system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why is it with viruses you often cease to be contagious well before your symptoms go away?
gpt
There are two immune responses. One is a general response, the other is specific. The specific one, where antibodies are made to destroy the specific virus, takes longer to come into effect. The general response (cough, runny nose, fever) can kick in without the need for specific antibodies and sticks around longer to make sure you got rid of all of what’s left of the infection.

This also means that the typical symptoms of a cold are actually symptoms of an active immune system.