answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer
Catching the Same Cold Twice:No, a cold is a viral infection, and once the virus has been in your system, you become immune to it if you have a healthy immune system. Therefore, if you are exposed to the same virus, it will have no effect because your body already has defenses built for it.

However, you can catch a second kind of cold virus after having a different kind before. The reason this happens fairly frequently is that common cold viruses mutate quickly into new forms. The virus may change only a tiny tiny bit, but technically, what you would be contracting causing a second cold is a mutatedstrain of the same cold virus, or a different one of the many hundreds of cold viruses around at any given time.

Your immune system makes anitbodies and has sort of a "memory card" so to speak, of the exact virus you had so that you can't get the same one again.

See the related question below for more detail about viral infections and the immune system.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

No, once you have had an infection by a specific common cold virus and if you have an otherwise healthy immune system, you won't be sick with that same exact virus again. You could, however, become sick from a mutation of the virus you had. And the common cold is extremely efficient at mutating into new forms.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Yes, but only if it is a different type of cold virus the second time. If you are exposed to an identical version of the cold that you had previously after you have recovered fully from it the first time, then your body should have developed immunity to all genetically identical cold viruses and you would not get it a second time. However, the common cold viruses can change quickly by mutations and if it does change enough that the immune system no longer sees it as identical, then you would not have immunity to the mutated strain. This is similar to why we need different seasonal flu vaccines every year.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Usually not the same exact one that you had previously, if you are an otherwise healthy person with a healthy immune system.

An example is the flu. Influenza is caused by a virus. If you are exposed to an identical version of the flu that you had previously after you have recovered fully from it the first time, then your body should have developed immunity to all genetically identical kinds of flu and you would not get it a second time. However, the flu can change by mutations and if it does change enough that the immune system no longer sees it as identical, then you would not have immunity to the mutated strain. You can get the flu twice, but if the immune system is properly functioning, it would not be the same flu virus.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Technically, you can't catch a fever, because a fever is a natural bodily response to a bacteria or virus in the body. It raises the overall temperature of your body, to try and "burn" off the virus you caught. So, you can't catch a fever at all.

If you catch a specific type of virus, however, you can't "catch" that specific virus again, because the first time you caught it, your body produced antibodies to fight it, and, while most of the antibodies died, some of them lived on as "security guards," to make sure that that specific virus never shows up again, or, in other words, making you immune to that virus. So no, you can't catch a virus that you've already had, because you're immune to it. This is why, before there was a smallpox vaccination, many people got infected with cowpox, a milder form of smallpox, because the cowpox virus was similar enough to the smallpox virus that people who caught cowpox would be immune to smallpox.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

no you cant it is imposible

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

Yes

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Can you catch the same cold twice if you 've already gotten over it?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

If you had a cold 1 month ago can you catch a cold again?

It is easier to catch a cold just after getting over one, since your body is resting from trying to fight off the germs. A way to prevent getting a cold is to wash your hands a lot, and also try to get as much sleep as possible.


Can you catch a different cold if you already have a cold?

Nope, if you got sick already with a previous cold, the only thing you'll catch is a more severe cold if you still stay out in the cold.


Can you catch a cold from someone if you are already recovering from a cold?

You If You Still have the cold, No. If you barely recovered then yes.


If you already have a cold can you catch swine flu?

Yes, it's a different virus.


What common ailment can't you catch at the north pole?

In Winter you can't catch a cold in the North Pole. The temperature is too low for the germs to survive in the air or on any surfaces. You could catch a cold if you were kissing someone who already had a cold though...


Is it true that you can easily get a cold during periods?

No it is a myth that you can catch a cold during a girls period time. If you already have a cold it could get worse though.


Can you catch a cold in a desert?

Yes, a person can catch cold in a desert if he/she is exposed to a cold virus.


Did you cough a cold or did you got a cold?

"catch a cold" is the most common usage. "I caught a cold" "I don't want to catch a cold."


Can your catch a cold from someone baking a cake?

You can potentially catch a cold from anyone.


When you catch a cold it is most likely you contracted it from what?

A cold is a virus and you catch it from someone else or by touching something someone else has touched. This is why you should wash your hands a lot during cold season. You do not catch a cold from being cold.


When you catch a cold it is most likely you contracted it from .?

A cold is a virus and you catch it from someone else or by touching something someone else has touched. This is why you should wash your hands a lot during cold season. You do not catch a cold from being cold.


Can anything hurt a cell?

Ever gotten a a cold?