Science may be near to a cure for the common cold

Treatment may stop the virus in its tracks

The common cold is one of the most annoying ailments out there. It’s super easy to spread it from person to person, and the viruses that cause the common cold can live on surfaces for 24 hours. Then, once you have a cold, symptoms can last for a week, with a cough that can linger longer — and there is no cure.

Now, however, there’s hope on the horizon for dodging the cold virus.

Scientists in the United Kingdom may have found a way to prevent people from “catching” a cold. According to the BBC, scientists found a way to block a “key protein in the body’s cells that cold viruses normally hijack to replicate and spread.”

The treatment, in theory, should stop a cold virus if given early enough to patients, the BBC reports.

Further studies are needed, but researchers say the treatment holds promise, which is terrific news.

The common cold causes sore throats, runny noses, coughing, sneezing, headaches and body aches, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s spread from infected people to others through the air, via close personal contact, or from respiratory secretions from an infected person. The CDC notes it can spread when one shakes hands with an infected person. Or, one could touch a doorknob with viruses on it, and then touch one’s eyes, nose or mouth, the CDC reports. It’s that simple to spread the illness.

The common cold is hard to target for prevention because the viruses that can cause it are plentiful, diverse and evolve rapidly, the BBC reports. This treatment, however, targets humans — not the virus itself.

It’s an interesting approach, and one that could have other implications when it comes to treating other viral-based illnesses. Could such a similar approach work on something like influenza, for example?

This research is definitely worth watching!