#9 Getting Sick. Catching a Cold.

Send us Fan Mail In the fall and winter a lot of people get sick. Latonya and Diana discuss a very common illness that people get this time of year: the common cold. Cold is the same word we use for something that is at a low temperature. For example: "I'm cold." "It's cold outside today." "My coffee is cold." Today we are talking about a different use of the word "cold". We are talking about an illness, a "cold". In English we use the verb "to get" (past - got) a lot. One way we use "to get" is when we talk about conditions that change. For example: I'm not rich. Then I win the lottery and now I am rich. I get rich. My condition changes from "not rich" to "rich" and get is the bridge between those two conditions. Here's another example: I'm not sick. Then l visit a friend who is sick with a cold and my condition changes from not sick to sick. I get sick. Again "get" is the bridge between those two conditions. (Past: Last week I got sick.) We also say "I catch" (past "caught") a cold. Catch is the verb we usually use to talk about catching an object, like a ball. I throw the ball and my dog catches it. We also use "catch" to mean get sick with a cold. I am with a person who has cold. They have cold viruses in their body. They are coughing and sneezing the virus into the air and my body catches the virus. I catch their cold. Some symptoms of a cold are cough, sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose and low (slight) fever, To help our cold symptoms we can take "over-the- counter" (OTC) medicines or remedies. OTC medicines don't require a prescription from the doctor. A cure is a medicine or treatment that can completely take a sickness away. Unfortunately, there is no cure for a cold. The good news is that a cold usually lasts only 7 to 10 days. Dear listener, do you have a cold? When was the last time you caught a cold? Write to us at [email protected]. We will write you back! Tacomaliteracy.org