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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? 

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