Colds and the Flu
What Is Colds and the Flu?
All the flu and cold such as common cold, including chest cold and head cold, and seasonal flu are caused by viruses. Go to the pharmacy to get medications to relieve symptoms including sore throat, runny nose, congestion, and cough. Flu symptoms are similar, but include fever, headache and muscle soreness and there may be mild diarrhea, especially in young children.
Colds and the flu always go away without medicine because they are caused by virus. You do not need to use any strong antibiotics body immune system would fight it.
Causes of Colds and the Flu
When a tiny dose of a virus is inhaled into the nasal passages from droplets sneezed or coughed into the air or transmitted by contaminated fingers. The virus then moves to the back of the nose, where it attaches itself to the adenoid area and begins to reproduce.
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Walking barefoot in the rain
- Hand-to-hand contact.
- You catch a cold due to a poorly functioning immune system.
Symptoms/Signs of Colds and the Flu
- Dry, hacking cough
- Fever
- Moderate-to-high fever (although not everyone with the flu will run a fever)
- Sore throat
- Shaking chills
- Severe muscle or body aches
- Headache
- Stuffy and runny nose
- Profound fatigue (may last up to two weeks)
How to diagnose Colds and the Flu
Things that weakened the immune system
Eating too much sugar and too many grains
Ineffectively managing emotional stresses in your daily life
Not getting enough rest
Lack of Vitamin D in the body
How to Prevent Colds and the Flu
- Getting enough sleep and eating well helps prevent colds.
- Taking more of fruit as source of vitamin C, fruit like oranges, tomatoes, and other fruit would help.
- Washing hands every time especially before touching your face, nose, mouth, or anything you put into your mouth is also good prevention.
- Unlike what many people believe, colds do not come from getting cold or wet though getting very cold, wet, or tired can make a cold worse. But you could contact cold from others who have the infection and sneeze the virus into the air.
- In order to avoid spreading the virus to others, the sick person should eat and sleep separately and take special care to keep far away from small babies. He should cover his nose and mouth when he coughs or sneezes, and wash his hands often if possible.
- To prevent a cold from leading to ear aches, try not to blow your nose just wipe it.
- Teach the young ones not to blow their nose but wipe it.
Treatment for Colds and the Flu
Although flu vaccines can prevent certain strains, there is no much you can do after you get sick. Take some drugs like (oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab), and zanamivir (Relenza) ) within 48 hours after symptoms start to ease the symptoms.
- Aspirin or acetaminophen helps lower temperature and relieve body aches and headaches.
- Drink lots of fluids.
- No special diet is needed. However, fruit juices, especially orange juice or lemonade, are helpful.
- Get plenty of rest
- Go to the Pharmacy to get painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to relieve all the aches
Go to the Pharmacy to antihistamines and decongestants to help with congestion.
Antibiotics don’t treat the flu. They only work against bacteria, and the flu is caused by a virus. You might need antibiotics if you get a secondary infection in your ear, sinuses, or lungs (like pneumonia or bronchitis).
Colds and the Flu Home Remedies/Home Cure
- Garlic– A strong natural antibiotic, anti fungal, and antibacterial, garlic can tackle almost any illness. For the most potent effect, finely mince 1-2 cloves or garlic and float in a small glass of water. Drink quickly- if you are sick enough, you won’t even notice the taste.
Note: Pregnant women should not take more than 1 clove of garlic medicinally per day, and children often resist this remedy.
- Hydrogen Peroxide– At the first sign of cold, flu, sinus infection, or ear infection, put a dropper full of hydrogen peroxide into each ear. Have the person lie still with the hydrogen peroxide in the ear until it stops bubbling. Do this on both sides. This is especially effective for kids. Repeat every few hours until infection is gone.
- Hot Liquids– This one is pretty instinctive, but load up on the hot herbal teas and hot lemon water at first sign of illness. The heat helps boost immune system and a variety of herbs can help with infection.
- Face Steam– Boil 2 cups of water in a kettle. Remove from heat pour it inside a big bolw, add 2 teaspoons each of thyme, rosemary and oregano. Cover for 5 minutes with a lid, and then remove lid and put face directly over pot with towel covering your head to hold in the heat. Breathe in the steam as long as you can, aim for 15 minutes. This will help loosen congestion and kill viruses and bacteria in the lungs, bronchials or sinuses. Alternately, you can use 1/2 cup vinegar in the steam. It won’t smell great, but it will help fight the illness.
- Remove White Foods– At the first sign of illness, completely remove all white foods from the diet. This includes grains, sugars, milk, cheese, dairy, sweeteners, soda, etc. These foods suppress immune function and slow the body’s healing ability. When you are ill, you don’t actually need to eat a lot of food, as the body needs to focus more on healing than digestion. Eat fresh chicken soup and drink hot liquids to keep strength up.
- Hydrate and Rest– If the body is running a fever (which means it is fighting the illness) the best support you can give is to stay well hydrated on water and herbal teas and to rest enough. The body needs several extra hours of rest a day when ill, and often several extra glasses of water also. If you are running a fever, it is easier to get dehydrated, so drink enough water!
Complications of Colds and the Flu
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Pneumonia and MRSA
Sinusitis is an infection of the small air-filled cavities inside the cheekbones and forehead. It develops in up to 1 in every 50 adults and older children who have a cold.
A chest infection such as bronchitis and pneumonia can occur after a cold, as your immune system is temporarily weakened.
A middle ear infection
How to Prevent Colds and the Flu
