur colds, which was consistent with published reports. Contrary to medical reports, however, most felt vitamin C (67%) an d the inhalation of steam (70%) reduced cold symptoms, and 44% believed ant ibiotics help colds (chi(2)=19.57; P=.0002), But 85% believed colds could r esolve on their own. CONCLUSIONS Those adults seeking medical care fur uncomplicated colds are m isinformed about the primary cause of the common cold, the use of prescript ion medications for treating cold symptoms, and the effectiveness of some p alliative: care techniques. Care providers should address these perceptions rather than enabling overuse of antibiotics.