Flu care and preventions

Flu

A few illnesses have their own season. Winter is the season for flu. Every year during this season, millions of people suffer from flu. Also in winter, a major part of absentees of school or work may be victims of flu. Even though it can affect all age groups, children are common victims. As it is more contagious, one after another may fall sick at school/home. Influenza, commonly called flu, is a highly infectious viral infection of the respiratory tract. Many people often confuse flu with common cold – in simple terms, an intensified cold with fever can be called flu. It can cause mild to severe illness and sometimes even prove fatal. Causes and contagiousness  Influenza can be caused by different types of influenza virus, i.e., A, B & C. The viruses can be further classified into different serotypes, based on their antibody response. Now the widespread pandemic swine flu (H1N1) is one among them. Even though influenza viruses can attack at any season, they are common and virulent in winter and spring. The spread of infection is usually through aerosols created by coughing and sneezing. Further, it can also spread by shaking hands, kissing, sharing contaminated clothes/objects, touching polluted surfaces, etc. Influenza viruses can be inactivated by heat/sunlight/soaps/disinfectants. As the virus can be inactivated by soap, frequent hand washing is commonly advised to reduce the chances of infection. Symptoms and Duration - of complaints usually differ from patient to patient. Symptoms usually start abruptly with fever overnight after infection. Intensified suffering period can persist up to 3-5 days. But weakness and residual cough can last up to 2 weeks. Common symptoms are Fever with headache (with or without shivers) Running nose/stuffy nose/nasal block Fatigue/body ache/joint pain/restlessness Nausea and vomiting Sneezing Throat pain/sore throat/hoarseness Cough with or without expectoration Loss of appetite and taste Flare-up of asthma (if sufferer has the tendency) Emergency symptoms Signs of dehydration - Thirsty and dryness of body, tongue and skin Continuous high fever for more than three days Blabbering or confusion or delirium Difficulty in breathing Slow down of respiratory rate (common in the case of pneumonia and pleurisy) and fast breathing Frequent loose stools Stiff neck or seizures Peoples at risk Elderly persons Toddlers People suffering from asthma Immune deficiency persons Factors favouring repeated infection Damp weather Repeated exposure to cold and cold drinks Close contact with sufferers Allergic tendency (sensitive to pollen or dust or cold climate) Structural changes in the nose/sinuses/throat Tonsilitis and swollen adenoids Further repeated infection is more common with premature babies and in children who take cough syrups constantly or often. Complications – Complications occur mostly in untreated cases, allergic patients and smokers. Further, one should be aware that repeated infection can provide the base for sinusitis, nasal polyp, post-nasal drips, adenoids, tonsilitis, bronchitis (lower respiratory tract infection), primary complex, asthma, pneumonia, middle ear infection (CSOM), etc. To avoid complications, one need should go for treatment as early as possible. Diagnosis and investigations - is very important to cut short the course and spread of the underlying disease. Usually, discharge/sputum gives a clue for diagnosis with quantity, consistency, colour, odour and thickness. One needs to rush for treatment in case of purulent or blood-stained sputum. Yellow or green discharge with odour indicates added bacterial infection. If cold and cough persists for more than a week, it is better to go for proper analysis and treatment with the following tests: X-ray of para-nasal sinuses - to rule out sinusitis X-ray of chest - to rule out pneumonia or pleurisy or tuberculosis Microscopic examination of sputum - to reveal causative bacteria Complete blood count to analyse any complications Throat swab and culture - to find infective bacteria Routine blood and urine investigation often helps diagnose. Peripheral smear can be done to diagnose malaria and filaria when the fever is high. Mantoux test and sputum for AFB can be done to diagnose tuberculosis infection. Blood culture and widal test can be done to diagnose typhoid after three days. Bile salts and bile pigments can be done to diagnose jaundice. Prevention – The most important measure to prevent flu is to improve immunity through good health and maintaining personal hygiene. Further, one can easily prevent flu by frequent hand washing, as this can wash away bacteria and viruses that one might have acquired from touching contaminated things. Also, one should avoid sharing things/towels/glasses, if someone in the family has flu. Avoid  Ø Contact with infected sick persons Ø Smoking and dust exposure Ø Cold/frozen food items Ø Watching TV Ø Mental strain Ø Alcohol, coffee, tea and soft drinks Take  Rest with good ventilation Sponge bath with lukewarm water when fever is high Plenty of warm fluids Frequent light and small meal to combat vomiting and weakness Proper treatment Treatment – As most of the sufferers recover on their own with rest and anti–pyretic drugs (Paracetamol, Crocin, etc.) people neglect proper treatment from qualified health professionals. Also, people depend on over-the-counter drugs like analgesics (for relief of pain), anti-histamine drugs (for allergic sneezing) and cough syrups (for arresting the irritating cough). Here one needs to be aware that one does not need antibiotic treatment unless the situation requires it (i.e., influenza is caused by a virus and so antibiotics have no effect on these types of infections). Cough syrups can sometimes aggravate the complaints (with wheeze) or sometimes provide platform for recurrent infection with dilatation of lungs. Further, children and teenagers with flu symptoms (particularly fever) should avoid taking aspirin during an influenza infection (especially for influenza type-B), because doing so can lead to Reye’s syndrome (fatal disease affecting liver). No one can escape from prolongation of illness or complications if they happen to ignore proper care/treatment in the initial period. Homeopathic approach  Homeopathy is the finger-post on the cross-roads of healing which directs the way to safe and permanent cure. Homoeopathy has no side-effects. It comforts modern living. While taking anti-pyretic drugs, there won’t be a comfort feeling even after the fever subsides. But everyone can feel the well-being sensation while being treated by Homeopathy medicines even when there is fever as healing begins by the natural defence mechanism. In Homeopathy, the patient’s appetite and thirst improve first to energise the body for getting better, i.e. Homeopathy treats the patient in all ways. In spite of a wide variety of viruses, to remain healthy, raised immune mechanism and good health are must. For that, Homeopathy can surely help; so if you suffer recurrently from flu or flu-like symptoms, it is better to get treated with Homeopathy. In Homeopathy, we treat patients (symptoms of the patients) and not the disease or viruses, i.e., Homeopathy deals more with patients than diseases. Homeopathy treats constitutionally and improves immunity. For remarkable improvement and overall immunity, if one happens to take Homeopathy treatment, recurrence and sufferings can be reduced drastically. Homeopathic medicines commonly used in complaints of common cold are Aconite, Ars Alb, Ars iod, Anti-tart, Bacillinum, Belladonna, Bryonia, Calc carb, Corallium, Gelsemium, Hepar sulph, Kali bich, Kali-mur, Pulsatilla, Pyrogen, Rhus tox, Sabadilla, Senega, Silicea, Nat-sulph, Nux vom, etc. These medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis of a qualified Homeopath. for new hope Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo) Laxmi Homeo Clinic 24 E. New Mahalipatti Road Madurai, TN 625 001 India Tel:  +91-452-233-8833 | +91-984-319-1011 (Mob) Fax: +91-452-233-0196 E-mail:  drcheena@yahoo.com www.drcheena.com / www.drcheena.in (Disclaimer - The contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)