Health Tips

How do people get flu?

Infection with influenza at various points in one’s life is inevitable, unless one happens to live in an extremely remote and isolated community.

Flu viruses are highly contagious and spread easily:

• In the general community, pre-school and school children are most likely to get flu. This is because children have little pre-existing immunity and are highly susceptible to the viruses, which they then bring home to their families. The highest infection rate is amongst school aged children younger than 10 to 12 years, and amongst people in old age homes.
• Closed communities, such as homes for the elderly, university campuses and military bases, are prone to outbreaks of influenza, which run their course over a few weeks.
• About 21 percent of people living in the same house as an infected child or adult, will contract flu, according to American studies.
• About 6 percent of people exposed to influenza outside the household, will get flu.
• About 30 to 50 percent of asymptomic people (those who are infected but show no symptoms) transmit the flu virus to others.

Home treatment - what you can do

This article will look at four different aspects of self-treatment: - Over the counter medication
- Self treatment: the natural way
- A recipe for colds, flu, thickened mucus and sinusitis
- Over-the-counter medication

Over-the-counter drugs treat symptoms of flu, but not the cause. It will not cure flu, but will relief some symptoms. If the flu is not very severe, these, and vitamins and herbal remedies should be sufficient. These medications can make life a more bearable during your illness.

Self treatment: the natural way

1. Stay in bed for a few days. You will recover a lot sooner. Listen to your body and rest a while.
2. Don’t exercise - it might strain your heart and lungs. Your body is fighting a viral war, so assist in the fight!
3. Drink lots of fluids - water, fresh fruit juice and vegetable juice or soup.
4. Dissolve eucalyptus or peppermint oil in boiling water and steam those sinuses. This will loosen the phlegm, while disinfecting the environment.
5. Other aromatherapy oils to try are lavender, grapefruit, rosemary and tea tree oil (put a few drops in a burner, or in the bath, or use in a carrier oil for a soothing back and shoulder massage).
6. Increase your intake of vitamin A to 10 000 IU’s (3mg RE activity) a day and vitamin C to 1000-2000mg a day in divided dosages. Once you are feeling better, return to your normal maintenance level.
7. Studies have shown that Vitamin C may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms.
8. Use medicinal herbs. Herbs like garlic, Echinacea and golden seal act as natural “antibiotics” against viruses, bacteria and even fungi. They are also decongestants that dry the mucosal linings in a gentle way. They do not have side effects. They actually support the immune system.
9. Double-blind placebo controlled studies suggest that Echinacea purpurea not only shortens the duration of colds and flu while making it less severe, it also actually stops a cold that is just starting.
10. Andrographis seems to be a promising treatment for colds. It is a shrub found in India and throughout Asia. It is sometimes called Indian Echinacea because it has much the same benefits as Echinacea purpurea. Although it is not certain how Andrographis works for colds, some evidence suggests that it stimulates immunity.
11. Try zinc lozenges to soothe a sore throat and zinc nasal spray for a runny nose. Make tea with fresh or dried sage leaves simmered in boiling water, with a teaspoon of honey, for a sore throat. You can also gargle with sage tea.
12. What about chicken soup? It may soothe a sore throat, clear clogged passageways, and hydrate a thirsty body. A new study suggests that chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity. A mild anti-inflammatory effect could be one mechanism by which the soup could result in the mitigation of symptomatic upper respiratory tract infections.

A recipe for colds, flu, thickened mucus and sinusitis:

Mix together a pinch of ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cayenne pepper and tumeric with a fresh clove of garlic (optional), a little lemon juice and honey in hot water - it makes for a delightfully spicy drink. You might even add a tot of brandy. Add a pinch of sage and thyme if the mucus is yellow or green. Drink this regularly until you feel better.

Aging starts when cell death starts. If we help to prevent cell death, then we are helping to prevent aging. After the age of 25 our bodies start to succumb to the effects of pollution and poor nutrition from processed foods in our diet. The result is a depletion of critical hormones, enzymes, and other vital chemicals which keep our bodies healthy. Oxidation damage also occurs at the cellular level from free radicals which impairs the immune system and leads to infections and degenerative diseases.

The anti-aging medical community has characterized aging into three categories:

Ages 35-45:
Growth hormone levels drop by more than 25% in this age group and signs of aging start to appear such as trouble seeing, graying hair, and decreased strength and energy. Cellular damage bt free radicals continue.

Ages 45 and over:
The rate of hormone production decline escalates including DHEA and melatonin within the body. Illnesses such as hypertention may start to appear.

1.Exercise :

• Physical activity is considered one of the most crucial factors in
  achieving anti-aging results.

• Exercise stimulates production of growth hormones and keeps muscles toned which help protect our bones.

• Research has consistently shown those that exercise regularly live longer
  and happier lives and get sick less often.

• An exercise program should include flexibility, cardiovascular, and strength training.

• You should consult your doctor when developing this plan as it should be tailored according to your current physical conditions.

2. Diet:

• The ideal anti-aging weight should be 5-10% lower than your ideal weight.
• For men, figure your ideal weight which will be 106 pounds at 5 feet of
  height, then add 6 pounds for each additional inch.
• For woman figure 100pounds at 5 feet and add 5 pounds each inch after that.
• A balanced diet should consist of 50% carbohydrates from fruits and
  vegetables; 25% protein mainly from plant sources like beans and tofu;
  and 25% from fat sources like olive oil and nuts.

3. Stress:

• Mis-managed stress has harmful effects on the body including the
  releasing of hormones from the adrenal glands. The most powerful of
  these hormones are adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol breaks down protein,
  fats, and carbohydrates into blood sugar for energy to respond to this
  “crisis”. If there is not enough protein in the bloodstream, cortisol extracts
  it from healthy muscle tissue which accelerates weight gain and the aging
  process.

• Mis-managed stress also depletes the brain of chemicals such as dopamine
  and serotonin. These neurotransmitters effect your level of alertness and
  mood. When your brain lacks serotonin you are likely to become more
  anxious and may have trouble sleeping. Foods that help your body
  produce these chemicals include high quality lean meats and fish, low fat
  dairy, beans, bananas and fat free yogurt.

• Most stress relief practices include mental activities such as music,
  meditation, or singing, some people scream.
  

• Physical activities include sports, bicycling, yoga, and walking.

• Functional activities may include massage or hydrotherapy.

• Pay attention to the situations in your daily life that cause chronic anger,
  frustration, guilt, or worry. Try to put controls in place to deal with these
  occurrences so you can more effectively manage the stress. You may even
  want to seek out stress relief workshops.

4. Natural Hormone Enhancement:

• One of the most important factors in the cause of aging is a decline of
  growth hormone which starts around the age of 25. We lose 10-15% of
  growth hormone every decade after the age of 25. Loss of this hormone
  results in wrinkles, thinning and graying of hair, nails become more
  brittle, and muscles weaken

• Many natural orientated physicians practicing anti-aging medicine believe
  you should naturally stimulate your body to replace the declining growth
  hormone. One way to help accomplish this is through supplementation.
  Scientists believe that human growth hormone (HgH) can be increased by
  elevating acetylcholine. A deficiency of this substance can cause a wide
  range of neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.

A sore throat, also called a throat infection or pharyngitis, is a painful inflammation of the pharynx the back portion of the throat that includes the back third of the tongue, the soft palate (roof of the mouth) and the tonsils (fleshy tissue that are part of the throat’s immune defenses). The most common cause of sore throat is infection with bacteria or a virus.

Because an infection of the pharynx almost always involves the tonsils, tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils) was once a common name for infectious pharyngitis.

Currently in the United States, infectious pharyngitis accounts for almost 10 million visits to doctors’ offices each year, and sore throat is among the top 10 complaints of people who seek treatment in emergency rooms. In about 85% of cases, throat infection is caused by a virus. Although people who have the flu (influenza), cold sores (oral herpes simplex) or infectious mononucleosis (”mono”) also commonly have a sore throat, these viral infections usually cause other telltale symptoms in addition to throat pain. Read more…