Kay Kay Healthcare Ltd.
FLU
SYMPTOMS
• Fever usually between 101deg F and 102deg F, but occasionally as high as 106deg F sometimes alternating with chills.
• Sore throat.
• Dry, hacking cough.
• Aching muscles.
• General fatigue and weakness.
• Nasal congestion, sneezing.
• Headache.
WHAT IS FLU
Influenza commonly shortened to “flu” is an extremely contagious viral disease that appears most frequently in winter and early spring. The infection spreads through your upper respiratory tract and sometimes goes into your lungs. The virus typically sweeps to through large groups of people who share indoor space, such as school, office, and nursing home. The global influenza epidemic of 1918 which started in military training camp in Kansas eventually killed some 500,000 people throughout the United States. Although both colds and influenza stem from viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract, the symptoms of influenza are more pronounced and its complications more severe. Influenza occurs most severe effects are felt by infants, the elderly, and people in the U.S. annually. Specific strains of the disease can be prevented by injections of antibodies in a flu vaccine, but after influenza or any other viral infection, for that matter has started, there is no cure except to let it run its course.
CAUSES
The flu virus is transmitted by inhaling droplets in the air that contain the virus, or by handling items contaminated by an infected person. The symptoms start to develop from one to four days after infection with the virus. Researchers divide influenza viruses into three general categories: types A, B, and C. while all three types can mutate, or change into new strains, type A influenza mutates constantly, yielding new strains of the virus every few years. This means that you can never develop a permanent immunity to influenza. Even if you develop antibodies against a flu virus one year, those antibodies against a flu virus one year, those antibodies are unlikely to protect you against a new strain of the virus the next year. Type A mutations are responsible for major epidemics every several years. Types B and C are common and result in local outbreaks and milder cases. Type B has also been linked to the development of Reye’s syndrome, a potentially fatal complication of influenza and other viral infections such as chickenpox that usually affect children. Most influenza viruses that infect humans seem to originate in parts of Asia where close contact between livestock and people creates a hospitable environment for the mutation and transmission of viruses. Swine, or pigs, can catch both avian and human forms of a virus, and act as hosts for these different viral strains to meet and mutate into new forms.
DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES
All three types of influenza mimic the basic symptoms of the common cold, such as cough and headache. Your doctor may take a throat culture or blood test to rule out possibility of other ailments such as strep throat or, if public health officials are gathering statistics on an influenza outbreak, to identify the specific viral strain.
TREATMENT
Influenza will run its course regardless of how you treat it. Because it is a viral disease, it does health, influenza will probably pass with no complications after a week or so of bed rest and self-care at home. If you are over 65, are a diabetic, or have another chronic disease, talk to your physician about being immunized before winter sets in. if you then come down with flu anyway, make sure your doctor monitors your progress so that any complications can be caught and treated appropriately.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
Doctors have no single treatment that applies to all cases of influenza. You will probably be told to rest in bed, eat nourishing food, and drink lots of liquids. Fluids are especially important to help avoid dehydration from fever and for loosening up respiratory tract secretions. You can try over the counter medicines to ease the discomfort of your cough, nasal congestion, and sore throat. A steam vaporizer in your room puts moisture into the air and may make breathing easier. If you are feverish and have muscle aches, analgesics like aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen may help you feel better. Because it has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, you should not give aspirin to children. If these remedies don’t help a severe bout of flu, your physician may give you amantadine or rimantadine, oral antiviral drugs that are active against type A influenza. You need to give yourself time to fully recuperate from influenza and prevent the development of secondary infections that can cause bronchitis, sinusitis, or pneumonia.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Alternative therapies may help strengthen your body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the illness as well as ease temporary flu symptoms.
ACCUPRESSURE
Pressure on a number of points can be recommended for various flu symptoms; refer to the Appendix for the location of acupressure points. Bladder 36 is recommended for stimulating natural resistance to cools and flu. Bladder 20, and Governing Vessels 16 and 24 may be helpful for relieving nasal congestion, headaches, and eye strain. Large intestine 11 may help fight fever and strengthen your immune system. Large intestine 4 may offer general relief from flu symptoms, but do not press it if you are pregnant. Conception Vessels 22 and kidney 27 may help relieve chest congestion and coughing.
AROMATHERAPY
In flu season, when those around you are coming down with the virus, protect yourself by gargling daily with one drop each of the essential oils of tea tree. And lemon in a glass of warm water; stir well before each mouthful. If you come down with the flu despite your best preventive measures, 2 drops of tea tree oil in a hot bath may help your immune system fight the viral infection and ease your symptoms. If you have a congested nose or chest, add a few drops of essential oils of eucalyptus or peppermint to a steam vaporizer. If you are asthmatic, do not use steam; instead, sprinkle a few drops of these essential oils on a handkerchief and inhale.
HERBAL THERAPIES
For an herbal approach to stimulating your immune system, try taking ½ tsp each of Tincture of Goldenseal and Echinacea twice a day. If flu symptoms appear, chew a clove of raw garlic for its antiviral properties, but do not eat raw garlic on an empty stomach. An infusion of boneset may relieve aches and fever and clear congestion: simmer 1 cup boiling water with 2 tsp of the herb for 10 to 15 minutes; drink a cupful every hour, as hot as you can stand it.
HOMEOPATHY
For homeopathic self-care, try one of the following remedies in 12c dosages every 6 to 8 hours for a day or two. If you don’t notice an improvement in your condition after 24 hours , try another homeopathic remedy.
• If you feel tried, weak, “heavy”, and chilled, with headache and stuffy nose, try Gelsemium.
• If you feel general achiness in your muscles, with headache and irritability that are worse when you move around, and if you are thirsty for cold fluids and have a dry hacking cough, try Bryonies.
• If you are restless, chilled, and thirsty with a dry mouth, hoarse voices, and aching joints, try Rhus toxicodendrom.
• If you have a dry cough with achiness, or if your body feels bruised and chilled, and you are thirsty for cold drinks although they upset your stomach, try Eupatorium perfoliatum.
NUTRITION AND DIET
Eat vitamin C rich fresh fruits and vegetables like citrus fruits, Brussels sprouts, and strawberries; or take 1000 mg of vitamin C every two to three hours when awake.
REFLEXOLOGY
To support your respiratory system, press your thumb into the solar plexus/ diaphragm point for a few seconds, or massage the point with your thumb.
AT HOME REMEDIES
• Take two tablets of Aspirin, Acetaminophen, or Ibuprofen every four hours to reduce fever, headache, and body aches: these symptoms are usually worst in the afternoon and evening. Do not give aspirin to anyone under 21, because some people in this age group may be at risk of developing Reye’s syndrome.
• If you have a sore or scratchy throat, try a salt water gargle. Dissolve 1 tsp salt in 1 pt warm water. Gargle whenever your throat is uncomfortable, but don’t swallow the mixture.
• Use a heating pad on body aches.
• When you feel like eating, try bland, starchy food like dry toast, bananas, applesauce, cottage cheese, boiled rice, rice pudding, cooked cereal, and baked potatoes. These foods provide a gentle transition for your digestive system when you have not been eating regularly.
• Don’t drink alcoholic beverages; they leave you dehydrated and can lower your body’s ability to fight illness and secondary infection. Avoid over the counter flu remedies that contain alcohol.
• If you take over the counter pain relievers, make sure your symptoms are actually diminishing, not just temporarily suppressed, before you get out bed. If you don’t give yourself enough time to recover fully, you may end up prolonging your illness or developing complications.
PREVENTION
The most effective preventive measures against influenza is to be inoculated every fall against strains that have developed since the previous outbreak. If you are vaccinated against one or more type A and B strains you may still come down with flu, but your symptoms are likely to be milder than they would have been had you not had a vaccination. Influenza vaccine is available through physicians and public health facilities. Because influenza is a serious threat, the U.S> centres for disease control and prevention recommend vaccination for everyone over 65; nursing home residents and employees; anyone whose immune system is compromised by AIDS, cancer, or other chronic ailments; and people who work in medical facilities. The vaccine is usually given as a single injection, although children may receive two. If you are pregnant, wait until your second trimester and make sure your doctor approves of the vaccination. Amantadine and rimantadine are oral antiviral medications that may lessen your risk of contracting type A flu, but they are most effective if you begin to take them a few weeks before flu season begins or within two days after symptoms appear. Usually these drugs are prescribed for people at high risk for developing complications from flu, such as people with chronic lung disease or the elderly. If the virus has already begun to circulate in your community, a doctor may also prescribe amantadine while you are waiting for vaccination. Other preventive measures you can take during flu season are to:
• Give up smoking which damage your respiratory tract and alcohol, since both substance lower your resistance to infection in general.
• Avoid sleeping in a room with someone who has flu; the virus is easily spread in the air.
• Wash your hands often to kill viruses you may have picked up by touching contaminated objects like doorknobs or phone receiver.
• Try to avoid crowds, and give people who are coughing or sneezing a wide berth. Airplanes are especially effective at exposing people to flu viruses because cabin air is recirculated.
• Stay warm and dry so that your body can fight off infection by flu and other viruses.
FLU
SYMPTOMS
• Fever usually between 101deg F and 102deg F, but occasionally as high as 106deg F sometimes alternating with chills.
• Sore throat.
• Dry, hacking cough.
• Aching muscles.
• General fatigue and weakness.
• Nasal congestion, sneezing.
• Headache.
WHAT IS FLU
Influenza commonly shortened to “flu” is an extremely contagious viral disease that appears most frequently in winter and early spring. The infection spreads through your upper respiratory tract and sometimes goes into your lungs. The virus typically sweeps to through large groups of people who share indoor space, such as school, office, and nursing home. The global influenza epidemic of 1918 which started in military training camp in Kansas eventually killed some 500,000 people throughout the United States. Although both colds and influenza stem from viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract, the symptoms of influenza are more pronounced and its complications more severe. Influenza occurs most severe effects are felt by infants, the elderly, and people in the U.S. annually. Specific strains of the disease can be prevented by injections of antibodies in a flu vaccine, but after influenza or any other viral infection, for that matter has started, there is no cure except to let it run its course.
CAUSES
The flu virus is transmitted by inhaling droplets in the air that contain the virus, or by handling items contaminated by an infected person. The symptoms start to develop from one to four days after infection with the virus. Researchers divide influenza viruses into three general categories: types A, B, and C. while all three types can mutate, or change into new strains, type A influenza mutates constantly, yielding new strains of the virus every few years. This means that you can never develop a permanent immunity to influenza. Even if you develop antibodies against a flu virus one year, those antibodies against a flu virus one year, those antibodies are unlikely to protect you against a new strain of the virus the next year. Type A mutations are responsible for major epidemics every several years. Types B and C are common and result in local outbreaks and milder cases. Type B has also been linked to the development of Reye’s syndrome, a potentially fatal complication of influenza and other viral infections such as chickenpox that usually affect children. Most influenza viruses that infect humans seem to originate in parts of Asia where close contact between livestock and people creates a hospitable environment for the mutation and transmission of viruses. Swine, or pigs, can catch both avian and human forms of a virus, and act as hosts for these different viral strains to meet and mutate into new forms.
DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES
All three types of influenza mimic the basic symptoms of the common cold, such as cough and headache. Your doctor may take a throat culture or blood test to rule out possibility of other ailments such as strep throat or, if public health officials are gathering statistics on an influenza outbreak, to identify the specific viral strain.
TREATMENT
Influenza will run its course regardless of how you treat it. Because it is a viral disease, it does health, influenza will probably pass with no complications after a week or so of bed rest and self-care at home. If you are over 65, are a diabetic, or have another chronic disease, talk to your physician about being immunized before winter sets in. if you then come down with flu anyway, make sure your doctor monitors your progress so that any complications can be caught and treated appropriately.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
Doctors have no single treatment that applies to all cases of influenza. You will probably be told to rest in bed, eat nourishing food, and drink lots of liquids. Fluids are especially important to help avoid dehydration from fever and for loosening up respiratory tract secretions. You can try over the counter medicines to ease the discomfort of your cough, nasal congestion, and sore throat. A steam vaporizer in your room puts moisture into the air and may make breathing easier. If you are feverish and have muscle aches, analgesics like aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen may help you feel better. Because it has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, you should not give aspirin to children. If these remedies don’t help a severe bout of flu, your physician may give you amantadine or rimantadine, oral antiviral drugs that are active against type A influenza. You need to give yourself time to fully recuperate from influenza and prevent the development of secondary infections that can cause bronchitis, sinusitis, or pneumonia.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Alternative therapies may help strengthen your body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the illness as well as ease temporary flu symptoms.
ACCUPRESSURE
Pressure on a number of points can be recommended for various flu symptoms; refer to the Appendix for the location of acupressure points. Bladder 36 is recommended for stimulating natural resistance to cools and flu. Bladder 20, and Governing Vessels 16 and 24 may be helpful for relieving nasal congestion, headaches, and eye strain. Large intestine 11 may help fight fever and strengthen your immune system. Large intestine 4 may offer general relief from flu symptoms, but do not press it if you are pregnant. Conception Vessels 22 and kidney 27 may help relieve chest congestion and coughing.
AROMATHERAPY
In flu season, when those around you are coming down with the virus, protect yourself by gargling daily with one drop each of the essential oils of tea tree. And lemon in a glass of warm water; stir well before each mouthful. If you come down with the flu despite your best preventive measures, 2 drops of tea tree oil in a hot bath may help your immune system fight the viral infection and ease your symptoms. If you have a congested nose or chest, add a few drops of essential oils of eucalyptus or peppermint to a steam vaporizer. If you are asthmatic, do not use steam; instead, sprinkle a few drops of these essential oils on a handkerchief and inhale.
HERBAL THERAPIES
For an herbal approach to stimulating your immune system, try taking ½ tsp each of Tincture of Goldenseal and Echinacea twice a day. If flu symptoms appear, chew a clove of raw garlic for its antiviral properties, but do not eat raw garlic on an empty stomach. An infusion of boneset may relieve aches and fever and clear congestion: simmer 1 cup boiling water with 2 tsp of the herb for 10 to 15 minutes; drink a cupful every hour, as hot as you can stand it.
HOMEOPATHY
For homeopathic self-care, try one of the following remedies in 12c dosages every 6 to 8 hours for a day or two. If you don’t notice an improvement in your condition after 24 hours , try another homeopathic remedy.
• If you feel tried, weak, “heavy”, and chilled, with headache and stuffy nose, try Gelsemium.
• If you feel general achiness in your muscles, with headache and irritability that are worse when you move around, and if you are thirsty for cold fluids and have a dry hacking cough, try Bryonies.
• If you are restless, chilled, and thirsty with a dry mouth, hoarse voices, and aching joints, try Rhus toxicodendrom.
• If you have a dry cough with achiness, or if your body feels bruised and chilled, and you are thirsty for cold drinks although they upset your stomach, try Eupatorium perfoliatum.
NUTRITION AND DIET
Eat vitamin C rich fresh fruits and vegetables like citrus fruits, Brussels sprouts, and strawberries; or take 1000 mg of vitamin C every two to three hours when awake.
REFLEXOLOGY
To support your respiratory system, press your thumb into the solar plexus/ diaphragm point for a few seconds, or massage the point with your thumb.
AT HOME REMEDIES
• Take two tablets of Aspirin, Acetaminophen, or Ibuprofen every four hours to reduce fever, headache, and body aches: these symptoms are usually worst in the afternoon and evening. Do not give aspirin to anyone under 21, because some people in this age group may be at risk of developing Reye’s syndrome.
• If you have a sore or scratchy throat, try a salt water gargle. Dissolve 1 tsp salt in 1 pt warm water. Gargle whenever your throat is uncomfortable, but don’t swallow the mixture.
• Use a heating pad on body aches.
• When you feel like eating, try bland, starchy food like dry toast, bananas, applesauce, cottage cheese, boiled rice, rice pudding, cooked cereal, and baked potatoes. These foods provide a gentle transition for your digestive system when you have not been eating regularly.
• Don’t drink alcoholic beverages; they leave you dehydrated and can lower your body’s ability to fight illness and secondary infection. Avoid over the counter flu remedies that contain alcohol.
• If you take over the counter pain relievers, make sure your symptoms are actually diminishing, not just temporarily suppressed, before you get out bed. If you don’t give yourself enough time to recover fully, you may end up prolonging your illness or developing complications.
PREVENTION
The most effective preventive measures against influenza is to be inoculated every fall against strains that have developed since the previous outbreak. If you are vaccinated against one or more type A and B strains you may still come down with flu, but your symptoms are likely to be milder than they would have been had you not had a vaccination. Influenza vaccine is available through physicians and public health facilities. Because influenza is a serious threat, the U.S> centres for disease control and prevention recommend vaccination for everyone over 65; nursing home residents and employees; anyone whose immune system is compromised by AIDS, cancer, or other chronic ailments; and people who work in medical facilities. The vaccine is usually given as a single injection, although children may receive two. If you are pregnant, wait until your second trimester and make sure your doctor approves of the vaccination. Amantadine and rimantadine are oral antiviral medications that may lessen your risk of contracting type A flu, but they are most effective if you begin to take them a few weeks before flu season begins or within two days after symptoms appear. Usually these drugs are prescribed for people at high risk for developing complications from flu, such as people with chronic lung disease or the elderly. If the virus has already begun to circulate in your community, a doctor may also prescribe amantadine while you are waiting for vaccination. Other preventive measures you can take during flu season are to:
• Give up smoking which damage your respiratory tract and alcohol, since both substance lower your resistance to infection in general.
• Avoid sleeping in a room with someone who has flu; the virus is easily spread in the air.
• Wash your hands often to kill viruses you may have picked up by touching contaminated objects like doorknobs or phone receiver.
• Try to avoid crowds, and give people who are coughing or sneezing a wide berth. Airplanes are especially effective at exposing people to flu viruses because cabin air is recirculated.
• Stay warm and dry so that your body can fight off infection by flu and other viruses.
No comments:
Post a Comment