Nov

Fighting Colds and Flu

On average, adults catch three colds a year and will succumb to a bout of flu once every two years. Most of us bounce back, but the symptoms can be debilitating while they last. Fortunately, a number of complementary therapies can help.

A COMMON PROBLEM

Colds and flu are unavoidable, and we all know what it’s like to be bunged up and sneezy, with a sore throat and aching joints. In both illnesses, viruses are to blame – in the case of the common cold, over 200 can cause symptoms, mostly belonging to two families known as rhinoviruses and corona-viruses.

Influenza, or flu, is much more than a heavy cold, even though the two are similar in their initial stages. Colds and flu can cause sore throats, aching limbs and headaches. However, colds are much less likely to cause a fever and are rarely accompanied by a temperature above 38.8°C/100°F, while flu can often raise your temperature to 39.4°C/103°F.

Flu lasts twice as long as a typical cold, taking around two weeks to run its course. Three groups of influenza viruses (A, B, or C) can cause the condition, but types A and B are responsible for the nasty epidemics that tend to occur during winter. Sometimes flu leads to pneumonia, which poses a serious risk to the very young, the frail and the elderly.

HOW DO YOU CATCH COLDS AND FLU?

The usual way we catch cold or flu viruses is to breathe them in on droplets in the air when someone sneezes. They can also be easily caught by touching something with the virus already on it, such as a cup, door handle, or telephone. The virus sticks to our hands, and if we touch our eyes or nose, it sticks there. From our eyes it is washed down with our tears into the nose.

The virus attacks the cells lining the nose and throat, and infects them. It only takes one virus to infect one cell, but once inside the virus makes copies of itself, ultimately killing the cell and releasing new viruses to infect other cells. This happens so quickly that within 12 hours of first arriving, there may be a million cells killed in the nose and throat, initiating symptoms such as a sore throat and mucus production. When the nose and throat are awash with viruses, the infection can easily be passed on – starting the whole cycle over again.

Winter is drawing ever closer and everyone seems to be coming down with something!

The common cold is bad enough, but the flu has been dominating the headlines recently.

So, I have put together some basic facts about colds and flu and some advice on alternative therapies that can help you.

On average, adults catch three colds a year and will succumb to a bout of flu once every two years.

Most of us bounce back, but the symptoms can be debilitating while they last.

Colds and flu are everywhere, and we all know what it’s like to be bunged up and sneezy, with a sore throat and aching joints.

In both illnesses, viruses are to blame – in the case of the common cold, over 200 can cause symptoms, mostly belonging to two families known as rhinoviruses and corona-viruses.

Influenza, or flu, is much more than a heavy cold, even though the two are similar in their initial stages. Colds and flu can cause sore throats, aching limbs and headaches.

However, colds are much less likely to cause a fever and are rarely accompanied by a temperature above 38.8°C/100°F, while flu can often raise your temperature to 39.4°C/103°F.

Flu lasts twice as long as a typical cold, taking around two weeks to run its course.

Sometimes flu leads to pneumonia or other secondary infections that pose a serious risk to the very young, those with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma or diabetes, and the elderly.

The usual way we catch cold or flu viruses is to breathe them in on droplets in the air when someone sneezes.

They can also be easily caught by touching something with the virus already on it, such as a cup, door handle, or telephone.

The virus sticks to our hands, and if we touch our eyes or nose, it sticks there. From our eyes it is washed down with our tears into the nose.

The virus attacks the cells lining the nose and throat, and infects them.

It only takes one virus to infect one cell, but once inside the virus makes copies of itself, ultimately killing the cell and releasing new viruses to infect other cells.

This happens so quickly that within 12 hours of first arriving, there may be a million cells killed in the nose and throat, initiating symptoms such as a sore throat and mucus production.

When the nose and throat are awash with viruses, the infection can easily be passed on – starting the whole cycle over again.

So that’s how you can catch a cold!

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