The War of the Worlds

By Jake Foster, PA

In 1898, HG Wells story “The War of the Worlds” was published in book form. It was one of the first novels to depict a conflict between humans and alien invaders. The story, and it’s adaptation to a radio drama by Orson Welles in 1938 left a huge impact on the world’s imagination. In it, (SPOILER ALERT) the aliens are not defeated by military might or strategy, but by the common cold.

Common colds are also known as acute respiratory infections, and are some of the most common presenting problems in medical facilities in the US. Some estimates show that as many as 10% of visits to ambulatory care clinics receive a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection. This accounts for tens of millions of people yearly who are seen in a medical clinic for the “common cold”.

If you have lived on planet earth for more than a few months, then you have had a cold before. Symptoms range from mildly irritating with scratchy throats or nagging coughs, to life disrupting fevers, body aches, or even in some cases, respiratory compromise. Upper respiratory infections, or “colds”, are caused by viruses more than 90% of the time. Rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses, RSV, parainfluenza…just to name a few. Symptoms can be hard to predict, because the cold symptoms of one virus may cause slightly different symptoms in one person than another. There can be a cold going through the house making mom feel horrible in different ways than dad, with the same virus being the offender. For most people who don’t have underlying conditions which can be really complicated by a cold (like chronic heart or lung disease), symptoms will run their course, lasting anywhere from a few days to more than a week. After the virus is cleared, it is not uncommon to have some nagging leftover symptoms like a cough for several weeks after. I can relate to the aliens in HG Wells’s story by by feeling pretty defeated when I am faced with a cold.

Acute upper respiratory infections caused by “cold” viruses do not have a cure, so the approach is to try to ease or shorten symptoms. It was understood in HG Wells time, and it is still understood today–infections by the microbes surrounding us on planet earth is an inevitable risk we face. The colds that defeated  the aliens in “War of the Worlds” don’t defeat us in the same way because we are equipped with an immune system to handle most of these infections. Most of the time we will need rest, some chicken soup, a hot honey and lemon tea, or maybe some over the counter medication to help with some symptoms. In worse cases, some people need more support than that. The next time you are laid up with a cough and sore throat, and maybe a little bit of fever, take hope in knowing that your not an invading martian, and that the symptoms will probably last a couple of weeks at the longest. Maybe we should view this season not as “cold season,” but as “Alien invasion defense practice.” Maybe that will be helpful, because colds are awful!