Sleep As Much As Possible
Sleep is the best medicine for your body while fighting the flu. Watching TV curled up on the couch isnt a bad idea, but you shouldnt be binge-watching your favorite Netflix show all night long.
Go to bed earlier than usual and sleep in. You can also take a nap during the day to give your body more time to recover.
Rest and sleep also reduces your risk of serious flu complications, like pneumonia.
It can be difficult to sleep with a stuffy nose and cough. Try these tips to breathe easier and have a better nights sleep:
- Use an extra pillow
Staying Hydrated And Soothing A Sore Throat: Teas Soup Ginger And Turmeric
A sore throat is often the natural result of inflammation created when your immune system is fighting off a virus lodged in your upper airways. The swelling and pain can make it more difficult to swallow food and stay hydrated. This ends up making your throat even drier. A cough can further worsen things. Staying hydrated by drinking plain water, hot teas, broths or soups can help you feel more comfortable.
In many cultures, ginger is one of the first things people reach for when faced with a sore throat. Its often steeped in boiling water along with other herbs to make soothing teas, or added to chicken soup. And, it turns out, there may be some science to back up these age-old practices: a handful of studies have found that ginger may have anti-inflammatory properties that can help ease swelling.
Turmeric root, a plant in the ginger family that is native to Southeast Asia and long used in the Ayurvedic medical practices of India, can also reduce inflammation. But its effects have been challenging to prove because the main compound in the root, curcumin, isnt easily absorbed in the body and curcumin supplements can vastly differ in composition. Eating turmeric in food or mixing it with a fatty substance, such as cooking oil or warm milk, may help you absorb more of the benefits of curcumin. Adding black pepper can also aid in its absorption, Dr. Romm said.
Cold And Flu Medications
There are medications available to purchase over the counter from your pharmacy which can help to relieve the symptoms of colds and the flu. Here are some medications you may choose to try:
- LloydsPharmacy flu-max all-in-one chesty cough and cold powder – This is a lemon and menthol flavour drink which may help to provide quick and long-lasting relief from headaches, sinus pain, chesty coughs, sore throats, fever, aches and pains.
- Day & Night Nurse – These capsules help provide 24-hour relief from common cold and flu symptoms. The daytime capsules work to ease congestion, without causing drowsiness. While the night-time capsules are designed to help you get a better sleep, reduce fever and dry up a runny nose.
- LloydsPharmacy paracetamol 500mg – Easy to swallow tablets that can help relieve symptoms of colds and flu like fever and aches and pains.
- LloydsPharmacy ibuprofen 200mg – Easy to swallow capsules that provide effective relief against the symptoms of cold and flu, like aches and pain and fever.
Make sure youre careful when taking paracetamol and ibuprofen as its easy to take more than the recommended dose without realising. Some cold and flu remedies arent suitable for children, babies and pregnant women. For more advice, speak to a pharmacist in store.
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Sleep Away Your Flu Symptoms
Getting sleep and taking time to recuperate is the best thing you can do for yourself, your coworkers, and your family, says Len Horovitz, MD, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. And the truth is, when youre feeling sick, you wont feel like doing much else. Sleep as much as you can and avoid contact with others until you have been fever-free without taking any fever-reducing medication for 24 to 48 hours. While resting, place an extra pillow under your head to help drain your nasal passages and make sleeping more comfortable.
Things To Do In The First 24 Hours Of A Cold Or Flu
Youve all been there. That tell-tale tickle in your throat, the drippy nose that starts a cascade of sneezes, that sinking feeling when you realize, Oh, no. Im sick! This early stage of cold and flu symptoms is no time to wait and see how bad it will get.
Early signs of the cold and flu include fever, headache, cough, congestion, sore throat, body aches, chills and/or exhaustion. If you treat your symptoms early enough, you may be able to prevent the virus from spreading to others or becoming worse.
The first 24 hours are critical. Read more to find out what to do when you feel the first signs of a cold or flu coming on.
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Controlling A Cough: Salt Water And Honey
If your sore throat is compounded by a cough, gargling with salt water may be helpful. Mix about half a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of warm water and swish it around your mouth and the back of your throat for a few seconds before spitting it out. Any type of salt you have at home can work.
Doctors often recommend salt water gargling as a way to ease pain in your mouth or the back of your throat and improve overall oral health. Gargling helps loosen thick mucus and can also remove irritants like bacteria, viruses and allergens from your throat. Using a salt solution provides the additional benefit of drawing excess fluid from inflamed tissues and coating them with warm water instead, Dr. Talbot said, an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Adding honey to your gargling solution, or to any tea or warm drink, can have a similarly soothing effect. Honey acts as a demulcent, meaning it calms down irritated tissues by coating them.
Many cultures have their own variation of a soothing honey drink. And some research shows the remedy works in reducing the frequency of coughs. In fact, one study of children between 1 and 5 found that taking two teaspoons of honey at bedtime was just as effective in reducing nighttime coughs and improving the quality of sleep as the drug dextromethorphan found in common over-the-counter cough syrups.
Heres How To Kick The Cold & Flu Quickly And Get On With Your Life
1.Veggie Broth Eat light when you have a cold and enjoy veggie broths with seaweeds. Try making a vegetable broth with celery, cabbage, carrots, leeks, kale, garlic, seaweeds and a mushroom blend. The lighter you eat the better while youre feeling under the weather. Your digestive system needs a break so it can focus on healing.
2.Get probiotics into your system eat cultured foods like miso, sauerkraut and coconut kefir. A nice healthy dose of probiotics will help to repopulate the healthy bacteria in your gut and bring ease to your digestive system. If you can pick up a dairy free probiotic supplement in your area, thats a habit you can continue long term even once youre feeling better.
Miso Soup Recipe:
- 2 Cups of Boiling Water
- 1 Cup Chopped Kale/Chard or both
- 1/2 Cup Green Peas
- 1 handful of Dulse
- Organic Chickpea or Adzuki Bean Miso
Instructions: Bring your water to a boil and throw in your chopped greens, seaweed and peas. Let them soften and reduce your heat. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes and mix in 1 tbsp. of miso for each cup of water you have in your pot.
3.Drink warm water with lemon The more you hydrate, the faster toxins can pass through you. Being dehydrated while you have a cold or the flu is possibly one of the worst things you can do for yourself and will only drag the sickness on longer. It can be tough to drink water when youre feeling crappy but do it anyway. Having your water room temp. makes it easier.
Healing Cleanse Smoothie:
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When Should I Seek Help For Flu
Flu symptoms will often clear up on their own if you take the right measures to recover. But you should think about speaking to a doctor if:
- Your symptoms are getting worse or haven’t improved after 7 days
- You’re age 65 or over
- You’re pregnant
- You have a long-term condition like diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease or a neurological condition
- You have a weakened immune system for example if you’re having chemotherapy or have HIV
- You feel very unwell or develop chest pain, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or start coughing up blood.
This article has been approved by Dr Bryony Henderson, Lead GP at Livi.
How To Prevent Catching The Flu
Flu cannot be prevented entirely however, the following 11 tips may help:
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What Do Do If Your Cold Or Flu Symptoms Last Longer Than 24 Hours
If your cold or flu symptoms dont improve after 24 hours, you may want to consult a doctor. Multiple conditions share similar symptoms. But while your fever, cough, and sore throat may feel the same, each condition calls for a different treatment, and telling them apart can be confusing. Consult with a doctor to help diagnose and get the correct treatment.
Over The Counter Medicines Can Help
Early symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, and sinus pain can be treated with pain-relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Be sure to read the label carefully and follow dosage recommendations exactly. Taking too little medication may not be effective taking too much can be dangerous. Remember, doses for children vary based on their age and weight, and children under the age of 18 should not be given aspirin. It can cause a serious condition called Reyes Syndrome.
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Who Should Get It
Antiviral treatment can literally be a lifesaver for folks at higher risk of complications from the flu, including the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and those with underlying medical issues .
For those at lower risk, it may not be necessary. Most healthy people who develop influenza infection do just fine by getting plenty of fluids and rest and do not need an antiviral medication unless they have severe infection, says Pritish Tosh, MD, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
That said, antivirals may still be helpful. I have no reservations about prescribing it to low risk patients, says Scott Bernstein, MD, an internal medicine physician at Bon Secours Medical Group in Rockland County, New York. There is a rapid flu test that gives the results in 10 minutes, so a physician can easily wait for the test to return before prescribing the drug.
Call Your Health Care Provider Asap
Not everyone who gets the flu needs to see their doctor, but people over 65 do. Thats because age itself along with many other conditions that often come along in later years, such as diabetes and heart disease puts you at risk for serious complications from the flu, namely pneumonia.
As we age, our immune system responds less vigorously than it does when were younger, explains Stuart Ray, M.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Both antibodies and T cells play important roles in protecting against infection and severe disease from influenza. And those tend to decrease during late adulthood.
Your doctor will likely prescribe an antiviral medication that helps your body fight off the influenza virus. Research shows that taking an antiviral, like Tamiflu, at the first sign of the flu can reduce symptoms and shorten your bout of the flu by one day.
Dont postpone treatment
With antivirals, time is of the essence. You should take them within 48 hours after symptoms kick in. What we adults tend to do is say, Id rather not go to the doctor. Lets see if I feel better tomorrow, Schaffner says. When we get what we think is influenza, its important to contact our health care provider, because the sooner we get the treatment, the better the success of the treatment.
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Add Moisture To The Air
Dry air can make your symptoms worse. A vaporizer or humidifier adds moisture to the air and can help loosen up congestion.
There are many types of humidifiers and vaporizers available on the market. Examples include cool-mist humidifiers and steam vaporizers. These can be found easily for a reasonable price at your local big-box store, pharmacy, or online.
The cold and flu aisle of your local drug store is most likely packed with hundreds of different options. Some medications are used to deal with specific symptoms, like nasal congestion, while others treat many flu symptoms at once.
- Pain relievers help reduce a fever, headache, and body aches. Examples include ibuprofen and acetaminophen .
- thick mucus and are useful for a cough that is wet and produces mucus.
- Antihistamines tend to have sedative effects that may help you sleep.
Be sure to read the products label to learn the correct dose for each type of medication and to make sure youre not accidentally combining medications. Medications like DayQuil are both a pain reliever and a fever reducer, so you shouldnt be taking another medication on top of that.
Children and teens should never take aspirin for the flu due to the risk of a serious condition called Reyes syndrome.
Plan To Stay Home For A Bit Especially If You Have A Fever
You should stay home with the flu. You should not go to work or school if you have the flu. If youre sick, you should stay home. You need to rest, and it can stop you from spreading germs around town.
Its particularly important to stay home if you have a fever, and for at least 24 hours after your fever goes away . Why? Because youre most contagious when you have a fever and the day after it breaks.
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Urgent Advice: Ask For An Urgent Gp Appointment Or Get Help From Nhs 111 If:
You or your child have symptoms of flu and:
- you’re worried about your baby’s or child’s symptoms
- you’re 65 or over
- you’re pregnant
- you have a long-term medical condition for example, diabetes or a condition that affects your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain or nerves
- you have a weakened immune system for example, because of chemotherapy or HIV
- your symptoms do not improve after 7 days
You Cant Heal Without Energy
Wondering why you feel like a worthless cloth when you are sick? Its essential for you to understand that a healing process takes a LOT of energy. Your body is gathering all the energy it has to go through the healing crisis.
The less energy you have, the longer it takes to get to the other side of any ailment or illness you have.
So your number one task is to equip your body with the right tools to leverage the little energy it has at that moment.
That brings us the second insight you need.
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How We Reviewed This Article:
- Barak V. The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines.
- Hemilia H. . Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub4/full
- Hemilia H. . Vitamin C and Infections. DOI:
When Should I See A Doctor
If you have difficulty breathing, continued chest pain, your symptoms worsen over time, you are 65 or older, or have a preexisting condition, seek medical attention.
Getting your yearly flu shot is advised by the CDC . If you have any questions or would like to schedule your yearly flu vaccine, you can visit our website here or call us at 329-3719. At BASS Urgent Care, we value your health and wellness.
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Recognizing When To See Your Doctor