President Joe Biden’s campaign is doing damage control following his stuttering and confusing performance during the first presidential debate broadcast on CNN.
A White House official explained that the 81-year-old’s slow speech, long pauses and hoarse voice are the result of “a cold” that afflicts him. ‘started to pick up pace’.
Many have doubted this, and Trump supporters have suggested it is a mask to cover up more serious degenerative conditions that would make him unfit to hold top office.
Even Democrats have called for a rethink, with some calling for the president to step aside.
Now, speaking to DailyMail.com, experts have revealed whether a cold could actually be behind the president’s strange symptoms.
After Biden lost his train of thought at one point and stared blankly ahead, Donald Trump said: “I really don’t know what he just said.”
Joe Biden and Jill Biden pictured leaving the debate stage last night in Atlanta, Georgia
They say that a respiratory virus like a cold can actually trigger a range of cognitive symptoms in a person of Biden’s age, as well as leaving him generally weak and seriously ill.
Dr. Liz Landsverk, a geriatrician in San Francisco, California, said, “Some older people can get very sick because they don’t have as strong an immune system.”
‘A cold can leave the brain a little cloudy and might make (older adults) a little slower…’
Older people with colds and flu are also more vulnerable to serious and potentially life-threatening bacterial infections.
According to CDC data, between 70 and 90 percent of the 34,000 annual flu deaths in the United States occur in people 65 years of age or older.
Other respiratory viruses that cause cold symptoms kill at least 6,000 adults aged 65 and older each year, while between 60,000 and 160,000 are hospitalized.
When the immune system is activated to fight an infection, it triggers the release of proteins that interfere with hormones in the brain, which can slow reaction times.
Studies have shown that people with a cold perform worse on everyday tasks, such as driving.
Experts say the common cold can be especially impactful for those of a certain age because older people have weaker immune systems, making their bodies less able to fight infections.
It also means older adults could be sick for three weeks, instead of the typical seven to 10 days.
Scientists suggest that a cold can cause mental confusion similar to that caused by a hangover.
Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, a neurologist from Canada, said: “In general, a cold can slow down an older person.”
She added that taking cold medicines could amplify symptoms such as confusion, due to the sedative effect. Sedative medications can also cause difficulty speaking.
Dr. Thomas Moore, an infectious disease expert in Kansas, added that it’s possible that a cold could also cause problematic performance in a simpler way: by disturbing the president’s sleep.
A stuffy or stuffy nose can lead to a poor night’s sleep, compounded by stress, which can lead to problems concentrating the next day.
Yes, Trump made wild accusations and even some outright lies, frequently failed to respond to questions and occasionally brought the fact-checking machine to a standstill, but his voice was steady, his answers clear and his discipline unusually impressive.
There are also concerns about Biden’s underlying heart condition, an irregular heartbeat, and experts say a cold can put more pressure on the heart, aggravating his condition.
Doctors say people with atrial fibrillation should be very careful with cold medications, as some could trigger more frequent episodes of the condition. Doctors warn those with the condition to avoid medications such as Sudafed to treat colds.
The president also has trouble sleeping and requires a CPAP machine, and experts say a cold could further disrupt patients’ breathing.
However, experts have speculated that Biden’s symptoms are likely due to underlying conditions that have a much bigger impact than a cold.
Dr Robert Howard, an expert in old-age psychiatry at University College London in the UK, told DailyMail: ‘These fluctuations and dips in attention (that Biden has) are a key symptom of Parkinson’s disease.
‘Doctors can’t diagnose someone without examining them, but based on the debate footage I’ve seen, the freezing and rambling makes me worry that Biden is having a hard time maintaining attention.
“There are times when he seems to have lost his train of thought and other times when he can’t stop rambling.”
Dr. Fischer added that believed Biden’s hoarse voice and poor performance were likely due to a stimulant drug, such as Adderall.
This can cause the blood vessels to constrict, which leads to a decrease in saliva production and causes a lot of dry mouth.